West Gilgo Beach is a small private
gated community located in the town of
Babylon, in
Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is part of the
Gilgo census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...
.
History
West Gilgo Beach was founded on Sept 18, 1939 by residents of High Hill Beach, who were displaced by the creation of
Jones Beach State Park. About 60 of the original houses were moved by barge or the newly constructed road, from the Zachs Bay section of Jones Beach to the new community. Since then, the West Gilgo Beach Association has grown to approximately 80 houses.
Description
Originally almost entirely a summer community, over half of the houses are now winterized, and there is a mix of full-time and second home residents. The community hosts a small non-denominational church, a self-service library, an unmanned post office, and small firehouses that have hoses on carts. Residents depend on central well water and individual septic tanks.
It also provides the only land access to the Unqua Corinthian Yacht Club.
The land is not owned by the residents, but is on long-term lease from the town of Babylon. In the early 1990s, there was litigation by New York State not to extend the lease. After much negotiation, the lease was renewed, with a ramp-up in costs.
Noteworthy projects
In July 2011, West Gilgo Beach residents united to beautify the community via a large-scale mural painting in the beach-access tunnel.
Geography
West Gilgo Beach is located on
Jones Beach Island
Jones Beach Island is one of the outer barrier islands off the southern coast of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York.
Etymology
It is named for Major Thomas Jones, who first came to Long Island in 1692, where he proceeded to build the ...
, a
barrier island
Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from ...
situated between 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 ...
and 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 ...
of
Long Island. West Gilgo Beach is an L-shaped community with two roads: Ocean Walk, which begins at the border of
Nassau County and
Suffolk County and extends east along
Ocean Parkway, and Bay Walk, which begins at the gate and heads north towards the
. West Gilgo Beach is a
Right-in/right-out
Right-in/right-out (RIRO) and left-in/left-out (LILO) refer to a type of three-way road intersection where turning movements of vehicles are restricted. A RIRO permits only right turns and a LILO permits only left turns. "Right-in" and "left-in" r ...
exit from Ocean Parkway, between
Tobay Beach and Gilgo Beach.
Entrance to West Gilgo Beach, New York from Ocean Parkway (Google Maps)
/ref>
References
External links
*Map:
{{authority control
Babylon (town), New York
Beaches of Suffolk County, New York
Geography of Suffolk County, New York
Populated coastal places in New York (state)