I'm out east on long Island too. I have a number of flights in my signature link around the area. This time of year has the most beautiful scenery but unfortunately it gets tricky on long Island. In Suffolk County all public beaches have a no drone policy for the summer. There's a number of airports to be mindful about. There's often helicopters overhead at any given time. Parks are starting to crack down on flying. Nassau County is getting more and more pissy about drones. I love this time of year here and I hate it as well. More people, more problems.
What does save it some is the fact that we have shores on both sides of the island and there are tons of areas that aren't public beaches. Google map is your best friend. Spend some time finding parking lots and marinas by the shores. Choose your days wisely too. Weekends are terrible in the summer. Week days early in the day or towards nightfall are way less cluttered with the general public. Look for local lakes too but again, it's tough to avoid the public at the lakes in the summer. The problem with our beautiful shores and boats is that for all the beautiful film they offer, after a couple of flights it all looks the same. I like to be diversified in my videos. Water and boats is water and boats, lol. Redundant after a couple of flights.
You're best to find a local spot that you can fly just to fly and then keep it to yourself. When too many people find out about it then it becomes a problem and you get harassed by security or whatnot. As for the spots for choice films, there are many but keep in mind what I mentioned above. If you're dying to film a property, seek out permission before you fly over and around a mansion, for example. You'd be surprised how positive most people are, even law enforcement. Register your drone with the faa and put it on a lanyard and wear it around your neck when flying. It's fast proof for anyone who calls you out on it, including law enforcement and security. People can't tell you who the secretary of state is but by golly, they know all about the drone registration mandate.
Avoid the public as much as you can, which is tough here. That's why I love winter. People hibernate and flying is a wonderfully lonely existence. But, trees are dead and as beautiful as snow is, that gets old too. In late winter I refuse to even film another dead tree and stop altogether until green returns. Anyway, I hope this helps some. Hit me up with a pm and maybe we can fly sometime in the middle island area.