About KCA
Explore Kismet
Celebrating Our 100th Anniversary
Kismet is a small community on Fire Island located across the Great South Bay opposite mainland at Bay Shore, NY. Kismet is a Hamlet of the Town of Islip. It is Fire Island’s most westerly community bordering the Fire Island National Seashore Lighthouse Tract directly overlooking the famed Fire Island Lighthouse.
As Kismet celebrates its 100th Anniversary, this year, we recognize and honor our founder Fred K. Weis, who had a vision — to create a space, where neighbors weren’t just people who lived next to one another, but a community that lived for one another.
Since 1925, Kismet has been more than a place — it’s been a family. For a century, neighbors have come together to build something lasting: a community rooted in care, tradition, and resilience.
This milestone belongs to every person who has ever served, volunteered, supported, or simply called Kismet home. The legacy of this community- is built on the efforts of many — generations of people who have poured their heart and soul into making- Kismet a place that we are all proud of.
Let us not only honor our past and renew our commitment to the future, but let it remind us that what we do together — as neighbors, as friends, and as a community — truly matters.
Thanks to all of you — the heartbeat of Kismet — for keeping this community strong, vibrant, and united.
Here’s to the next hundred years.
Real Estate
Kismet is a charming, close-knit beach community home to approximately 260 private residences, consisting primarily of single-family homesalongside two multiple-dwelling structures. The heart of the community features a quaint bayfront commercial district, where residents and visitors alike can enjoy The Red Wagon, three diverse restaurants, Kismet Inn, Dive and Bar Aquatic, Kismet Coffee , KisMart , a boat marina, and the Kismet Fire House, all conveniently located near the ferry dock.
Originally developed in 1925 by the Kismet Park Corporation, led by Frederick Weis, the community began with two bay-to-ocean streets. Growth paused following the Hurricane of 1938 and World War II, but resumed in the 1950s and 1960s, adding three additional bay-to-ocean streets—bringing the total to five “walks.”
Kismet also offers recreational amenities, including a public park with a children’s play area and two public and one private tennis courts, making it an ideal setting for both year-round residents and seasonal visitors.
Size
Less than one square mile. Ocean beach: less than 1,200’.
Distance
About 47 miles by car from Manhattan to the ferry dock in Bay Shore, NY, and six miles across the water by ferry to Kismet.
General Administration
Kismet Community Association (KCA) Services Overview
The Kismet Community Association (KCA) funds and manages essential municipal-type services not provided by the Town of Islip. These services are financed through annual dues and supplemented by funds carried over from previous years.
Key Services Provided by KCA Include:
Community Cleanliness: Regular sidewalk and street cleaning, maintenance, and repairs.
Landscaping: Care and planting of public green spaces in key community areas.
Trash Removal: In support of Kismet’s Carry On–Carry Off policy, KCA contracts with service providers to keep the community litter-free.
Contracted Service Providers:
Sam Wood Inc.: Provides general community maintenance, including cleaning the walks, tennis courts, and playground, along with repairs to common areas as needed.
JMA Industries : Handles carting services, transporting collected debris and trash to mainland landfills.
RK Landscaping: Maintains plantings and landscaping in community common areas such as the flagpole, police hut, and tennis courts. (Note: Local businesses maintain their own landscaping.)
These services ensure Kismet remains a clean, welcoming, and well-maintained community.
Coordination
The Kismet Community Association (KCA) works closely with the Town of Islip Department of Parks and Recreation to oversee equipment, repairs, and services for the Town’s tennis courts and children’s playground in Kismet.
In addition, the KCA initiates and coordinates infrastructure improvements, such as the sidewalk construction completed in 2007.
The KCA also maintains regular communication with a range of government entities, including the Islip Town Board, Town Attorney, Town Engineer, Comptroller’s Office, and Assessor’s Office; the Suffolk County Legislature and Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau; as well as elected and appointed officials and staff at the New York State level.
Board Members
- Gary Leone, President
- Frank Boulton, 1st Vice President
- Tom Licari, 2nd Vice President
- Jane Mooney, Treasurer
- Wendy Schou, Secretary
directions
How To Get Here
David Brothers Car Service (631-665-1515) run vans to and from Manhattan. Call for details.
The drive takes about one hour and 20 minutes from Manhattan to the ferry dock. Take the Long Island Expressway East to Exit 53, then the Sagtikos State Parkway South to the Southern State Parkway East. Turn off at Exit 42 South and follow signs through Bay Shore to the ferry. The ferry dock has overnight parking, but it’s often full on weekends between Memorial and Labor Day.
It’s a 25-minute ferry ride from Bay Shore to Kismet and ferries run about every 90 minutes or longer.
Round-Trip Fares
• Adult: $25
• Child: $13 (Ages 2-11)
Fire Island Ferries
99 Maple Ave.
Bay Shore, New York 11706
Phone: 631-665-3600
www.fireislandferries.com
The FI Ferries also handle freight. Check their website or call for details.
How It Works
Keep Kismet Clean & Safe
These guidelines help keep our community beautiful.
Our worst problem is deer tearing bags open and knocking cans over.
- Put your garbage bags in garbage cans and seal the lids tightly.
- Put the cans in a secure rack.
- Put your weekend trash out Sunday night, NOT Monday morning.
Call the private trash carter who picks up your regular trash. You must call. He will not pick up large items unless you call.
Please carry-on carry-off your trash on the beach.
Nearly all of the KCA’s annual dues go to trash collection and clean up of public areas. In addition, the KCA has led the community’s effort to put in new sidewalks, tennis and basketball courts, playground equipment, the dockside police facility and protective sand dunes. Many of these services have been funded partially by KCA funds, highly leveraged through setting up special tax districts and obtaining matching municipal grants.
The vast majority of Kismet homeowners and businesses pay their dues. Pitch in and pay your fair share as well. It is an important part of keeping Kismet a clean and safe place to live and enhancing the value of your property.
Equip every floor of your house with a smoke alarm and dry chemical fire extinguisher. Replace all smoke alarm batteries at the start of the summer. Cut vegetation back at least five feet from the side of your house. Report fires immediately. Do not assume someone else has. Do not crowd the walks at the scene of a fire.
This is not “the country”. It is a busy residential community. The Town of Islip Dog Ordinance is in force in Kismet:
CHAPTER 12
All dogs must be on a leash and licensed at all times. Violators shall be liable up to $250 in penalties. Please respect your neighbors. Keep your dog out of private yards. Always clean up after your dog.
Riding the walks at night without a light is an unfortunate tradition that is dangerous to you and pedestrians. let’s start a new tradition of bike safety.
All bikes must be equipped with a bell or a horn.
At night, all bikes must be equipped with reflectors and a working headlight.
Bikes are often stolen at night by people leaving Kismet to head to other towns, and sometimes turn up abandoned around the island or in Robert Moses Field 5. You should secure your bikes at night and report all bike thefts to the police. To aid in getting bikes returned, please visit the Red Wagon and register your bike.
Passenger Ferry: You may carry 2 pieces of hand luggage, 25 lbs. total free of charge for each adult fare paid. You can also pay an extra fee to bring on cartons, grocery bags, shopping carts and luggage carriers subject to space and weight limitations.
Freight Ferry: All other items including large cartons, plants, furniture, all bicycles (even little ones), wagons, scooters and heavy baggage must be shipped on a freight boat, which leaves Bay Shore at 10AM Monday-Friday year ’round and on Saturdays during the spring and summer. No lumber is accepted on Saturdays. If you are having merchandise shipped to you, have it addressed to: YOUR NAME, Kismet, c/o Fire Island Ferries, 99 Maple Avenue, Bayshore, NY 11706. IMPORTANTLY call the ferry to let them know it is coming.