Dunewood’s Evolution: From Cookie Cutter Community to Singular Getaway
Voume 49, Issue 8
By David Crohn

And anyone who’s been to Dunewood can appreciate its unique character: with its bucolic appeal and just enough activity to keep you busy during the summer, it is both characteristic of Fire Island and unlike any of the other 17 communities island wide. That’s due in no small measure to its sui generis pedigree. Dunewood is the only planned community on the island, the result of Murray Barbash’s tenacious effort and percipient vision, without which the community might still be a refuse dump used by Fair Harbor to the east.

Don’t Call It Levittown
A glance at Dunewood’s DNA can be seen in a promotional brochure dating from the 1970s. Alongside copy trumpeting Dunewood as “ Fire Island ’s gem” is a diagram of the original house that could be purchased in this “club-like family colony.” It has a 24 by 15-square foot living room, two bedrooms that are ten feet by eight and ten by ten; and an adjoining bathroom and kitchen. A second model, exactly the same except for a modest guest wing, was also available. All were no more than 700 square feet. Barbash said he liked the house, which he first saw in a magazine in an ad from a company called Tech Built, because it was designed to last long and was easy to mass produce. Most of all, they could be “swiveled,” placed at right angles to each other to create a modicum of multiplicity. “It was Monopoly style,” said Don Goldman, Dunewood’s hometown real estate broker and unofficial local historian. As the years have gone by, it’s become a local pastime to spot that original structure within the variety of additions—decks, extra rooms and other additions–that have gone up to bring diversity and charm to the architecture of the neighborhood. “People like to call it Levittown , but I think it’s turned out pretty nice,” Barbash said, with the dry wit that is his hallmark. The original model was built in the spring of 1957 on the corner of West and Central. It sold for $11,990 in the early ‘60s. That was the beginning of the first phase, which saw about eight houses fill up Central Walk to the ocean. Finding funding for what seemed like a pretty out-there project at the time provided additional challenges to what was already slow going. His company garnered investments whenever possible— there were a lot of far-flung relatives in Queens and elsewhere who have since been bought out—and built almost entirely in the spring. And with very limited bridge access and the storms of 1962, “It was high adventure,” Barbash said. In 1968 another dozen, a little bigger and slightly more expensive, were built from Central to the bay. Meanwhile, Barbash and his brother-in-law, prominent lawyer Irving Like, became enmeshed in a battle against Robert Moses, who wanted to build a highway through Fire Island . With underwhelming support from Governor Nelson Rockefeller, the Fire Island Association won, and the Fire Island National Seashore was formed. Fearing a possible conflict of interest, Barbash waited and put up another crop of houses on the bay in 1980. Increased building code requirements and a new market upped the selling price: $200,000. “That’s when we first started to make a profit,” Barbash said, adding that at around the same time he decided to keep the area zoned for residential properties only. “I figured I’ll make a couple less bucks but I’ll have a great life here,” he said. And Barbash still enjoys summers in Dunewood at a bayfront house nicknamed the Doge’s Palace. His three children are also homeowners.

As Time Goes By
Dunewood has stayed true to its founder’s original vision—small, quiet, family oriented—and its 99 homes can only be bought or rented; no shares allowed. “[People in Dunewood] don’t want the noise of party housing,” Goldman said. And it has flowered. Young residents have kept the place fresh by taking it in new directions architecturally. As the sons and grandsons of the original families from the ‘50s, 60s and 80s continue to come to enjoy the beach and vintage-era tennis courts, the houses are growing with additions complete with bedrooms and bathrooms. One family, the Grosses, have made the most of the Dunewood mold by adding a high-ceilinged living area. Designed by Eric Schiller, whose handiwork can be seen all over town, the space is airy, sun-filled and very inviting. And then there’s the Forbes family, who in 2002 became the first family since 9/11 to become year-round residents. They formerly rented a summer home and lived in Battery Park. After the attacks Ray and Cynthia sought an escape from the emotional and financial ravages of downtown life; they’ve found one in Dunewood. “I just had the strongest sense that this was what we should do,” Cynthia Forbes said. They bought and winterized their summer home, enrolled their children in the Woodhull School and say it’s the best decision they’ve ever made. “I feel much more grounded here—like our life is in control.” The Forbeses are the latest to catch on to Dunewood’s appeal—but they’re not the last, and if current trends are any indicator of where the western end of Fire Island is headed, their timing was excellent. One of Barbash’s original projects, a 4,000 square foot home with four bedrooms and other recently added features, just hit the market at a record breaking asking price: $1.2 million. A long way from $11,990.