A powerful nor’easter hit the eastern coast of the United States in March 1962. The storm destroyed dunes, swept nearly 100 homes into the Atlantic Ocean, and cut through the narrow barrier island off Long Island’s south shore. The storm, known as the Ash Wednesday Storm, gave famous urban planner Robert Moses what he saw as a chance to push forward his long-planned project. As chairman of the Long Island State Park Commission, Moses proposed building an 18-foot-high sand dike with a four-lane concrete highway on top. The road would run across the length of Fire Island. Moses argued that the highway would hold the shifting island in place during future storms and allow people from New York City to reach the coast by car. Local property owners, however, saw the plan as a serious threat. The proposed 875-foot-wide right-of-way would have taken up most of the island, which is only about 1,000 feet wide on average. Instead of accepting the highway, residents, summer homeowners, and local civic groups launched a strong campaign against it. Their efforts eventually defeated one of New York’s most powerful builders. Their victory not only stopped the highway but also helped convince the federal government to create Fire Island National Seashore in September 1964. Today, 17 private communities still exist within the national park, protected as mostly roadless communities that are mainly reached by boat or on foot.
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