Atwater v. United States

The plaintiffs sue to recover just compensation for an alleged taking, under the power of eminent domain, of a tract of land lying between the Atlantic Ocean, to the south, and Moriches Bay, to the north, off the southern shore of Long Island, State of New York.

This tract is located on Great South Beach, otherwise known as Fire Island. Its area is approximately 38 acres with a frontage of 1,900 feet on the Atlantic Ocean, approximately the same on Moriches Bay, and an average depth between ocean and bay of 750 feet.

Great South Beach, together with Westhampton Beach, which are separated by…