$1,483,859Average Value$1,186Average Price per Sq Ft12Homes For Sale
Friendly community with busy summers, quiet winters
Breathtaking sunrises and sunsets blazing across the sky, cool salty breezes and a peaceful atmosphere draw people to Western Fire Island, a beachy barrier island 5 miles off Long Island’s South Shore. The slip offers a respite from the New York City noise and traffic – for the most part, vehicles aren’t permitted, so people rely mainly on bikes and walking to get around. “It’s mostly wagons and bikes and golf carts, but residents can get permits to drive,” says Lisa Campbell, a resident and a licensed real estate salesperson at Netter Beach Estates. She emphasizes that the absence of cars adds to the enclave’s secluded feel. The peacefulness is helped along by residents’ welcoming attitudes. “I raised my kids out here; I taught them how to ride bikes out here,” says Robert Kuhar, a licensed associate real estate broker at Douglas Elliman who has lived here for 20 years. He adds that it’s the kind of place parents can send their kids out to explore and have fun on their own all day without worrying. “It’s a nice, tight-knit community where people know each other, look out for each other and enjoy each other’s company. If anyone needs anything, people are there to lend it,” he says.
When the season changes, so does the population on Western Fire Island as summer vacationers and warm-weather residents leave the approximately 300 perennial residents behind. “You just have to have a certain mindset when you live on Fire Island, because in the off-season, there aren’t a whole lot of places that are actually open,” Kuhar says. “There’s only one restaurant in Ocean Beach that’s open all year round. You have to be pretty self-sufficient.”
Sitting at the dock for a peaceful retreat and fresh air at bay side in Western Fire Island.
Residents and visitors gather at the beach in Western Fire Island.
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Sand, surf and sports at Robert Moses State Park
A kaleidoscope of beach towels and umbrellas covers the island’s white beaches in the summertime as visitors and residents sunbathe on the sand and head into the water to swim or surf. With the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Great South Bay on the other, water sports, boating and fishing are popular and easily accessible. “Right now, my commute to the beach is four houses away,” Kuhar says. “It’s really nice to be able to just go out and take a dip in the ocean and come back in literally whenever you want to.” Alongside its 5-mile stretch of beach, Robert Moses State Park offers volleyball courts, a playground and an 18-hole pitch and putt golf course. Anglers enjoy fishing and crabbing from the piers, photographers catch the sunset along Democrat Point’s scenic coastline and others meander the three-quarter-mile nature trail that connects to the Fire Island Lighthouse. “I love the beauty,” says Robin Citriniti, a licensed real estate salesperson with Netter Beach Estates who has lived in the area for 20 years. “I just love the nature, the freedom of really being able to walk and bike everywhere. I love that the beach is right down the street from me, the bay is down the street.”
Ocean Beach Youth Group gives paddle board lessons in Western Fire Island.
Walk or bike to see the iconic Fire Island Lighthouse.
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Dining along the Great South Bay
Fresh seafood caught from the enclave’s shores is served with bayfront views at Island Mermaid, Le Dock and Maguire’s Bayfront Restaurant, the latter of which first opened its doors in 1936. CJ’s is another long-running island favorite known for its lobster rolls, and it’s the only restaurant that stays open all winter. Flynn’s is a go-to spot for dinner and drinks thanks to its frequent live DJs or musicians and dance party atmosphere. The restaurant also has a daily dinner cruise. Even the neighborhood’s nicest restaurants commit to the island’s relaxed, low-key vibe. “You can walk into the better restaurants here in shorts and a T-shirt,” Citriniti says. For groceries, residents head to the Seaview Market or Pioneer Market for fresh produce and essentials or stock up at the Costco on Long Island.
Guests sit outside at the bar of Island Mermaid in Western Fire Island.
This fried chicken with chipotle mayo sandwich can be enjoyed at CJ's in Western Fire Island.
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Beachy homes from $900,000
Coastal cottages and colonial-style homes sit alongside 1960s to 1980s contemporary-style homes, while new homes are typically built in 2020s contemporary or modern styles. These homes are often mixed in with windswept sand dunes. A network of narrow boardwalks are threaded between and behind them for residents to walk and bike on. Fixer-uppers start at around $900,000 and, depending on their size and location, can climb to about $1.5 million. Landlocked turnkey homes start at around $1.7 million, while waterfront homes typically cost between $2 million and $4 million. “It really is nice because it’s kind of a decimal place difference from the Hamptons,” Kuhar says. The CAP Index crime score is 1 out of 10. The national average is 4.
This contemporary home is raised for elevated views of Western Fire Island.
Western Fire Island offers contemporary style homes like these at beach side.
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Benefits and challenges of life with limited driving
During the off-season, Citriniti says, residents can get special permits to drive. With its proximity to the Great South Bay Bridge, the western portion of the island is the most accessible for those who wish to drive on and off the island via the Robert Moses State Parkway. Most people don’t drive much, and during the on-season, no one does. The ferry becomes the only way on and off the island, while water taxis provide an easy way to travel from town to town. There are major benefits to this, including no traffic jams and, Kuhar says, no intoxicated drivers. It does present challenges, though, especially when it comes to transporting supplies. Some communities are more affected by this than others. “You can come over with your groceries and your luggage and things like that without any problems on the passenger ferry,” Kuhar says. “But the bigger stuff like bikes and building material and hot tubs, those all have to come over on the freight ferry, and then you hire a carting company or you schlepp the stuff yourself with your own cart on the walkways.” Despite how remote Western Fire Island can feel, it’s not that far of a commute to New York City. Manhattan is about an hour and 10 minutes by train from Bay Shore, and the year-round work ferry reaches Long Island in 30 minutes.
Here is an aerial view of the western Fire island.
The Fire Island National Seashore has miles of trails to explore.
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Woodhull School on the island, Bay Shore High off-island
Children attend Woodhull School, which locals often call Fire Island School, from pre-kindergarten to sixth grade. Although the school is too small to have a Niche rating — a quality that allows it to have a student-to-teacher ratio of 5-to-1 — GreatSchools gives it a 10/10. It’s the only school in Fire Island Public Schools, so older children attend school on Long Island, usually in the Bay Shore Union Free School District. Niche gives the district an A. Bay Shore Middle School has a B-plus, while Bay Shore High School has an A-minus and offers dance, model UN and robotics clubs.
Woodhull Elementary School serves children in grade K - 5 on Western Fire Island.
Welcome to Bay Shore Senior High School.
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Parades, July 4th celebrations and local gatherings
According to Kuhar, parades are a frequent occurrence here, but the Fourth of July is the biggest weekend of the year, featuring fireworks and the famous Invasion of the Pines in nearby Central Fire Island. Beyond big events that also attract tourists, locals hold small events among themselves. “I have an inflatable movie screen and a projector and giant speakers, so I’ll tell the community we’re going to show movies on the beach,” Kuhar says. “It could be anything. This past weekend we did ‘Jaws’ because it’s a spectacular beach movie that’s set on July 4th. It was a crystal-clear night with the ocean as the backdrop, and it was really spectacular.”
Yearly storms and risk of flooding, dune erosion
As a thin barrier island, Western Fire Island is often described as Long Island’s first line of defense against storms. This also means that it’s prone to flooding and other storm damage, especially when hurricanes or tropical storms roll through. Most homes are in flood zones, though they are often built to be resistant to storm damage and flooding, and the island’s beaches have suffered extensive and increasingly rapid erosion over the years. Local officials and the Army Corps of Engineers work together to shore up beaches when necessary, keeping them beautiful and protecting the houses that line them. “They dredged sand from the ocean and rebuilt pretty much all of the beaches this past fall,” Citriniti says.
GreatSchools:
The GreatSchools Rating helps parents compare schools within a state based on a variety of school quality indicators and provides a helpful picture of how effectively each school serves all of its students. Ratings are on a scale of 1 (below average) to 10 (above average) and can include test scores, college readiness, academic progress, advanced courses, equity, discipline and attendance data. We also advise parents to visit schools, consider other information on school performance and programs, and consider family needs as part of the school selection process.
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On average, homes in Western Fire Island, Ocean Beach sell after 89 days on the market compared to the national average of 47 days. The average sale price for homes in Western Fire Island, Ocean Beach over the last 12 months is $1,373,461, up 11% from the average home sale price over the previous 12 months.
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