Long Beach (Stratford, Connecticut)

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Barrier peninsula in Stratford, CT

The west end of Long Beach adjacent to Pleasure Beach still has a number of cottages standing. The "residents" were forced out after the town did not renew their leases. The town cited safety concerns as their reason. The only way for emergency vehicles to access the area was an old bridge that connected the mainland of Bridgeport to Pleasure Beach. That bridge burned in 1996 and was never repaired or replaced.

On Thursday, March 6, 2008, three of the cottages burned to the ground and a fourth was demolished by a loader from Stratford Public Works to prevent the fire from spreading to the rest. The loader was the only vehicle that could make it to the cottages over the 1.5 miles of beach. The fire has been deemed arson and is under investigation.

The east end (narrow section) of Long Beach is Long Beach Park.
www.townofstratford.com/content/1302/402/625/1100/5066/...
www.lisrc.uconn.edu/coastalaccess/site.asp?siteid=335

Long Beach has been a hot topic in the local news due to the desire of the Mayor to sell the property to the US Fish & Wildlife Service. The Mayor of Bridgeport also wants to sell Pleasure Beach to the F&WS. Many residents have voiced concern that the Fish & Wildlife Service would severely limit access to the area if they purchased it. If the deal goes through, both Pleasure Beach and Long Beach would become part of the Stewart B. McKinney Wildlife Refuge. The marsh area north of Long Beach is already belongs to the F&WS.
www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=53546