By Scott Hirsch ~ It’s impossible to simply reflect upon this year as the 30th Anniversary of Island Mermaid without chuckling about how it started 43 years ago on a rain soaked night as a 17-year-old East Islip junior. What … Full Story
FiFlix: “Last Ferry” Misses the Boat
Films set on Fire Island are few and far between, so when one of those rara avises flaps its way onto the big screen island residents will no doubt pay good money to see it, for its curiosity value if … Full Story
Destroying Fire Island Pines Media Backlash
By Laura Schmidt ~ Negative press generated from unsafe parties at the Pines Fourth of July weekend has prompted community leaders, official and unofficial, to do more to enforce CDC guidelines and ensure residents’ safety. Fire Island Pines made national … Full Story
INTERVIEW: Vanoy Harris, Gentleman Swimmer
Vanoy Harris, 58, has traveled from Kentucky to Fire Island since 2014, to embark on the five-mile journey that is the Maggie Fischer Memorial Cross Bay Swim. He will not be participating in the 2020 race because of restrictions to … Full Story
Fallen Idols of Fire Island (Part 2)
LIKE ROBERT MOSES, an additional sea of online petitions and protests have crashed on the shores of Long Island, surrounding what many residents believe to be another heavily celebrated figure worth discussing – William Floyd. The sole Suffolk County signer … Full Story
Ocean Beach EMS Captain Gretchen Stang (1959-2020)
By Joey Macellaro ~ AN ACCOMPLISHED COMPETITIVE sailor, first responder, and beloved fixture in the Ocean Beach community, Gretchen Stang died last month at the age of 61 after a long illness. A native of Babylon, Gretchen loved her family, … Full Story
Lillian Barbash: South Shore Long Island Philanthropist (1927-2020)
By Rebecca Hoey ~ LILLIAN BARBASH PEACEFULLY passed away in her sleep at age 92 on July 4, 2020, in her Brightwaters home, after battling congestive heart failure. She will be remembered for touching lives as she made larger than … Full Story
Fire Island Unmasked
WHEN ONE FIRE ISLAND community is in trouble, all of us are in trouble. So when things hit the fan in Fire Island Pines over Fourth of July Weekend, I knew that our publication had to respond – not with … Full Story
Coronavirus and Fire Island’s Ferry Carriers
By Mariana Dominguez ~ Over the past few months, COVID-19 has changed much in everyone’s daily lives. Social distancing, masks and consistent hand sanitizer use has become the new normal. With summer officially here, visitors have flocked to Fire Island … Full Story
Atlantic Marine Conservation Society Responds to Multiple Whale Standing in July, Including Smith Point
The summer season has been busy for Atlantic Marine Conservation Society (AMSEAS – amseas.org) with 17 marine mammal and sea turtle stranding responses in the month of July so far. Responses took place across Long Island, from the East End into … Full Story