Oak Beach, New York

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.

After much negotiation, including detailed environmental impact statements, the lease was renewed (currently through 2050), although with a ramp up in costs.

[citation needed] On May 1, 2010, Shannan Gilbert, an aspiring actress from Jersey City, N.J., who worked as an escort, disappeared after a job in Oak Beach’s gated 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.

[6] A crucial break in this case came in January 2023, and in July 2023 police arrested Rex Heuermann, a Manhattan architect—whose clients included Catholic Charities, American Airlines, and other tenants at John F. Kennedy, Jr. International Airport—who resided in Massapequa Park.