Saving Fire Island from Robert Moses: The Fight for a National Seashore

by Christopher Verga

Moses’s parks, such as Jones Beach, Heckscher State Park, Captree State Park, Fire Island State Park (later renamed Robert Moses State Park) and Sunken Meadow Park were designed with automobile accommodation in mind, democratizing the landscapes and progressing in lockstep with the aggressive emerging culture.

On September 11, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Fire Island National Seashore Bill, making thirty-three miles of Fire Island a national park.