Fair Harbor is a small community

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

located near the western end of

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Lo ...

. It is a part of the Town of

Islip Islip may refer to: Places England * Islip, Northamptonshire *Islip, Oxfordshire United States *Islip, New York, a town in Suffolk County ** Islip (hamlet), New York, located in the above town **Central Islip, New York, a hamlet and census-d ...

on Long Island, New York. With approximately 350 homes within its 13-block town limits, the town features a few stores, a restaurant and a pizza shop, giving it old-style charm with the security of a state-of-the-art Fire Department and EMS. Moreover, the beach is wide, and the bay front is active.

History

The community was first founded in the late 1800s. A few of Fair Harbor's 350 houses date to the 1920s, but most were built in the 1970s and many have been built recently.

Community

Fair Harbor—like most other Fire Island communities—is mainly a summer community, although a few families choose to live there year-round. Many of the homes have been passed down from generation to generation. The town has a strong summer rental market, with most houses renting for the entire summer season or by the month. During the off-season there is limited car access to Fire Island while during the summer there is no car access and the town can only be reached by ferry or private boat. Biking and walking are the main modes of transportation. Fair Harbor falls under the police jurisdiction of Suffolk County Marine Bureau and is protected by its own

volunteer fire department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond ...

, the Fair Harbor Fire Department, founded in 1931. During the summer months lifeguards are stationed on both the bay beach and ocean beach. Pioneer_Market

Children of the year-round families attend the Fire Island School District in Corneille Estates until grade 6, at which point they are bussed to public or parochial schools in

Bay Shore Bay Shore is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Islip, New York, United States. It is situated on the South Shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay. The population of the CDP was 29,244 at the time of the 2020 ...

or Islip for grades 7–12. The neighboring communities of Dunewood and Lonelyville, to the east have no stores or services so they rely on many of Fair Harbor's services, such as the Fire Department and EMS and Fair Harbor's one grocery store, hardware emporium, liquor store and restaurant. The population in the summer swells to about 1,500. Fair Harbor is famous for its annual Pine Walk Arts and Crafts Fair, a Fire Island favorite, which was established in 1972. It adds to this community's bohemian beach vibe while still being an intimate family community where neighbors congregate at the bay to watch the sunsets. Some 400 modest yet gracious beach houses adorn the narrow residential walks. There are no hotels or B&B's in Fair Harbor, but they do have a thriving real estate agent industry and house rentals are readily available. Fair Harbor also has its own direct ferry line out of Bay Shore and private community marina.

Economy

Being a seasonal community, Fair Harbor offers only a few services. The Pioneer Market is the only grocer in the hamlet; Le Dock, the only restaurant, is open for lunch and dinner and offers both indoor and outdoor dining. The Loading Dock sells liquor and wine, and Corliss on the Bay sells miscellaneous items including bikes, souvenirs, hardware, toys, magazines, books, paint, and garden items. There is also an ice cream store and a pizza take-out shop. These stores are open 7 days a week in season and closed during the off season (October through May). There is also the Fair Harbor Clothing store, established by individuals who grew up a block away from Fair Harbor "in a barefoot community," developing a "deep appreciation for the water, waves and bounty of the sea."

Geography

Fair Harbor is located on the western part of

between the

Great South Bay The Great South Bay is a lagoon situated between Long Island and Fire Island, in the State of New York. It is about long and has an average depth of 4 feet 3 inches and is 20 feet at its deepest. It is protected from the Atlantic Ocean by Fire ...

and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. It is about 47 miles by car to the ferry dock in Bay Shore, NY. From there, it is six miles by ferry across the water to Fair Harbor. Saltaire is the incorporated village immediately west of Fair Harbor while Dunewood and Lonelyville are directly to the east. To get to Fair Harbor, it is necessary to take the ferry from Bay Shore.

Medical care

While there are no hospitals or clinics in the town, medical service is provided in the summer months by the Fair Harbor Medical District. The district hires doctors, on one week intervals, from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The district provides a walk-in doctor's office and doctor's residence. The doctors are not paid but get a free week at the beach, are allowed to keep modest fees from patients and have office hours two hours a day—from 11 to Noon and 5 to 6 PM. For medical emergencies, the Fair Harbor Fire Department provides emergency medical services (EMS) which transports patients by its ambulance or by Suffolk County Police boat to

Good Samaritan In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...

Southside Southside or South Side may refer to: Places Australia * Southside, Queensland, a semi-rural locality in the Gympie Region Canada * South Side, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community in the St. George's Bay area on the southwest coast of Newf ...

hospitals on the mainland, or by SCPD helicopter.

References

{{authority control Fire Island, New York Islip (town), New York Hamlets in New York (state) Beaches of Suffolk County, New York Hamlets in Suffolk County, New York Populated coastal places in New York (state)