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Oak Beach is a small community and census-designated place located near the eastern end of Jones Beach Island, a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great South Bay of Long Island. [1] The community is part of the village of Babylon in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The eastern part, the Oak Island Beach Association, is gated, whereas the western part is not. The Oak Beach CDP was first listed prior to the 2020 census. [2] Prior to that the community was part of the Oak Beach–Captree census-designated place.
Oak Beach has been inhabited since at least the first decade of the twentieth century, when a U.S. Coast Guard lifesaving station was located there, although it could not be reached overland at that time. Prior to that, marsh bird hunters had kept shacks in the area. Ferry access from Babylon enabled cottages to be built and made more accessible by car after construction of Ocean Parkway; it was largely a summer community until the completion of the Robert Moses Causeway in 1951, which allowed much faster travel from the main part of Long Island. It has gradually evolved since then to become a location where most residents live year-round. [3]
Oak Beach is in southwestern Suffolk County, in the southeast part of the village of Babylon. The census-designated place includes the community of Oak Beach on Jones Beach Island, as well as the community of Oak Island, directly to the north. The CDP is bordered to the east by Captree State Park and to the west by Gilgo State Park. To the south is the west end of Fire Island.
The land is not owned by the residents but is on long-term lease from the Village of Babylon. In the early 1990s, New York State litigated against extension of the lease. After much negotiation, including detailed environmental impact statements, the lease was renewed (currently through 2050), although with a ramp up in costs. In 2012, the Village of Babylon agreed to extend the current leases through 2065.[ citation needed ]
On May 1, 2010, Shannan Gilbert disappeared after fleeing a client's house in the Oak Beach Association. In December 2010, while searching for Gilbert, the police found 10 dead bodies along the adjacent highway, some bodies in December 2010, others in April 2011. Consequently, the community attracted much public attention.
In December 2011, the body of the original missing sex worker Shannan Gilbert was found in the marsh east of the community. On November 29, 2011, the police announced their belief that one person is responsible for all 10 deaths (whom the press refers to at various times as: "the Long Island serial killer", "LISK", "the Gilgo Beach Killer", or "the Craigslist Ripper"), and that they did not believe the case of Gilbert, who went missing before the first set of bodies was found, was related. [4] "It is clear that the area in and around Gilgo Beach has been used to discard human remains for some period of time," said Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota. [5]
On December 10, 2015, Suffolk County Police announced that the FBI had officially joined the investigation. A spokesperson for the FBI confirmed the announcement. The FBI had previously assisted in the search for victims, but was never officially part of the investigation until this announcement. [6] The investigation is ongoing.
Suffolk County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It comprises the eastern two-thirds of Long Island, bordered to its west by Nassau County, to its east by Gardiners Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, to its north by Long Island Sound, and to its south by Great South Bay.
Gilgo-Oak Beach-Captree, frequently just called Oak Beach, was a census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York within the Town of Babylon. The population was 333 at the 2000 census.
The Town of Babylon is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Its population was 218,223 as of the 2020 census. Parts of Jones Beach Island, Captree Island and Fire Island are in the southernmost part of the town. It borders Nassau County to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. At its westernmost point, it is about 20 miles (32 km) from New York City at the Queens border, and about 30 miles (48 km) from Manhattan. The village of Babylon is also within the town.
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.
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.
The Oak Beach Inn, commonly referred to by the abbreviation OBI, was a Long Island nightclub located in Oak Beach, on Jones Beach Island near Captree State Park in the Town of Babylon, Suffolk County, New York.
The Ocean Parkway is a 15.59-mile (25.09 km) parkway that traverses Jones Beach Island between Jones Beach State Park and Captree State Park on Long Island, New York, in the United States. It begins at the southern terminus of the Meadowbrook State Parkway and heads east across Jones Beach Island, intersecting the south end of the Wantagh State Parkway before ending just past the southern terminus of the Robert Moses Causeway. The highway is designated New York State Route 909D (NY 909D), an unsigned reference route.
The South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York, is the area along Long Island's Atlantic Ocean shoreline.
New York's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives along the South Shore of Long Island, New York. It includes southwestern Suffolk County and a small portion of southeastern Nassau County. The district is currently represented by Republican Andrew Garbarino.
The Outer Barrier, also known as the Long Island and New York City barrier islands, refers to the string of barrier islands that divide the lagoons south of Long Island, New York from the Atlantic Ocean. These islands include Long Beach Barrier Island, Barnum Island, Jones Beach Island, Fire Island and Westhampton Island. The outer barrier extends 75 miles (121 km) along the South Shore of Long Island, from the Rockaway Peninsula in New York City to the east end of Shinnecock Bay in Suffolk County.
The Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) provides police services to 5 of the 10 Towns in Suffolk County, New York. It is one of the largest police agencies in the United States, with approximately 2500 sworn officers.
The State Boat Channel Bridge is a bascule bridge (drawbridge) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It crosses over the Long Island New York State Boat Channel connecting Captree Island and Jones Beach Island on Robert Moses Causeway in the Oak Beach–Captree area within the town of Babylon.
The Gilgo Beach serial killings were a series of killings between 1996 and 2011 in which the remains of up to two dozen people were found in Gilgo Beach, located on the South Shore of Long Island, New York, United States. Most of the known victims were sex workers who advertised on Craigslist. The perpetrator in the case is known as the Long Island Serial Killer (LISK).
Gilgo is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 185 at the 2020 census.
Oak Beach–Captree, frequently just called Oak Beach, was a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Babylon in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 286 at the 2010 census.
The Eastbound Strangler is an unidentified serial killer believed to be responsible for the murders of four women near Atlantic City, New Jersey in 2006. A $25,000 reward offered for information has gone unclaimed.
John Bittrolff is an American convicted murderer and former suspect in the Gilgo Beach serial killings case. In July 2014, he was charged with the murders of Rita Tangredi and Colleen McNamee. He is also a suspect in the murder of a third woman, Sandra Costilla. Bittrolff became a suspect in the unsolved murders after his brother, Timothy Bittrolff, was partially matched to DNA found on the bodies in 2013. Timothy Bittrolff submitted the sample after violating an unrelated order of protection, in 2013.
The Long Island Serial Killer is a 2013 American true crime horror film loosely based on the victims of the unidentified Long Island serial killer. He is believed to have murdered ten to seventeen women on Long Island between 1996 and 2010. The film is written by Joseph DiPietro and Michael Eimicke, and directed by DiPietro.
Mari Gilbert was an American activist and murder victim advocate.
Captree is a census-designated place (CDP) in the towns of Islip and Babylon in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It occupies Captree Island in Great South Bay, as well as the east end of Jones Beach Island to the south, comprising Captree State Park. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. Prior to that it was part of the Oak Beach–Captree CDP.