Cherry Grove (often referred to locally as the Grove) is a hamlet in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is located on Fire Island, a barrier island separated from the southern side of Long Island by the Great South Bay. The hamlet has approximately 300 houses on , a summer seasonal population of 2,000 and a year-round population of 15. The Perkinsons opened a hotel in 1880. According to local legend Oscar Wilde stayed at the Perkinson Hotel.

20th century

In 1921, the Perkinson family sold all the land east of Duryea Walk to Lone Hill, and then divided what was left into 109 building lots. A lot 50 × could be purchased for $250 or less, and ocean-front lots cost no more than a dollar a front foot. Buildings from the newly deactivated Camp Upton in Yaphank, were ported over to form the core of the new colony. A post office was established in 1922 at the site of where "Tides" (formerly "The Monster") is today; the first boardwalks were built in 1929. In 1930, Duffy's Hotel replaced the original hotel and was the only place with electricity and a phone.

The 1938 Long Island Express Hurricane destroyed much of Cherry Grove and discouraged mainlanders from coming. In their stead, the gay community that already frequented the island settled there moving from Ocean Beach, with figures such as Antoine de Paris and W. H. Auden leading the way.

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In the 1950s, Cherry Grove was already known as a "safe haven" one of three that included Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Key West, where they "could only fleetingly enjoy a carefree, 24-hour-a-day queer life by running off to a handful of destinations comfortably removed from a homophobic America." Only 60 miles from New York City, it was isolated because of its location off Long Island that required access by a ferry or, at the time, seaplane.

Truman Capote stayed at the Carrington House, just east of Cherry Grove, where in 1957, he completed his groundbreaking novella, Breakfast at Tiffany's.

The hamlet's major hotel and lounge in the 1950s was Duffy's, which burned on September 27, 1956, and was replaced by the Ice Palace Hotel. John Eberhardt, a developer who died in 2014, was credited for building the Belvedere Hotel and many other properties in the hamlet, from 1956 to the 1970s.

In early May 1959, James Baldwin visited Cherry Grove, staying in the Grove Hotel, where he wrote part of his intersectional

Novel, Another Country.

In 2013, the Cherry Grove Community House and Theatre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, one of only a few sites so far listed for their role in American LGBT history.

A "pop-up" urgent care center opened in 2014, which is part of Northwell Health; a golf cart for emergency medical services was also purchased for the Grove, for the new 24/7 paramedic services. Local residents "raised about $90,000 from donors to hire locally based paramedics, which have responded to more than 30 calls since May as of mid-August and will remain staffed through the end of September, when bustling crowds thin out at the beach." The fire "engulfed" the surrounding properties, but the fire departments were able to put out the blaze, in this, "one of the most popular LGBTQ destinations." According to its social media accounts, the Ice Palace, a famous nightclub, "had negligible damage", but was not destroyed along with the hotel. The hotel has since been rebuilt.

Neighborhoods

thumb|Map including the names of the two major walks (Bayview and Lewis), which are generally parallel to the beach, and 16 minor walks (Ivy, Sumner, Maryland, Aeon, Gerard, Greene, Duryea, Doctors, Main, Ocean, Holly, Surf, Beach, Sea, East, and West), which are generally perpendicular to the beach. (South Walk is between Surf and Beach.)

The entire community has a single seasonal post office, on Bayview Walk near the main dock, open from about May 1 to October 12, which is a popular place to congregate. Full services, such as money orders, are available at the Sayville, New York, post office, reachable from the ferry. The ZIP Code is 11782.

Despite the small size of the hamlet, at about 41 acres, the community is further divided into three or four neighborhoods, from west to east:

  • The quiet, residential West End, also called Cherry Grove Estates, where the few year-round residents live in about 100 houses marked by stone chimneys, runs across the island from West Walk to Holly Walk. This was formerly the home of artist Paul Cadmus. Originally, the area between East and West Walks was called Cherry Grove Estates.
  • The central business district, or Town, from Holly Walk to Doctor's Walk, and the beach to the bay, includes the Fire House, Community Center/Arts Project, The Ice Palace Resort, a clinic, and the public ferry dock, as well as a few cooperatives, bars, grocery store, gift shops, realtors, and restaurants. It is more densely settled than the rest of the hamlet. Several major structures in the center were "destroyed" by a large fire in March 2015, including the Grove Hotel (since rebuilt) and Holly House.

Outdoor activities

The main outdoor attraction is the beach and the surrounding protected portions of the Fire Island National Seashore. Clothing-optional sunbathing is common at the beach. The hamlet's easternmost dunes have been nicknamed the "Meat Rack". The legal name of that area is the Carrington Tract, where Truman Capote famously completed Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Sayville Ferry

Cherry Grove can be accessed via the Sayville Ferry Service departing from Sayville, New York, across the Great South Bay.

The Long Island Rail Road connects Sayville to New York City. Passengers connecting between the Sayville station and the Sayville Ferry service can pay for a shuttle van or taxi ride, or may walk or ride their bicycle the mile and a half distance. People driving cars may park in large, gravel parking lots across the street from the ferry dock.

Fire Island Water Taxi

Visitors arriving by car may park at the Robert Moses State Park "Field Five" parking lot. After reaching the Fire Island Lighthouse, the Fire Island Water Taxi will ferry paying customers to the Grove. A water taxi provides short-distance transportation for those moving from place to place along the coast of Fire Island. The fare and schedule for the taxi service varies by season.

Emergency services

Fire department

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The Cherry Grove Fire Department (CGFD) is an all-volunteer department and the Suffolk County Police Department's marine bureau officers, to mitigate medical emergencies and patient transport. CGFD receives assistance from both neighboring Fire Island fire departments as well as mainland departments via ferry or fire boat (such as Sayville Fire Department) in case of large fires, as happened in March 2015 when a fire destroyed several commercial properties in the business district.