EXCLUSIVE · TOWN HALL · NORTH BABYLON

A company called WAO Industries LLC wants to open an adult-use cannabis dispensary at 1258 Deer Park Avenue in North Babylon, on the west side of the avenue, about 300 feet north of Woods Road. The Town of Babylon Zoning Board of Appeals will hear the application on Thursday, November 12, according to the board’s hearing notice, dated October 19.

What it asks for. The notice lists three requests. The first is to allow a retail recreational marijuana dispensary in a Business EA and Residence C zone, which the notice calls “a non-permitted use.” The second is to cut the required distance from a residential area from 750 feet to zero. The third is to cut the required distance from a place where minors congregate from 500 feet to 285 feet. The notice does not say what that place is. WAO Industries would be the tenant. The property owner is listed as Helm Development Corporation.

Why it stands out. Babylon is one of the few Long Island towns that opted in to recreational cannabis sales, as the New York State Bar Association reported in 2024. The Town writes its dispensary location rules into its industrial-district code. Since Local Law 4 of 2024, the lot line of a dispensary may not be within 750 feet of a residential area.

The dispensary cases the Zoning Board has heard this year asked to shrink that buffer, not erase it. In January, an applicant for a site on Grand Boulevard in Deer Park asked to go from 750 feet to 460. In March, the same company asked for 420 feet on Broad Hollow Road in East Farmingdale. Both sites are zoned Industry G, and both asked for a special exception permit. The North Babylon application is different on both counts. It is outside an industrial zone, so the use itself needs the Board’s permission, and it asks for no buffer at all.

What we don’t know yet. The notice gives no store name, size or hours, and says nothing about a state license. We found no other reporting on the plan.

How to be heard. The Board meets at 6 p.m. in the Town Board Room, East Wing, Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst. This application is sixth of seven, at the 6:25 p.m. slot, and cases are heard in the order advertised. It is a public hearing, so neighbors may come and speak for or against it.

Sources: Town of Babylon Zoning Board of Appeals, Notice of Public Hearing, November 12, 2026 · Town of Babylon, Local Law No. 4 of 2024 · ZBA notice, January 29, 2026 · ZBA notice, March 19, 2026 · NYSBA, “Commercial Cannabis Sales Bring Big Bucks to a Long Island Town,” Jan. 18, 2024

Photo: RDNE Stock project / Pexels. Stock photo.

EXCLUSIVE · TOWN HALL NOTEBOOK · OCTOBER 28 TO NOVEMBER 5

We read every Town board’s posted list. Here is the calendar through next Thursday, and what is booked behind it.

Tonight, Wednesday: maybe the Rental Review Board. The Town’s online calendar lists a meeting at 6 p.m., but no hearing notice or agenda has been posted for it. The board’s next posted hearing is November 18.

Thursday, October 29: Zoning Board of Appeals, 6 p.m. Five applications, which we previewed last week.

Tuesday, November 3: Town offices are closed for Election Day.

Thursday, November 5: the Town Board, 3 p.m. The big items are the 2027 preliminary budget and a local law to pierce the state tax cap, which we wrote about on October 15. The same afternoon carries smaller hearings that touch specific blocks:

Stop signs would go up for east- and westbound traffic on Walnut Road at Center Street, North Amityville. On Peacock Lane, North Babylon, a 90-foot school-day no-parking stretch east of Pacific Street would shrink from 7 a.m.–4 p.m. to 8 a.m.–2 p.m. On Herzel Boulevard, West Babylon, the school-day no-parking rule on the north side between 11th and 12th Streets would be deleted.

On Grand Boulevard, Deer Park, there would be no parking on Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. for 375 feet east of the Deer Park Islamic Center. No standing at any time would be added for 35 feet on Irving Avenue at Leo Lane, Deer Park, and on both sides of Audley Court at South Strong Avenue, Copiague. And 100 feet of North Oak Street, Copiague, north of Bethpage Road, would get weekday no parking, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

One more hearing would lift covenants and restrictions on a Michael Drive Associates property on Bi-County Boulevard, Farmingdale. All of it is at Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, where the board’s regular meeting is set for the same 3 p.m. start. Its agenda is not posted yet.

Catching up. The October 21 Town Board agenda scheduled a November 18 hearing to rezone land on Route 110, North Amityville, for an automated car wash by Splash Holdings LI (4,260 square feet in the resolution, 4,620 on the Planning Board’s list). It also carried a one-year lease of three offices at the Town’s Beacon Wellness Center II in Amityville to the Gino Macchio Foundation for recovery services, and the honorary renaming of Oswego Place, West Babylon, for civil-rights and civic leader John Henry Simpkins Jr. Monday’s Planning Board agenda carried a bar-restaurant permit for The Pour House on Sunrise Highway, West Babylon.

Already booked. Accessory Apartment Review Board, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 6 p.m.: five new applications. Zoning Board, Thursday, Nov. 12, 6 p.m.: seven cases, including Stericycle’s renewal for a medical-waste transfer station on Sherwood Avenue, East Farmingdale, and a proposed cannabis dispensary on Deer Park Avenue, North Babylon. Rental Review Board, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 6 p.m.: three new, four renewals.

Sources: Town Board agenda, Oct. 21 · Town of Babylon Public Notices (Nov. 5 hearings) · Planning Board agenda, Oct. 26 · ZBA, Oct. 29 · Accessory Apartment Review Board, Nov. 10 · ZBA, Nov. 12 · Rental Review Board, Nov. 18 · Town of Babylon Agenda Center

Photo: Adolfo Félix / Unsplash. Stock photo.

PINK OCTOBER · THANK YOU

On Monday, the Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition took its 1st Annual Golf Classic to Bellport Golf Club on South Country Road. The plan was a full day, rain or shine: breakfast, golf, lunch and a dinner reception, with the field capped at 120 golfers.

Before the scores, the prizes or the final tally, we want to say thank you.

To the coalition’s volunteers. The BBCC began with three friends at a kitchen table in Babylon Village, and it still runs on volunteers. A first-year golf outing is a heavy lift: the sign-ups, the tee signs, the raffle baskets, the seating chart for dinner. Somebody did all of it on top of the coalition’s regular work.

To the sponsors. Every business that bought a sponsorship, a tee sign or a pin flag, or donated a raffle basket, put its name behind its neighbors. We will name them when the coalition publishes its list.

To the golfers and the dinner guests. You paid to play on a Monday in late October, for people you will probably never meet.

Here is where the money goes. The coalition’s brochure promised that all money collected goes directly to breast and gynecological cancer patients in our area. Most of it feeds the coalition’s Lend a Helping Hand program, founded in 1996, which the BBCC calls “where our heart lies.” It pays for rides to and from chemotherapy, radiation and doctor’s appointments for Town of Babylon residents in active treatment. The program is funded by sponsorships, grants, donations and fundraisers like this one.

We do not have the results yet: not the amount raised, not the winners, and not whether anyone took the $10,000 hole-in-one challenge. When the coalition posts them, we will run them. Last week’s preview has the event as it was announced.

October ends Saturday. The need doesn’t. Here is how to keep helping:

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with breast or gynecological cancer and lives in the Town of Babylon, the coalition can help with rides to medical appointments, prepared food, house cleaning, financial assistance and more. Call 631-893-4110. The office is at 218 N. Wellwood Avenue in Lindenhurst.

Vote, every day, through December 15. The BBCC is nominated for FourLeaf Best of Long Island 2027 as Best Charity and Best Nonprofit. You can vote once per category, per day. Vote here.

Buy the merch. The coalition sells its merchandise through the office at the same number, and 100 percent of the proceeds benefit the BBCC.

Source: Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition, home page · the coalition’s 2026 Golf Classic brochure · I Love Babylon, “Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition 1st Annual Golf Classic”

Photo: Miguel Á. Padriñán / Pexels. Stock photo.

HOMETOWN SPORTS

On Thursday, two Town of Babylon boys soccer teams play for a spot in a Suffolk County final. One of them had not been to the playoffs in almost ten years.

Boys soccer · Lindenhurst. Seeded fifth in Suffolk Class AAA, Lindenhurst beat fourth-seeded Sachem East 4–1 in Monday’s quarterfinal. Senior captain Gail Roquez Guerrero scored twice, according to Newsday, as summarized by Patch. The Bulldogs are 11–6 after a rough start, with an attack that also leans on the Lombardo twins and Anthony Rodriguez. Next: at top-seeded Brentwood, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2:30 PM, according to the Section XI bracket.

Boys soccer · West Babylon. Section XI marked the Eagles’ return to the postseason on Oct. 20, their first playoff berth in nearly a decade. Seeded fourth in Class AA, West Babylon hosted East Islip on Monday and advanced, the bracket shows. Next: at top-seeded Huntington, Thursday, Oct. 29, 6 PM. Both county finals are Sunday, Nov. 1, at Patchogue-Medford High School.

Also in boys soccer: Amityville, the No. 2 seed in Class A, beat Mount Sinai on Saturday and hosted East Hampton in Tuesday’s semifinal. Babylon, seeded third in Class B, played at Mattituck on Tuesday. Both Class A and B finals are Friday, Oct. 30, at Harborfields High School. North Babylon (at Sachem North) and Deer Park (at Hauppauge) were eliminated in Friday’s first round.

Football · Lindenhurst 45, North Babylon 40. The Town’s game of the weekend came Saturday in Lindenhurst, where the Bulldogs won their third straight to reach 3–4. North Babylon is 4–3, according to MaxPreps.

Elsewhere on Friday, Copiague won 38–7 at Deer Park to go to 4–3, and Babylon won 30–6 at Harborfields (3–4). West Babylon lost 27–14 at Islip, and on Saturday Wyandanch fell 7–0 to Center Moriches. The regular season ends this weekend; the county playoffs begin Nov. 6 and 7, and seeds are not yet set.

Girls soccer. North Babylon’s season ended Friday at Ward Melville in the AAA first round. The bracket lists Babylon as Suffolk’s Class B qualifier.

Volleyball. Lindenhurst, seeded eighth in Class AAA, opened the playoffs Tuesday at top-seeded Bay Shore. West Babylon’s season ended Oct. 21 at Northport.

Cross country. The Section XI division championships were set for Tuesday at Sunken Meadow State Park (rain date Wednesday). The Section XI Championships follow there on Thursday, Nov. 5.

Sources: Patch AM, Lindenhurst, Oct. 27, 2026 (summarizing Newsday) · Section XI, “West Babylon Boys Soccer Clinches Playoff Spot,” Oct. 20, 2026 · Section XI boys soccer bracket · girls soccer bracket · girls volleyball bracket · Section XI fall championship information · MaxPreps football results

Photo: Abigail Keenan / Unsplash. Stock photo.

MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR · TOWN OF BABYLON

Before the first speaker took the stage at Babylon Town Hall, Maleek Solomon walked up to the woman running the evening and asked her a question: “Would you like to wear a cape?”

Maleek is president of the newly formed Rising Tide Amityville Youth Coalition. This year’s Red Ribbon theme was “Be a Superhero, Stay Drug Free!” The woman he asked was Lori-Ann Novello, executive director of the Lindenhurst Community Cares Coalition, better known as Lindy Cares. In a post she wrote for Patch after the Red Ribbon Town Hall, which the Town’s flyer set for Friday, October 23, she said the moment told her he saw her as one of the trusted adults in his life. That was the evening’s success, she wrote, before the program had even begun.

The program belonged to the students. Youth leaders Abigail Brown, Autumn Constance and Maleek Solomon planned it and emceed it. Amityville student Naomi Chavez Duran sang the National Anthem. Rose Bolane performed a spoken poem she wrote. The Amityville High School Step Team performed, and the Music Honor Society played “Bésame Mucho,” conducted by teacher Bianca Ferante, as a tribute for Hispanic Heritage Month. Amityville High’s Broadcasting Club made a video for the night. Vanessa Probst, president of the Lindy Youth Coalition, handed out red ribbon pins.

Not everyone wants a microphone, Novello wrote, and everyone has something to give. Ahead of Red Ribbon Week, more than 500 red bows went out to schools across the Town’s communities. They went up along roadways, in public spaces and all through Town Hall. A bow on a fence, in her words, says that young people deserve “a healthy, safe future.”

The night brought together the Town’s prevention coalitions: Babylon Cares and Lindy Cares, the Deer Park Drug Prevention Coalition, Copiague Community Cares, Concerned Citizens of Wyandanch and the new Amityville group. Officers from the Suffolk police First Precinct came, along with elected officials from the Town, the county and the state, and village mayors and trustees. Boy Scout Troop 1421 presented the colors, and The Little Flower Shop of Lindenhurst sponsored the event.

Red Ribbon Week began as a tribute to DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who was killed in 1985. The line from Novello’s post worth keeping: young people don’t need adults to give them a voice, she wrote. They “need adults willing to listen.”

Students who want in can join the Babylon Cares Youth Coalition, a youth-led group with weekly meetings, where members can earn community service hours. Last week we previewed the town hall. This week we wanted you to meet the students who ran it.

Sources: Patch, Lori-Ann Novello, “A Cape, a Community, and 500 Red Bows,” October 24, 2026 · Babylon Cares, “What We Do” · Town of Babylon, Red Ribbon Town Hall flyer

Photo: Zulfugar Karimov / Unsplash. Stock photo.

BABYLON EATS

Long Island Restaurant Week turns 20 this year, and it starts Sunday. From Sunday, Nov. 1, through Sunday, Nov. 8, participating restaurants serve fixed-price menus at four price points: a $25 two-course lunch, and three-course dinners at $30, $40 and $48. On Saturdays a restaurant can stop serving the deal at 7 p.m.

As of Tuesday, four kitchens in the Town of Babylon were on the Suffolk list.

Post Office Café, Babylon Village. 130 W. Main St. The café says it has been a Long Island favorite for more than 40 years, and it is known for burgers and cocktails. It is doing both the $25 lunch and the $40 dinner.

The James, Babylon Village. 21 Fire Island Ave., in the old Babylon Carriage House building. Its $48 menu is posted. Start with Caesar salad, calamari, a wedge or bacon and burrata. Mains include crispy salmon, a stone-pressed half chicken, the James Burger on a dry-aged patty, and paccheri with dry-aged beef ragu. Dessert is key lime pie, New York cheesecake or gelato. Some dishes cost extra: crab cake or octopus is $8 more, lobster tagliatelle $15 more, and the filet mignon or the New York strip $25 more. On Saturday, Nov. 7, you must be seated by 6 p.m.

Cebollines Grill, Lindenhurst. 170 E. Montauk Hwy. Mexican, at the $40 dinner price. Its menu is posted on the Restaurant Week site.

Popei’s Clam Bar, Deer Park. Seafood, at the $40 dinner price. Call (631) 254-3561 for details.

The rules keep it honest. Every dinner menu has to offer at least three choices for each course, and the deal runs during each restaurant’s regular lunch or dinner hours. Organizers say the list will keep growing until the Sunday kickoff, so check before you book.

There is also a giveaway for the anniversary. Twenty winners will each get a $100 gift card to a participating restaurant of their choice. Entries opened Monday, Oct. 26, and close Monday, Nov. 9, at 11:59 p.m., at the Restaurant Week site. Over 20 years, organizers say, the promotion has given more than $40,000 to Long Island food banks and charities.

Sources: Greater Long Island, “Long Island Restaurant Week returns for fall 2026, celebrating 20 years,” Oct. 14, 2026 · Long Island Restaurant Week, Suffolk restaurants · The James, Restaurant Week menu · Post Office Café · The James Babylon · Cebollines

Photo: Post Office Café.

OPEN / CLOSED · TOWN OF BABYLON

Two changes this week: a door that is now open on Wellwood Avenue, and a long-dark corner of Deer Park Avenue with a plan in front of the Town.

OPEN · East Coast Buds, West Babylon. If you drive Wellwood Avenue north of the Southern State Parkway, you may have watched work go on at an old building there for months. It is now East Coast Buds, a cannabis dispensary at 1228 Wellwood Ave., according to a community post on Patch on October 21. The post describes a freshly paved lot, garden beds of mums, an awning, and security checking ID at the door. Hours, per the post: Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The store is on the state Office of Cannabis Management’s list of dispensary locations. So is a second one on the same stretch, The HighLife NY at 1300 Wellwood Ave., though we have not confirmed that it is open.

PROPOSED · a cafe at Deer Park and Long Island avenues, Deer Park. The northeast corner of Deer Park Avenue and Long Island Avenue holds a former restaurant and catering hall and a former pub. At the Planning Board on October 5, the applicant’s engineer said the buildings had been vacant “for quite some time.” The plan is to turn the catering hall into a 2,648-square-foot Metro Physical Therapy office, open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays. The old pub would become a 924-square-foot coffee shop with 16 table seats and four stools at the counter. The plan also brings new landscaping, a rebuilt sidewalk and curb on Long Island Avenue, and a repaved rear access lane shared with the other businesses on the block.

Two things stand between that plan and a latte. The owner is “in talks” but has no signed tenant for the cafe, the team told the board. And the site has 24 parking spaces where the code calls for 38, so it needs a 14-space variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The board closed the hearing and reserved its decision, and the matter was still listed as reserved on the October 26 agenda.

Opening, closing or moving a business in the Town of Babylon? Tell us, and we will check it and list it here.

Sources: Patch, “Long awaited recreational cannabis dispensary, now open,” Oct. 21, 2026 · NYS Office of Cannabis Management, Dispensary Location Verification · Town of Babylon Planning Board, minutes, Oct. 5, 2026 · Planning Board agenda, Oct. 26, 2026

Photo: Tim Mossholder / Pexels. Stock photo.

DO SOMETHING THIS WEEK

One date, one standing drop-off, one for teens who need service hours, and a few November dates to write down now.

1. Tuesday, November 3, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — give blood at Babylon Public Library. The New York Blood Center bus parks in front of the library at 24 S. Carll Ave., Babylon Village. The library says donors must be 17 or older (76 and over needs a note from a doctor), in general good health, and must bring a photo ID or donor ID card. Appointments are recommended, not required. Book a slot on the Blood Center’s schedule; it is the only Blood Center drive we found in the Town this week. It is also Election Day, and the library’s calendar has the Board of Elections booked into its Large Community Room from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. If that is where you vote, you can do both in one trip; the state voter lookup tells you your poll site. Library listing.

2. Any weekday — stock the Town’s food pantry before Thanksgiving. The Town’s Pastor Roy S. Kirton Food Pantry, now at 48 Cedar Road, Amityville, runs on donations only. The Town takes non-perishable food, canvas shopping bags, small toiletries and grocery-store gift cards at three spots: the Department of Human Services, 281 Phelps Lane, North Babylon; the Town Council Office at Town Hall, 200 E. Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst; and Old Town Hall, 47 W. Main St., Suite 2, Babylon Village. The wish list runs from pasta and canned tuna to cereal and diapers; low-sodium and low-sugar items are especially welcome. Each year Councilman DuWayne Gregory and Human Services also run the Town’s Thanksgiving Food Drive, which gives holiday groceries and supermarket gift cards to families who use the pantry. Families who need help this Thanksgiving can call Human Services at 631-464-4340; the Town says calls are confidential. Food pantry · Holiday programs.

3. Monday, November 2 — teen volunteer kits in West Babylon. West Babylon Public Library, 211 Route 109, hands out take-home community-service kits for grades 6 to 12 on Mondays through November. Registration is through a staff member, so call 631-669-5445 or ask at the desk. Library listing.

Put these on the fridge. Saturday, November 7, 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.: Copiague library’s annual Repair Café, where volunteers try to fix lamps, radios, small appliances and clothing instead of letting them go to the curb; call 631-691-1111 to register. Monday, November 9, 6:30 p.m.: teens in grades 6 to 12 bag donated Halloween candy for youth shelters at West Babylon library, for an hour of community service. From November 16: North Babylon library’s Winter Giving Tree takes new hats, gloves, scarves, socks, sweaters and fleece tops through December 11.

Sources: Babylon Public Library, “NYBC Mobile Blood Drive” · New York Blood Center, Babylon Public Library drive schedule · Babylon Public Library, “Board of Elections – General Election” · Town of Babylon, Food Pantry · Town of Babylon, Holiday Assistance Programs · West Babylon Public Library, Teen Volunteer Kits · I Love Babylon calendar

Photo: FRANK MERIÑO / Pexels. Stock photo.

FEATURED BUSINESS · AMITYVILLE

Some of the best-known businesses in a town are the ones you never see working. They show up after the lights go off.

The Amityville Chamber of Commerce named Imperial Cleaning its September 2026 Business of the Month. The chamber notes that the company is headquartered right in Amityville and has done commercial and residential cleaning for more than 30 years. It is still the chamber’s most recent honoree; no October pick has been posted.

The company’s own history is a good small-business story. More than 30 years ago, David Feldman and Jeffrey Krinick were fresh out of college and promised each other they would start their own business. They picked cleaning because it took very little money up front. They called prospects during the day and did all the cleaning at night, and the business grew one customer at a time. Feldman is now the president and Krinick the CEO.

Today the company says it works for customers in 38 states, and the industries it lists include luxury retail, medical facilities, schools, office buildings and banks. On Long Island it also cleans homes and does power washing. Its headquarters is at 151 Dixon Avenue, Amityville, and the number is 1-877-WE-CLEAN (1-877-932-5326).

Its biggest public job came early in the pandemic. According to the company’s case study, Imperial was awarded contracts to clean and disinfect MTA and New York City Transit buildings, so that subway operations could keep running around the clock.

Closer to home, the company’s community page lists a seat on the board of Young Entrepreneurs in the Copiague School District. It says it has backed Friends of Karen, which helps families of children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses, since 2012, raising more than $130,000. In 2020 it helped Island Harvest donate more than 10,000 pounds of food and 200 turkeys for Thanksgiving. It also lists Cleaning for a Reason, a nonprofit that provides free house cleaning for cancer patients.

A cleaning company doesn’t get a ribbon cutting every year. A chamber that notices one anyway is doing its job.

Is your chamber naming a business of the month? Send it to us and we will feature it here.

Sources: Amityville Chamber of Commerce, “Imperial Cleaning Member of The Month for September,” Sept. 16, 2026 · Imperial Cleaning

Photo: Christian R / Unsplash. Stock photo.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Next Tuesday is Election Day. The Town of Babylon itself began with a vote, and its very first election was close enough to make any candidate nervous.

Before 1872, this was “Huntington South,” the southern part of the Town of Huntington. Residents found it a burden to travel to the north side for Town Board meetings and services, and a road project in the Village of Huntington, whose costs were charged to every property in the town, made it worse. The South Side Signal, a Babylon Village paper edited by Henry Livingston, first printed the idea of splitting the town on February 12, 1870, according to the Town’s history.

On January 27, 1872, the voters of Huntington decided. By more than 2 to 1, they chose to divide the town in two. Within a week a commission drew the new line “one mile north of the Long Island Rail Road,” and the State Legislature approved the Town of Babylon on March 13, 1872.

The first election came on April 2, 1872, the Town says. Two coalition tickets ran, one nominated at a meeting in Amityville and headed by John Robbins, the other nominated in Babylon and led by Elbert Carll. Carll won, 364 to 349. Fifteen votes made him the first Supervisor of the Town of Babylon.

The new board met that same day at the American House hotel, on the northwest corner of Deer Park Avenue and West Main Street in Babylon Village. It passed five resolutions. The first set aside $1,500 to support the Town’s poor; another gave $200 to roads and bridges.

For 46 years, the Town had no Town Hall. The board met in hotels and sometimes in members’ homes. In 1917 the taxpayers voted 667 to 462 on Proposition 18 to build one, on land at West Main Street and Cottage Place donated by the family of David S.S. Sammis. The cornerstone went in on March 13, 1918, the Town’s 46th birthday. That fall, the Babylon Leader of November 1, 1918, ran the headline “Town in New Headquarters—First Meeting Held Wednesday,” according to the Town Historian.

The building served for 40 years, until the current Town Hall on Sunrise Highway opened in 1958. After that it was a district court, then a photography studio. The Town regained ownership in 2004.

Today Old Town Hall, at 47 W. Main St., is the Town of Babylon History Museum, with the old police jail cells and the old courtroom. Tours run Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; call (631) 587-3750.

Need to know where to vote? Start with our early voting guide. Small numbers matter: in 1872, fifteen votes picked a supervisor.

Sources: Town of Babylon, “Town History” · Town of Babylon, “Town 150th Anniversary, 2022” · Thomas B. Smith, “A Brief History of Old Town Hall,” 2013 · Town of Babylon, “Old Town Hall”

Photo: Town of Babylon.

SCHOOLS · DEER PARK

Deer Park’s school pool is due for a rebuild, and the state is paying a big share of it.

The Deer Park School District is receiving $3 million in state funding to rebuild its swimming pool, Long Island Life & Politics reported on Oct. 24. Governor Kathy Hochul announced the award on Oct. 17 at an event at the Hempstead Fire Department.

The district told families the news at its homecoming celebration, where, the report says, it was met with excitement.

The new money builds on $850,000 that State Senator Monica Martinez had already secured to help bring the pool back into operation. Assemblyman Keith Brown, who announced the award, credited months of work by district leaders and state and local officials. He named Board of Education President Donna Marie Elliott, Superintendent Jim Cummings and the district’s leadership team for pushing the project forward.

What would a rebuilt pool mean day to day? According to the report, it would give students a place for competitive swimming, water safety instruction and recreation, along with employment training for young adults. The facility is also expected to serve families and neighboring communities, not only Deer Park students.

Some things are still unknown: the total cost of the work, how long it will take, and when the first swimmers could be back in the water. The announcement did not say, and the district has not yet posted a timeline.

Source: Long Island Life & Politics, “School District Gets $3M to Rebuild Swimming Pool,” Oct. 24, 2026

Photo: Serena Repice Lentini / Unsplash. Stock photo.

ASK A LOCAL

Q: I know the clocks go back this weekend. Is there anything else I should be doing while I’m up on the step stool?

Yes, and it takes about ten minutes. First, the when: daylight saving time ends Sunday, November 1, at 2 a.m., when the clock goes back to 1 a.m. and that hour repeats, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Set the clocks that don’t change themselves, like the stove and the car, before bed Saturday.

Next, test every smoke alarm. Press the test button on each one. The U.S. Fire Administration says to test them monthly; an alarm with a dead or missing battery is the same as no alarm at all. By type:

9-volt battery: replace the battery at least once a year, and replace the whole alarm every 10 years. Sealed 10-year battery: there is nothing to change; replace the whole unit when the manufacturer says to. Hardwired: replace the backup battery at least once a year.

Check how old it is. The Fire Administration says smoke alarms need replacing 10 years from the manufacture date.

If you are buying a new one, New York has a rule. Since April 1, 2019, new or replacement smoke alarms sold in the state must have a sealed, non-removable 10-year battery or be hard-wired, says the NYS Department of State. You do not have to rip out a working older alarm that was installed to code.

Count them. The Fire Administration wants alarms inside and outside each bedroom and on every level, basement included, ideally interconnected so when one sounds they all do.

Do the carbon-monoxide alarm too. The National Fire Protection Association says to put CO alarms outside each sleeping area and on every level, and to test them at least once a month. If one goes off, get everyone out to fresh air, count heads, and call for help from outside. Two more of its rules for the heating season: a generator runs at least 20 feet from doors, windows and vents and never in an attached garage, and the oven is for cooking, never for heating the house.

Then think about the ride home. On Monday it will be dark an hour earlier by the clock, right around the evening commute. NHTSA counted 7,080 pedestrians killed nationwide in 2024. Drivers: slow down, take extra care at night when people on foot are harder to see, and never pass a car stopped at a crosswalk. Walkers: where there is no sidewalk, walk facing traffic, and cross at corners or a well-lit spot. Children under 10, NHTSA says, should not cross alone.

Not sure what your house needs? The Fire Administration says to ask your local fire marshal, and that some fire departments will install battery alarms at no cost, so call your department’s non-emergency number. The Town of Babylon Fire Marshal’s Office is at the Town Hall Annex, 281 Phelps Lane, North Babylon, open weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at (631) 893-2153. It works with the Town’s 11 fire departments.

Got a question about living in the Town of Babylon? Send it to us and we will chase the answer down.

Sources: NIST, “Daylight Saving Time Rules” · U.S. Fire Administration, “Smoke Alarms” · NYS Department of State, “New Residential Smoke Alarm Sales Requirements Go into Effect April 1,” March 29, 2019 · NFPA, “Carbon Monoxide” · NHTSA, “Pedestrian Safety” · Town of Babylon, Fire Marshal’s Office FAQ

Photo: Yosuke Ota / Unsplash. Stock photo.