ELECTION 2026 · TOWN OF BABYLON

Some races are still being counted. These are the unofficial results for the races on Town of Babylon ballots, as posted early Wednesday by the New York State Board of Elections (as of 1:32 a.m. Wed Nov 4) and the Suffolk County Board of Elections (as of 12:24 a.m. Wed Nov 4). Affidavit ballots had not yet been reported in Suffolk, and mail ballots postmarked by Election Day can still arrive through November 10. Where a race has been called, we say who called it. Otherwise we say who is ahead.

A note on the state’s percentages: they count blank and void ballots in the total, so a race’s figures do not add up to 100.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor (statewide): Kathy C. Hochul and Adrienne E. Adams — 3,481,906 votes (59.20%); Bruce A. Blakeman and Todd Hood — 2,328,031 votes (39.58%). 12,144 of 13,187 election districts reporting, state count as of 1:32 a.m. Wed Nov 4. The Associated Press reported that Hochul won reelection. In Suffolk County alone (county count, 12:24 a.m.): Hochul and Adams — 270,778 (50.31%); Blakeman and Hood — 266,738 (49.56%).

State Comptroller (statewide): Thomas P. DiNapoli — 3,694,544 votes (62.85%); Joseph Hernandez — 2,018,046 votes (34.33%). 12,144 of 13,187 districts reporting, as of 1:32 a.m. Wed Nov 4. Hernandez called DiNapoli on Tuesday evening to congratulate him, Newsday reported. In Suffolk: DiNapoli — 288,432 (54.55%); Hernandez — 239,769 (45.34%).

Attorney General (statewide): Letitia A. James — 3,463,959 votes (58.92%); Saritha Komatireddy — 2,282,393 votes (38.82%). 12,144 of 13,162 districts reporting, as of 1:32 a.m. Wed Nov 4. The Associated Press called the race for James, according to Newsday. In Suffolk: James — 267,372 (50.47%); Komatireddy — 262,082 (49.48%).

Congress, 2nd District: Patrick Halpin — 118,680 votes (47.43%); Andrew R. Garbarino — 124,271 votes (49.67%). 521 of 527 districts reporting, district-wide state count as of 1:32 a.m. Wed Nov 4. Garbarino is ahead. Newsday reported that Garbarino declared victory late Tuesday and that Halpin said he is not conceding.

State Senate, 4th District: Monica R. Martinez — 53,189 votes (63.74%); Brianne R. Wakefield — 27,017 votes (32.37%). 200 of 200 districts reporting, as of 1:32 a.m. Wed Nov 4. Martinez leads.

State Senate, 8th District: Joshua James Taveras — 48,458 votes (37.83%); Jarett C. Gandolfo — 75,961 votes (59.30%). 248 of 254 districts reporting, as of 1:32 a.m. Wed Nov 4. Gandolfo leads.

Assembly, 9th District: Christopher J. Walis — 17,756 votes (37.10%); Michael A. Durso — 28,784 votes (60.14%). 100 of 105 districts reporting, as of 1:32 a.m. Wed Nov 4. Durso leads.

Assembly, 11th District: Kwani B. O’Pharrow — 23,595 votes (58.68%); Joseph R. Cardinale — 15,042 votes (37.41%). 86 of 86 districts reporting, as of 1:32 a.m. Wed Nov 4. O’Pharrow leads.

Assembly, 12th District: Craig G. Herskowitz — 26,734 votes (50.16%); David D. Weber Jr. — 25,093 votes (47.08%). 125 of 125 districts reporting, as of 1:32 a.m. Wed Nov 4. Herskowitz leads.

County Comptroller: Jon Estreich — 258,612 votes (49.32%); Daniel P. Losquadro — 265,160 votes (50.57%). 1,067 of 1,070 districts partially reporting, county count as of 12:24 a.m. Wed Nov 4. Losquadro is ahead. County Clerk: Vincent A. Puleo, the only candidate on the ballot — 334,978 votes.

State Supreme Court, 10th Judicial District (eight seats; the eight highest totals are elected): Richard Ambro — 865,143; Leonard D. Steinman — 903,595; Mary E. Porter — 481,162; Joy M. Watson — 905,679; Stephen L. Ukeiley — 467,226; Eric Sachs — 472,621; William D. Wexler — 462,896; John Kelly — 473,331; Kelly A. Reape — 461,509; Karen M. Wilutis — 461,264; John Iliou — 455,212; James A. McDonaugh — 465,534; Mary Kate Mullen — 461,809; Anthony R. Portesy — 71,963. 2,073 of 2,153 districts reporting in Nassau and Suffolk, state count as of 1:32 a.m. Wed Nov 4. At this count, the eight highest totals belong to Watson, Steinman, Ambro, Porter, Kelly, Sachs, Ukeiley and McDonaugh. The eighth- and ninth-place totals are 2,638 votes apart.

County Court Judge (four seats): four candidates ran for the four seats. Daniel T. Driscoll — 325,754; Anthony S. Senft Jr. — 317,760; Anna Acquafredda — 320,933; James G. Chalifoux — 314,513. Family Court Judge (three seats): three candidates ran for the three seats. Frank A. Tantone — 320,942; William F. Garbarino — 323,581; Evan S. Tanenbaum — 315,741. Both from the county count as of 12:24 a.m. Wed Nov 4.

Around the nation. According to the Associated Press, Democrats won control of both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. Thirty-six states elected governors on Tuesday, the AP reported.

Why these numbers can still change. Election night totals are unofficial. The state Board of Elections says every vote cast during early voting and on Election Day is recanvassed, and every valid early mail, absentee, military, overseas, special and affidavit ballot is counted, before a result can be certified. A mail ballot postmarked by Election Day still counts if it reaches the Board by Tuesday, November 10. The state’s statewide totals also do not yet include a significant number of emergency Election Day ballots from Westchester County, the Board says. Counties usually certify a general election within 25 days. A close race may not be settled for some time.

The first people to see the count. Before any number reached a website, it came off a machine at your poll site, in the hands of a poll worker. Under state rules, every one of them must be a registered New York voter, working in the county where they live. They set up the voting equipment, sign in voters, demonstrate how voting works, and assist any voter who asks. At 9 p.m. they close the polling place, then canvass and report the results. They are paid for their training and for each day they work.

Some of them may be teenagers. The state says a 17-year-old can be eligible if their school district takes part in a program under Education Law Section 3207-a. If you would like to be the one opening the doors next time, the state’s poll worker page has the application, and the Suffolk County Board of Elections handles assignments here.

Want to check the count yourself? Suffolk’s unofficial results and the state’s election night results update as ballots are counted. Our ballot guide has the full list of races.

Sources: Suffolk County Board of Elections · Suffolk County unofficial 2026 general election results · NYS Board of Elections, Unofficial Election Night Results · Associated Press, election results story, Nov. 4, 2026 · Newsday, Long Island election coverage, Nov. 3–4, 2026 · NYS Board of Elections, “Become a Poll Worker” · NYS Board of Elections, “Request a Ballot”

Stock photo, not a Town of Babylon polling place. Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash.

HOMETOWN SPORTS · BABYLON

Long Island champions. Babylon beat undefeated Carle Place 2–1 on Tuesday at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale to win the Long Island Class B boys soccer title, Newsday reported. Senior captain Christian Pena scored both goals, in the 22nd minute off an assist from Danny Murphy and in the 66th off a through ball from Richard Sorto. Carle Place answered 40 seconds after the second goal on a header by Evan Mehalakes. Sophomore goalkeeper Jack Fifield made four saves. The Panthers (14–4) play next in the Southeast Regional final on Saturday at Harborfields High School, against the winner of Wednesday’s game between Dover and Briarcliff.

It was the team’s second title in four days. Dennis McGovern has coached Babylon boys soccer to county titles before. What he noticed about this one was where his team started.

“This is our seventh county title now, but we’ve usually been the number one seed,” McGovern told the Herald after Friday’s final. “So, yeah, it was a little different being the three seed this time, but it still feels great.”

Babylon came into the Suffolk Class B final at Harborfields High School at 12–4, against top-seeded Southampton. The Panthers won 2–1.

Southampton had more of the play in the first half, the Herald reported. Then, with 14:08 left before halftime, the ball bounced around the Southampton box and senior captain Danny Murphy put it away, assisted by senior Carter Palmieri. “It meant a lot to score the first goal,” Murphy said. With 13:22 to play, junior Brendan McCarthy took the ball after a Southampton turnover, went around the goalkeeper and tapped it into an open net. Southampton scored with six seconds left, too late to matter. Sophomore goalkeeper Jack Fifield made a pair of key saves.

McGovern said the team had studied its first meeting with Southampton: “We learned from the first meeting where to attack them from the outside. They’re very strong up the middle.” He also pointed to his roster: “We have a lot of good young players.”

McCarthy put it in a player’s terms. “We’ve built a dynasty here,” he said, “but this one feels a little bit sweeter.”

The rest of the Town’s semifinalists. Last week we previewed two Thursday semifinals. The Section XI bracket shows how they ended. West Babylon, in its first semifinal since 1999 according to Newsday, saw its season end at top-seeded Huntington. Amityville reached the Class A final, where Elwood-John Glenn won the title. And the bracket lists Lindenhurst, the No. 5 seed, as the Suffolk Class AAA champion after Sunday’s final against Commack. We have not yet seen a game report or a score.

Sources: Herald Community Newspapers, “Babylon tops Southampton for county championship,” Nov. 2, 2026 · Newsday, “Christian Pena’s two goals help Babylon boys soccer capture Long Island Class B crown,” Nov. 3, 2026 · Section XI boys soccer bracket

Stock photo, not Babylon's field or team. Photo by Andrew Patrick Photo on Pexels.

MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR · BABYLON VILLAGE

Some birthdays get a cake. Salvatore Calaci’s got the mayor.

On Sunday, October 11, Babylon Village Mayor Mary Adams came out to mark a special day for one of the Village’s own: Sal Calaci turned 100. The Village shared the moment in a post afterward, with a short description of the man at the center of it. Sal, it said, is a decorated World War II veteran and a self-taught painter.

State Assemblyman Mike Durso joined the mayor that morning. In his own post he wrote that Calaci served the country as an Army Ranger in World War II, and he called him “a real renaissance man and an American hero.”

A century is a lot of Babylon to have seen. The Village’s post did not say when Sal first picked up a brush, only that nobody taught him: he learned to paint on his own.

The Village closed its message the way neighbors do: “A ‘BV Happy Birthday’ to you, Salvatore Calaci and cheers to 100 years. Thank you for your service every day to our country.”

That thank-you has a date on the calendar, too. Next Wednesday, November 11, the Babylon American Legion Post #94 holds its Veterans Day parade at 10 a.m., starting at Foster Boulevard and Deer Park Avenue and heading south to the Post for the ceremony, under a permit the Village board approved on October 13. Our Veterans Day guide in this issue lists the ceremonies across the Town.

If you are on Deer Park Avenue that morning, clap a little louder for the veterans going by. One of the Village’s own just turned 100.

Know a neighbor with a story like Sal’s? Tell us, and we will chase it down.

Sources: Village of Babylon, post on Salvatore Calaci’s 100th birthday, October 2026 · Assemblyman Mike Durso, “Happy 100th Birthday to Babylon Villages own Salvatore Calaci,” October 2026 · Village of Babylon, Board of Trustees minutes, October 13, 2026

Stock photo, not Mr. Calaci or his celebration. Photo by Susan Holt Simpson on Unsplash.

MAIN STREET · BABYLON VILLAGE

Every village has a few places where people mark their lives without meaning to. Birthdays, first jobs, a Friday after a game. In Babylon Village, for 29 years, one of those places has been Tricia’s American Cafe at 26 E. Main St.

Early on Wednesday, Oct. 28, a fire broke out at the restaurant. That same day the family said on social media that Tricia’s would close indefinitely, Patch reported. The cause, the extent of the damage and whether anyone was hurt have not been made public. As of Tuesday morning, there is no reopening date, and we found no fundraiser or update from the family. The restaurant has said it will share news as it learns more.

What there is to tell is the story of the place itself.

Tricia’s opened in 1997. According to its own website, it is family owned and operated: Tricia, Dave and their sons, who “make everyone feel at home.” The couple brought more than 40 years of restaurant experience with them, from family eateries that ran from Jesse’s in Huntington to the Flyin’ Fish Saloon in Ocean City, Maryland.

The idea was a trip back in time. The cafe built its room around 1950s music and decor, and its own photos show red booths, wood-paneled walls, an Ebbets Field street sign and old Brooklyn baseball posters. The website makes a point of welcoming everyone “from family and friends to children,” and calls it a kid-friendly cafe. For a lot of Babylon kids, it was the room where they grew up.

The food was the kind you order without the menu: hand-shaped Black Angus burgers, jumbo wraps, wings, blackened steaks with fresh blue cheese, homemade crab cakes and seafood, all made fresh and to order, the restaurant says. Its motto sits right on the home page: “Friends Gather Here!”

When the news broke, the response came fast. Patch described an “outpouring of support” from customers and the community. That tells you what the place is. A 29-year-old family restaurant on Main Street is part of how the village works, not just somewhere to eat.

So what can you do right now? Very little, and that is fine. Give the family room. Watch the restaurant’s own pages for word. If they ask for help, or announce a way to give, we will print it here. And on the day the doors open again, be there.

Sources: Patch, “Longtime Babylon Restaurant Closes Indefinitely After Fire,” Oct. 30, 2026 · Tricia’s American Cafe

Tricia's American Cafe dining room, before the fire. Tricia's American Cafe.

VETERANS DAY · TOWN OF BABYLON

The fighting in the First World War stopped at a precise moment: the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918. That is why November 11 is the date, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs explains. It began as Armistice Day; in 1954 it became Veterans Day, for veterans of all wars. Across the Town this year, the ceremonies still lean toward that hour. Veterans Day is Wednesday, November 11, and Town offices will be closed.

Babylon Village, 10 a.m.: the parade. It steps off at Foster Boulevard, heads south on Deer Park Avenue to Montauk Highway, west to North Carll Avenue, north on North Carll, then east on Grove Place back to the American Legion Hall. Expect road closures from 9:45 to 11 a.m., the Village of Babylon says. The host is Babylon American Legion Post #94, which holds its ceremony at the Post after the march, according to the Village board’s October 13 minutes.

Amityville, 10:50 a.m.: the bells. The Village of Amityville holds its service on the Village Triangle, Broadway and Park Avenue. At 11 a.m. the bells of St. Mary’s Church ring for all who served, and the Amityville High School Band plays patriotic selections.

Lindenhurst, 11 a.m.: Village Square. The Village of Lindenhurst lists its ceremony in Lindenhurst Village Square, from 11 a.m. to noon.

West Babylon, 11:11 a.m.: the Legion. American Legion Post 1634 holds a Veterans Day open house: breakfast at 9:30 a.m., a ceremony at 11:11 a.m. led by the commander of its Sons of the American Legion squadron, and lunch at 12:30 p.m.

Ways to say thank you that outlast the day

Bring a veteran to the help. Post 1634 holds a Veterans Benefits Symposium on Saturday, November 14, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., with VA sign-ups, Suffolk veterans services and health agencies. Lindenhurst Memorial Library and the Lindenhurst Kiwanis Club host a Veterans Appreciation Lunch and Resource Fair on Thursday, November 12, 1 to 3 p.m.; register by November 5 with a library card. Today at 3 p.m., the library’s VetNow 101 teaches an online tool for VA benefits.

Make something. Teens in grades 6 to 12 can decorate a wood plaque for a veterans center through Amityville Public Library and earn an hour of community service. Kits go out and come back at the VFW, 300 Broadway, by November 30; registration closes tonight. Wyandanch Public Library teaches veteran card making on its Cricut machine Thursday, November 5, 6 to 7 p.m.

Retire a worn flag properly. Post 1634 says a flag too damaged to fly can be dropped at Babylon Town Hall, at the post at 10 Bruce Street, or at West Babylon Public Library.

Last month we previewed the Town’s Veterans Awareness Week kickoff. Hosting a service we missed? Tell us.

Sources: Village of Babylon · Village of Amityville · Village of Lindenhurst · American Legion Post 1634 · Lindenhurst Memorial Library · Amityville Public Library · Wyandanch Public Library newsletter · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “History of Veterans Day” · Town of Babylon calendar

Stock photo, not a Town of Babylon ceremony. Photo by David Everett Strickler on Unsplash.

FEATURED BUSINESS · BABYLON VILLAGE

Plenty of stores open on Main Street. Very few are still there when the grandchildren come in to buy their own refrigerator.

Plesser’s Appliances began as a hardware store that Sam Plesser opened in New Hyde Park in 1919, according to the company’s own timeline. In 1949 a second store opened on Main Street in Babylon, run by Sam’s son Morton. Another son, Dave, ran a Patchogue store that opened in 1965. In 1975, Morton took over the whole business and kept only the Babylon showroom.

The next chapter is a small-business story of its own. In 1990, a longtime employee, Marc Howard, bought Plesser’s at the age of 25. His younger brother Alan Howard joined him in 1992, when, the company says, the team grew to its third employee. In 2000 the store moved across the street in the village to a larger, renovated showroom. An online store followed in 2008, and a second showroom, in Southampton, in 2014.

When Plesser’s turned 100 in 2019, it celebrated with a red carpet into a remodeled Babylon showroom with working appliances and a live demonstration kitchen, Greater Long Island reported. “We began noticing a lot of three generations buying our products,” Alan Howard told the site. The brothers also run the Plesser’s Charity Foundation, which the company’s timeline says was established in 2017 with its first charity golf outing.

How does a single independent store keep up with the big boxes? Part of the answer is buying power. Plesser’s says it belongs to the Intercounty appliance co-op, a group of more than 500 member stores nationwide.

You will find the Babylon showroom at 6 E. Main St., near the corner of Deer Park Avenue and a few blocks from Argyle Park. It is open seven days a week, and there is free parking in the lot behind the store. The showroom’s number is (631) 661-2750.

This is Small Business Season™. If you are shopping for the holidays, or just for a new dishwasher, the 77-year-old store on Main Street is still open.

Do you know a Town of Babylon business that has outlasted everyone around it? Tell us, and we will feature it here.

Sources: Plesser’s Appliances, “About Plesser’s Appliances” · Plesser’s Appliances, “Babylon Showroom” · Greater Long Island, “Plesser’s Appliances celebrates 100 years in Babylon Village,” Nov. 15, 2019

Plesser's Appliances' Babylon showroom. Plesser's Appliances.

BABYLON EATS · EAST FARMINGDALE

Long Island was potato country long before it was anything else. At the height, the Long Island Potato Festival says, more than 70,000 acres of the Island were potato farms, about a tenth of all its land, growing more than 40 varieties. This weekend the festival brings that history to the President’s Lawn at Farmingdale State College, on Route 110 in East Farmingdale.

When: Saturday, Nov. 7, 1 to 6 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 8, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost: admission and general parking are free; food and some attractions cost extra. For the GPS, the festival says to enter “Farmingdale State College, Horton Hall.” It is about a four-minute drive from the Farmingdale LIRR station.

The food court is the point. More than 20 trucks are each doing their own take on the potato. A sample from the posted list: loaded mashed potato bowls from Big Ed’s, potato bisque from DJs Clam Shack, potato chorizo empanadas from Island Empanada, plain and loaded knishes from Krazy Knish, Jamaican potato salad from Unique Cuisine, crispy potato balls in tamarind sauce from Coconut Island Grill, and a potato chip on a stick from The Yum Spot. Some trucks come one day only: Lavierie’s potato rosemary pizza and Joe’s Wings’ pierogies are Saturday only, and All American Wonton’s loaded potato wontons are Sunday only.

Take some home. Hoshyla Farms runs a farmers market with produce from Long Island farms, and there is a vendor showcase of local companies. Then there is Potato Mountain. In 1937 the Riverhead Potato Festival piled more than 1,000 bushels of Long Island potatoes into a mountain and let visitors take them home. This year’s festival is reviving the idea. Guess how many potatoes are in the pile for a chance at $500, and come back Sunday at 5 p.m., when the festival gives away a free five-pound bag of Long Island potatoes per person while they last.

For the kids: a Tater Tot Lot with lawn games, a free ninja obstacle course, and a Bounce Park that needs its own ticket (the price goes up to $20 at the gate, so buy ahead on the festival site). Mulcahy’s runs a beer garden for guests 21 and older, with ID. Two things to know: the whole festival is on grass, and the college allows only service animals, so leave the dog at home.

And one more food weekend. Long Island Restaurant Week ends Sunday, Nov. 8. Our Restaurant Week guide lists the Town of Babylon kitchens taking part.

Sources: Long Island Potato Festival · The Food Court · FAQs · I Love Babylon calendar

Stock photo, not the Long Island Potato Festival. Photo by Will Ma on Unsplash.

DO SOMETHING THIS WEEK

A family-heavy week: one premiere, two coffee-house nights, a Saturday packed from 9 a.m. to bedtime, and a Sunday 5K. Check each listing before you go; times can change.

1. Any day this week — think small. The Babylon Village Arts Council’s Babylon MOMA, its Museum of Miniature Art, is on view through November at Babylon Public Library, 24 S. Carll Ave., Babylon Village. It is free during library hours. Arts Council events.

2. Thursday, Nov. 5, 7 to 9 p.m. — poetry night in Babylon Village. The Arts Council’s Poetry Series meets at Jack Jack’s Coffee House, 223 Deer Park Ave. Arts Council events.

3. Friday, Nov. 6, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. — meet a children’s author. Back at Jack Jack’s, the First Friday Author Series hosts children’s author Joseph L. Licari. Chat with him and pick up a signed copy, with coffee and light fare for sale. It’s an easy way to start Small Business Season™ at an independent shop. Calendar listing.

4. Friday, Nov. 6, 7 p.m. — a Lindenhurst premiere. The Village Historian’s office and the Village present “Lindenhurst- We Were There,” a documentary about Sept. 11, 2001, told through the first-person accounts of Lindenhurst families, first responders and residents. It was filmed around the village, including at the Lindenhurst Remembers September 11th Memorial Garden, and was paid for by private donations. The red-carpet premiere is open to the public at Moose Lodge #1421, 883 S. Broadway; doors open at 6:30. Village notice.

5. Saturday, Nov. 7, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. — fill a bag at the library sale. The Friends of Lindenhurst Memorial Library, 1 Lee Ave., sell books, media and jewelry in the Venetian Room, and the proceeds pay for library programs. Friends members get early access; you can join at the door. Library listing.

6. Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to noon — Touch a Truck. Lindenhurst opens its new DPW building with a family morning at the DPW Yard, 121 Albany Ave. Kids can meet the crews and see trucks up close from the highway and sanitation departments, the Lindenhurst Fire Department, Suffolk County Police and the Sheriff’s Office. Village notice.

7. Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. — shop the farmers market. Our calendar lists the Lindenhurst Farmers Market at Village Square Park, with produce, baked goods, crafts and local vendors. Late-season markets can change plans, so check the market’s Instagram before you go. Calendar listing.

8. Saturday, Nov. 7, 1 to 3 p.m. — Fall Family Fun Day at the gazebo. Babylon Public Library, the Village of Babylon and the Village Arts Council bring Turtle Dance Music, face painting by Joanie Baloney, and snacks to the Babylon Village Gazebo. It is for children up to fifth grade, and you must register with a Babylon library card. If it rains, the crafts and face painting move into the library. Register.

9. Saturday, Nov. 7, 6 p.m. — SINGO in Babylon. Christ Episcopal Church hosts musical bingo: sing, dance and fill your card. Tickets are $30; there will be pizza, drinks, desserts, basket raffles and door prizes. Calendar listing.

10. Sunday, Nov. 8, 10 a.m. — an early Turkey Trot. The Suffolk Turkey Trot 5K runs rain or shine at Belmont Lake State Park (Southern State Parkway, Exit 38) and benefits the Never Stop Running Foundation. The free Kiddie Dash starts 30 minutes earlier. Race-day sign-up is $44.15, with bibs from an hour before the start. Race page.

11. Sunday, Nov. 8, 2:30 to 4 p.m. — jukebox classics. Tangerine plays Lindenhurst Memorial Library: Stan Zizka, the original leader of the Del Satins, with Edie Van Buren and Charlie Aiello, doing jukebox favorites plus pop and dance music. Register with a library card. Register.

12. Monday, Nov. 9, 7 to 8:30 p.m. — Wild Long Island. A talk at Lindenhurst Memorial Library on the Island’s land animals, birds and marine life. It moved from Tuesday, so it is now Monday; register with a library card. Register.

Want more? Every event in the Town this week, from library programs to live music, is on the I Love Babylon events calendar.

Hungry? The Long Island Potato Festival is at Farmingdale State College on Saturday and Sunday, with free admission. See Babylon Eats in this issue.

Sources: Babylon Village Arts Council · Village of Lindenhurst, “Lindenhurst- We Were There” · Village of Lindenhurst, Touch a Truck · Lindenhurst Memorial Library · Babylon Public Library · Suffolk Turkey Trot 5K · I Love Babylon calendar

Stock photo, not Touch a Truck. Photo by Fabio Sasso on Unsplash.

SCHOOLS · WYANDANCH

At Milton L. Olive Middle School in Wyandanch, the newest classroom is built for cooking. And a group of seventh graders is already putting it to use.

They are members of the Edible Art Cooking Club, led by Laurie Siegel and offered through SCOPE Education Services. The club meets in MLO’s new Family and Consumer Science classroom, and the idea is right there in the name: students experiment with ingredients, practice real cooking techniques, and turn food into something imaginative to look at before anyone takes a bite.

In the district’s telling, the room itself is part of the story. It is spacious, and working there, students are building confidence in the kitchen and picking up skills that last well past the school day. Siegel sums up her approach as learning, creating, experimenting and having fun, “because the best art is sometimes the kind you can eat.”

The club is only the start. This school year, MLO’s Family and Consumer Science classes will use the same room to study kitchen safety and sanitation, food preparation and cooking techniques. Students will also learn to make food from scratch: pizza dough, cookies, cinnamon buns and pretzels.

For principal Dr. Michelle Darby, it is about more than snacks. Every student, she said, should have the chance to learn the basics of cooking. She called it “a life skill that brings enjoyment,” one that supports healthy living, builds independence and can lead to a career. She also admitted to one of the perks of the job: the staff gets to enjoy what the students make.

Plenty of us learned to cook by standing next to someone at home. In Wyandanch, a new classroom means more kids get that same chance at school, in a room made for it.

If you have a seventh grader at MLO who wants in, ask the school or SCOPE about the club. And if a tray of homemade pretzels comes home this year, now you know where it came from.

Source: Wyandanch Union Free School District, “MLO Students Cook Up Creativity in New FACS Classroom,” November 2, 2026

Stock photo, not the Milton L. Olive cooking club. Photo by Magdalena Zofia Kmiecik on Unsplash.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

It is Small Business Season™, and Small Business Saturday® falls on Nov. 28. Before it was a campaign, shopping local was simply how the Town of Babylon lived, and Babylon Village’s Main Street was where it happened.

The Village’s history explains why. Travelers from the north headed for the bay, and travelers from New York City headed east, so Babylon was a natural stop-over place, “creating the need for stores, hotels and services.” Streams to the north powered mills for grain, lumber and paper. By 1800, the Village says, Babylon was a hub of activity.

The storekeeper often ran the mail, too. The Town’s history of West Babylon records that the Babylon Post Office opened on March 8, 1851, with Nathan E. Bassett as postmaster. In the 1800s and early 1900s, it notes, a post office was typically run out of an existing store, and the merchant-postmaster was paid a modest fee.

Then came the train. The first South Side Railroad train arrived on October 11, 1867, and the Village’s marker says it spurred a resort boom. From 1871, a horse-drawn line carried visitors from the depot to the ferry docks. From the 1800s to the 1930s, Babylon had at least fourteen hotels, including the Sherman House on Main Street, the Town says.

Main Street even printed its own news. Henry Livingston founded the South Side Signal in 1869, in a building on the south side of West Main Street. It later housed the Red Lion Pub, was moved to Mansfield Place in 1990, and was demolished in 2019. The paper’s pages are now digitized on the New York State Historic Newspapers site.

The big change came after World War II. From 1940 to 1960 the Town’s population grew by 485 percent, and the new suburbs needed stores. The Great South Bay Shopping Center in West Babylon debuted in 1956, on the farm where Walt Whitman’s family once lived. Its first store was Martin’s; a Newsday headline that August called it a “$2 Million Martin’s Store.” The architectural photographers Gottscho-Schleisner shot it on Aug. 7, 1956, and the Library of Congress keeps the negatives.

Main Street survived. When you shop it this month, you are keeping up a habit that is older than the Town itself.

Sources: Village of Babylon, “Our History” · Town of Babylon, “Babylon Village Community Profile” · Town of Babylon History, “Hamlet of West Babylon,” Feb. 2025 · Library of Congress, Gottscho-Schleisner Collection

Martin's at the new Great South Bay Shopping Center, August 1956. Gottscho-Schleisner Collection, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

ASK A LOCAL

Q: We have more than we need this year. Where can I give food in the Town of Babylon before Thanksgiving, and what do they actually want?

Good news: you don’t have to go far. Between the Town’s own pantry, a Hibernian hall, three libraries and a parish on Carll Avenue, there is a place to give in most corners of the Town this month. Here is what each one asks for, taken from its own page.

1. The Town of Babylon Food Pantry, any week. The Pastor Roy S. Kirton Food Pantry runs on donations only, and it feeds Town residents once a month. You don’t bring food to the pantry itself. Use one of three Town donation centers. The easiest is the Department of Human Services, temporarily at the Town Hall Annex, 281 Phelps Lane, North Babylon, which the Town lists as open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The other two are the Town Council Office at Town Hall, 200 E. Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, and Old Town Hall, 47 W. Main Street, Suite 2, Babylon Village. Neither posts donation hours, so call ahead at 631-957-3000.

What the pantry takes: pasta and sauce, rice, canned tuna, salmon, chicken or turkey breast, canned soup, vegetables, beans and fruit, cereal and oatmeal, mac and cheese, corn muffin mix, juice boxes and bottled water. It also takes toilet paper, toiletries, diapers and baby food, canvas shopping bags and grocery-store gift cards. Low-sodium and low-sugar items are especially welcome. Gift cards go a long way this month. The Town’s Thanksgiving Food Drive gives holiday groceries and supermarket gift cards to the families who use the pantry, and the Town says Town employees and neighbors help dozens of families put a full holiday meal on the table.

2. Saturday, November 7, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: King Kullen, Lindenhurst. The 26th annual Thanks-for-Giving food drive with WALK 97.5 sets up at the King Kullen at 600 N. Wellwood Avenue. Donations go to Long Island Cares, the Harry Chapin food bank. It’s easy to add to your Saturday grocery run.

3. Sunday, November 15, 9 a.m. to noon: the Hibernians’ Thanksgiving Drive Thru, Babylon Village. Every year AOH Division 2 gives turkeys and all the trimmings to families in need, and this is how it fills the boxes. Pull up to Hibernian Hall, 27 Locust Avenue, Babylon. The list reads like a Thanksgiving menu: frozen turkeys, boxed stuffing, cranberry sauce, canned gravy, instant potatoes, canned yams, canned vegetables and fruit, applesauce, mac and cheese, canned soup, pie filling, muffin and cake mix with frosting, pudding or Jell-O, cookies, apple juice, coffee and tea. Aldi, Lidl and Stop & Shop gift cards help too. If Sunday morning doesn’t work, the Division says it also accepts donations in its Members Lounge.

4. Now through November 30: West Babylon Public Library. The library’s November/December newsletter lists a Long Island Cares collection near the Circulation Desk for non-perishable food, baby supplies and toiletries. If you have a pet, there’s a second bin: unopened dog and cat food and pet supplies go to the Town of Babylon Animal Shelter and Paws of War. The library is at 211 Route 109, 631-669-5445.

5. Now through November 30: Copiague Memorial Public Library. The library’s Holiday Food Drive supports the Ace Center Food Pantry in North Amityville. It takes non-expired, non-perishable food in jars, cans and sealed packets. The library is at 50 Deauville Blvd., (631) 691-1111.

6. Any week, by phone first: St. Joseph’s parish pantry, Babylon Village. At St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, 39 N. Carll Avenue, volunteers from the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Parish Outreach staff run a food pantry for neighbors in the parish who are struggling. The parish doesn’t post a wish list, so call the Outreach Office before you shop: 631-669-4544, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

7. November 16 to December 11: the Winter Giving Tree, North Babylon Public Library. Not everything this season is food. The library’s Winter Giving Tree collects new hats, gloves, scarves, socks, sweaters and fleece tops for neighbors in need, starting Monday, November 16 at 9 a.m. and running through Friday, December 11 at 8 p.m. The library is at 815 Deer Park Avenue, (631) 669-4020.

8. Friday, November 20, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.: the FourLeaf Turkey Drive, just over the line in Bethpage. The 18th annual drive for Island Harvest is at FourLeaf’s main office, 899 S. Oyster Bay Road. You stay in your car, and volunteers in the drive-through lanes unload it. Bring a frozen turkey or the items it says are most needed: canned goods, cereal, pasta, rice, boxed juices and shelf-stable milk. It takes no glass.

Rather give money or time? Island Harvest says $35 provides a holiday meal for a family, and it is looking for warehouse and event volunteers this season. Long Island Cares, which runs a pantry in Lindenhurst, takes volunteers too.

Before you shop, check the dates. The Town pantry and the Copiague library both ask for unexpired food. Glass varies by drive: Copiague takes jars, and FourLeaf takes no glass at all. And when a list says new, as the Giving Tree does, it means new.

If your own family needs help this year, the Town’s Department of Human Services runs Holiday Assistance Programs for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Call (631) 464-4340; the Town says every call is confidential. Long Island Cares also runs an emergency food pantry at 163-1 North Wellwood Avenue, Lindenhurst, (631) 582-3663 x300, weekdays 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays there are reserved for veterans and their families.

Running a drive in Wyandanch, Deer Park or anywhere else we missed? Send us the organization’s own page and we will add it.

Sources: Town of Babylon, “Pastor Roy S. Kirton Food Pantry” · Town of Babylon, “Human Services” · Town of Babylon, “Holiday Assistance Programs” · Long Island Cares, “Thanks for Giving Food Drive Lindenhurst” · Thanks for Giving flyer (PDF) · Long Island Cares, “Contact Us” · AOH Division 2, “Thanksgiving Drive Thru 2026” · West Babylon Public Library, November/December 2026 newsletter (PDF) · Copiague Memorial Public Library, Fall 2026 newsletter (PDF) · St. Joseph R.C. Church, “Parish Outreach” · North Babylon Public Library, “The Winter Giving Tree” · FourLeaf FCU, “Annual FourLeaf Turkey Drive” · Long Island Media Group, “FourLeaf Turkey Drive Set For November 20th,” October 30, 2026 · Island Harvest, “Holidays 2026”

Stock photo, not a Town of Babylon food drive. Photo by Gustavo Fring on Pexels.