HALLOWEEN · TOWN OF BABYLON

The launch was set for about 6:15 on Saturday night, with the light gone off Belmont Lake, and then the pumpkins went out on the water. It was the 13th annual Great Jack-o’-Lantern Sail at Belmont Lake State Park in North Babylon, and a video posted this week by the Instagram account Long Island Wise Guide shows them glowing their way across the lake.

The sail is run by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and it is free. This year’s afternoon started at 3 p.m. with a kid-friendly spooky house, a magic show, a petting zoo, character meet-and-greets, children’s games and Pumpkin Park Sweet Street, a trick-or-treat lane stocked with candy from local businesses.

How the pumpkins get on the lake

Families register online for one of the first 50 spots, carve a pumpkin somewhere between a soccer ball and a basketball in size, and drop it at the Belmont Lake Boat Dock between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the day.

Rhonda Moziy of North Atlantic Canoe and Kayak described the rest in 2015, the year her club helped with what she called the third annual sail. Park staff set 50 carved pumpkins on small black square rafts, linked together. Once darkness fell, kids and parents lined the shoreline, and the club’s kayakers tied on and towed the rafts around the lake while the crowd cheered. Afterward, owners waited to claim their pumpkins. The North Babylon Volunteer Fire Company brought its trucks. Read her account

The weather gets a vote. In 2018, a stormy forecast pushed the sail from Saturday to Sunday, Greater Long Island reported. The park’s Recreation Department, (631) 321-3510, is the number for questions, and the one to call next fall. This year’s listing

The other traditions

A trail of 7,000 pumpkins in Wheatley Heights. RISE of the Jack O’Lanterns fills the wooded campus of Usdan, at 185 Colonial Springs Road, with what its organizers count as more than 10,000 illuminated objects, 7,000 of them hand-carved jack-o’-lanterns. It is the show’s fifth year at Usdan, and it runs on 21 select nights through Sunday, Nov. 1. Advance tickets are required, so check the RISE website for the nights that are left.

Trick-or-treating on Main Street. The Babylon Village Chamber of Commerce runs an annual safe trick-or-treat downtown. In 2022, Greater Long Island photographed shop staff on Deer Park Avenue and Main Street handing out candy, stickers and craft kits. This year’s version, the Creepy Crawl, was in last week’s Halloween roundup, along with the library parades.

The yard on Wilson Street. Last October, Greater Long Island profiled Garry Meigel’s front-yard display in Babylon: more than 20,000 LED lights and 50 animatronics, free to see, with a raffle and donation box for the Tunnel to Towers charity. His father started it about 15 years ago. “The best thing in the world is seeing the smiles on people’s faces,” Meigel said. We have not confirmed it is up this year. The 2025 story

And the one we’ll skip. Amityville’s most famous Halloween name comes from a movie. The house is a private home with neighbors around it. Let them enjoy their Halloween too.

HALLOWEEN NIGHT, SATURDAY, OCT. 31

New on the I Love Babylon calendar since last week’s list:

Trick or Treat in the Children’s Room, Deer Park Public Library, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Treats while supplies last. Free. Details

Kiddie Costume Jamboree, Copiague Memorial Public Library, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. A costume storytime with music and a baby parade, just before the library’s 11:30 parade. Free. Details

Spooky Jazz with the Paul Joseph Trio, Deer Park Public Library, 1 to 2:30 p.m. Spooky classics as jazz. Free. Details

Spooks and Spines, The Neverending Story, 9 W. Main St., Babylon, 7 to 10 p.m., 21 and over. An after-hours bookstore night with the 1978 film Halloween at 8 p.m. Pay what you wish, from free to $15 and up; every ticket needs pre-registration. Tickets

Halloween at The Other Room, 511 Commack Road, Deer Park, 8 to 11:30 p.m., 21 and over, with DJ Yung Justice and The Rolling Cask. The calendar lists $15. Details

Sunday morning, back at Belmont Lake: Hope For Youth’s Trick or Trot Run, a kids’ run at 8:30 a.m. and a 5K or walk at 9, for the group’s Runaway and Homeless Youth Services Program. Details

Before you head out. Suffolk County’s health department says children are more than twice as likely to be hit and killed by a car on Halloween as on any other day. Its advice: walk with young children, keep older kids in groups on familiar, well-lit streets, put bright costumes with reflective trim and flashlights on everyone, keep candle-lit jack-o’-lanterns off steps and doorways, and have an adult check the candy before anyone eats it. The full list

Source: I Love Babylon, “The 13th Annual Great Jack-O’-Lantern Sail at Belmont Lake State Park,” Oct. 24, 2026

Source: New York State Parks, “The Great Jack-O’-Lantern Sail 2026”

Source: Long Island Wise Guide on Instagram, video by @3d_adventuresin3k, Oct. 2026

Source: North Atlantic Canoe and Kayak, “The Great Jack-O-Lantern Sail,” Oct. 30, 2015

Source: Greater Long Island, “Update: Belmont Lake State Park rescheduled Jack-O-Lantern Sail for Sunday,” Oct. 25, 2018

Source: RISE of the Jack O’Lanterns

Source: Greater Long Island, “30 Photos: Babylon Chamber Hosts Safe Halloween Event Throughout Village,” Oct. 31, 2022

Source: Greater Long Island, “Babylon Man Builds One of Long Island’s Wildest Halloween Displays,” Oct. 17, 2025

Source: Suffolk County Department of Health Services, “Halloween Safety Tips”

Source: I Love Babylon events calendar, Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, 2026

Photo: NY State Parks.

ELECTION 2026 · TOWN OF BABYLON

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, and the polls are open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Here is what is on your ballot and where you vote.

Your ballot depends on your address. The Suffolk County Board of Elections’ sample ballot booklet has five versions for the Town of Babylon. All five are in the 2nd Congressional District. For State Senate you are in the 4th or the 8th District, and for Assembly the 9th, 11th or 12th. No Town of Babylon offices are on the ballot this year, and the booklet shows no ballot proposals.

Candidates are listed in the order the Board lists them. Many appear on more than one party line, and your ballot shows every line.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor: Kathy C. Hochul and Adrienne E. Adams; Bruce A. Blakeman and Todd Hood.

State Comptroller: Thomas P. DiNapoli; Joseph Hernandez.

Attorney General: Letitia A. James; Saritha Komatireddy.

Congress, 2nd District: Patrick Halpin; Andrew R. Garbarino.

State Senate, 4th District: Monica R. Martinez; Brianne R. Wakefield. 8th District: Joshua James Taveras; Jarett C. Gandolfo.

Assembly, 9th District: Christopher J. Walis; Michael A. Durso. 11th District: Kwani B. O’Pharrow; Joseph R. Cardinale. 12th District: Craig G. Herskowitz; David D. Weber Jr.

County Clerk: Vincent A. Puleo, the only candidate. County Comptroller: Jon Estreich; Daniel P. Losquadro.

State Supreme Court, 10th Judicial District (vote for up to eight): Richard Ambro, Leonard D. Steinman, Mary E. Porter, Joy M. Watson, Stephen L. Ukeiley, Eric Sachs, William D. Wexler, John Kelly, Kelly A. Reape, Karen M. Wilutis, John Iliou, James A. McDonaugh, Mary Kate Mullen, Anthony R. Portesy.

County Court Judge (up to four): Daniel T. Driscoll, Anthony S. Senft Jr., Anna Acquafredda, James G. Chalifoux. Family Court Judge (up to three): Frank A. Tantone, William F. Garbarino, Evan S. Tanenbaum.

The races run across both sides of the ballot. Vote both sides.

Where you vote. On Election Day you vote at your own assigned poll site. That is different from early voting, when any site in the county will do. The state’s voter lookup shows your poll site and whether you are registered. Early voting runs through Sunday, November 1; our early-voting guide has the three sites in town and the hours.

Can I still register? Not for this election. Under state rules, applications had to be received by Saturday, October 24. You can still register for future elections any business day: online with a NY.Gov ID, by mail with the state form, or in person at the Board of Elections, a DMV office or a state agency registration center (or on the DMV website, with DMV-issued ID).

If your name is not in the book. State election law tells poll workers to check that you are at the right site for your address. If you are, and your name still cannot be found, you can vote by affidavit ballot, signing a sworn statement that you registered and still live in that district.

If you moved. Moved within the same election district? You vote as usual. Moved somewhere else in New York since you last registered? Go to the poll site for your new address; the same law lets you vote there by affidavit ballot, listing your old and new addresses. The state says a change of address the Board received at least 15 days before the election must be on the rolls in time.

Holding a mail ballot? An early mail or absentee ballot must be postmarked by November 3 and reach the Board by November 10. Mailing it on Election Day? Check the collection time on the box, because a late pickup is postmarked the next business day. Or hand it in: at the Board’s office in Yaphank by 9 p.m. November 3, at any Suffolk early-voting site through November 1, or at any Suffolk poll site by 9 p.m. on Election Day. Track it with the same voter lookup. If you were sent a mail ballot, you cannot use the voting machine, but you can still vote in person by affidavit ballot.

A problem at the polls? Call the Suffolk County Board of Elections at (631) 852-4500 (TTY (631) 852-4540). And if you are in line at 9 p.m., you have the right to vote. Stay in line.

Sources: Suffolk County Board of Elections, “2026 General Election Candidate List” · Suffolk County Board of Elections, 2026 General Election Sample Ballot Booklet · Suffolk County Board of Elections · NYS Board of Elections, Registration and Voting Deadlines · NYS Board of Elections, Request a Ballot · State of New York 2026 Election Law, § 8-302

Photo: Edmond Dantès / 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

PINK OCTOBER · GOLF CLASSIC

On Monday, October 26, the Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition holds its 1st Annual Golf Classic at Bellport Golf Club, rain or shine. The day runs from breakfast through golf and lunch to a dinner reception, and the prizes include a $10,000 hole-in-one challenge, a putting-green challenge, longest drive, best foursome and an award for the Most Honest Golfer.

The field is capped at 120 golfers. A single player is $500 and a foursome is $2,000. If golf isn’t your game, dinner alone is $250. Businesses can buy a tee sign for $100 (three for $250) or sponsor a pin flag for $250, and raffle baskets are welcome. With days to go and a 120-player cap, call before you plan on it: 631-893-4110.

It is the coalition’s first golf outing, and it lands in Breast Cancer Awareness Month for a reason.

A breast cancer diagnosis comes with a calendar: scans, infusions and follow-ups, often several a week and often for months. Each one needs a ride, a meal waiting at home afterward, and somebody to handle the laundry that piled up while you were at the cancer center. Since 1993, this volunteer coalition in Lindenhurst has been quietly handling that calendar for its neighbors. For Town of Babylon residents with breast or gynecological cancer it offers rides to and from appointments, prepared food, house cleaning and financial assistance. Its office is at 218 N. Wellwood Avenue, and in 2025 it earned a Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid.

Two more ways to help before October ends.

A $10 ribbon in the Vision of Hope Garden. The pink and teal flags at the southeast corner of Town Hall Park, 200 East Sunrise Highway, are the coalition’s Vision of Hope Garden. A $10 donation puts up a ribbon in honor or in memory of someone affected by breast or gynecological cancer, through October 31. Call 631-893-4110.

A free vote, once a day through December 15. The coalition is nominated for FourLeaf Best of Long Island 2027 as Best Charity and Best Nonprofit. You can vote once per category, every day. Vote here, then bookmark it.

Also in Pink October around the Town: the Amityville Teachers Association Trunk or Treat and Breast Cancer Walk, Sunday, October 25, 10 a.m., James A. Caples Memorial Park; and a tote bag craft for Breast Cancer Awareness at the Wyandanch Public Library, Thursday, October 29, 7 p.m. Neither is a coalition event.

Source: Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition; the coalition’s 2026 Golf Classic brochure; I Love Babylon event listings.

Graphic: I Love Babylon / Babylon Local.

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HOMETOWN SPORTS

The Suffolk County Marathon begins in the Village of Babylon. On Sunday, the man who won it lives just up the road.

Daniel Cameron, 28, of North Babylon, won the 26.2-mile race on Sunday, October 18, in 2:41:59, according to the official results. That is a pace of 6:11 a mile, and it put him eight minutes ahead of the runner-up, Stephen Bienemann of Smithtown (2:50:00).

The course crosses the Robert Moses Causeway and finishes at Gardiner County Park in Bay Shore. Cameron told Newsday he took the lead immediately and kept it.

It was his fourth marathon and his first win, Newsday reported. The results show how far he came in a year: in 2025 he finished seventh here, in 3:04:48. This time he was almost 23 minutes faster, a personal record.

Cameron was an All-American in the 4x800 relay at West Islip High, then stepped away from running through college and graduate school. He came back about three years ago, pushed by his grandfather, Edward Hynes, who ran 29 marathons; they talk after every long run. By day he is a bioinformatician at NYU Langone. Next up: Boston, in the spring.

Two more Town of Babylon runners finished in the top ten: Dean Mauri of Amityville was fourth (2:51:00) and Andy Moncada of West Babylon was ninth (2:58:57).

Football · West Babylon. West Babylon lost 28–19 at East Hampton on Saturday, October 17, the Bonackers’ homecoming. Down 14–0, the Eagles answered with a 22-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jahavi Reyes to junior receiver Jadiel Adames, then a 48-yard interception return by Jacob Almanzar. Reyes pushed in on fourth-and-goal to make it 21–19, but East Hampton scored the last touchdown.

Boys soccer · North Babylon. North Babylon needed a draw against Ward Melville on Monday, October 19, to make the Suffolk Class AAA playoffs. On Senior Day, it won 2–0. Junior midfielder Wildano Jeudy scored both goals and goalkeeper Gianluca Turano kept the clean sheet, Newsday reported. The Bulldogs are 7–5–3 in coach Jack Fengler’s first season and close the regular season at Copiague.

Also: Deer Park boys soccer beat Northport 1–0 to clinch a third straight playoff berth, Patch reported Tuesday. Lindenhurst girls soccer lost 2–0 at Connetquot on Monday despite 10 saves from keeper Natalia Pacholska.

Sources: Suffolk County Marathon official results · Newsday, “Daniel Cameron of North Babylon wins Suffolk Marathon,” Oct. 19, 2026 · 27east, “Tested at Homecoming, East Hampton Wins Out,” Oct. 19, 2026 · Newsday, North Babylon vs. Ward Melville, Oct. 19, 2026 · Patch, Oct. 20, 2026

MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR · COPIAGUE

Katelyn Agtuca is first in her class at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School. Skya Cham is second. On October 16 the Copiague School District named them valedictorian and salutatorian of the Class of 2027, along with the eight classmates who make up the top ten.

It is October of their senior year. Graduation is months away, and these ten already know where they stand.

In the order the district published them, the top ten are: Katelyn Agtuca (valedictorian), Skya Cham (salutatorian), Veronica Karwowska, Christie Arce, Alexa Blanco, Laila Mederos, Melanie Robertson, Paola Gonzales, Alexandra Kaleka and Kasper Sztabinski.

The district said the ten stood out for academic achievement, leadership, character and dedication, and that they balanced their classes with extracurricular activities, leadership roles and community involvement. It did not say which clubs, teams or causes. That is the part we would most like to hear about.

Principal Joseph Agosta said that making the top ten “reflects years of hard work, commitment and perseverance.” He added that the students “have challenged themselves academically while making meaningful contributions to our school community,” and that the school looks forward to “celebrating their continued success throughout their senior year.”

The same hallways have produced neighbors worth knowing before. Last week’s Meet Your Neighbor, Jeanine Guelee, is a Copiague High graduate. She is now working toward a law degree and a social work master’s at the same time. A class rank is a snapshot of where someone stands in October. What these ten do next is the longer story.

If you are one of the ten, or you cheer for one of them, write to us. We would like to introduce them in their own words.

Source: Copiague School District, “Leading The Class Copiague’s Top 10 Students,” October 16, 2026

DO SOMETHING THIS WEEK

Four things, all free, none longer than an evening. Two are at Babylon Town Hall, 200 E. Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst.

1. Friday, October 23, 6:30 p.m. — the Red Ribbon Town Hall. The Town’s kickoff for National Red Ribbon Week is in the Town Board Room at Town Hall. The flyer calls it a youth town hall, “Giving Youth a Voice,” and the Town promises vendors, resources and activities for families on substance-misuse awareness. Wear red; the Town asks attendees to. The flyer carries the logos of the local prevention coalitions, including Town of Babylon Cares, Lindy Cares, Copiague Community Cares and the Deer Park Drug Prevention Coalition. One note on the date: the Town’s announcement says “Friday, October 24,” but the 24th is a Saturday. The Town’s flyer says October 23, which is the Friday, and that is the date we are going with. We printed the 24th last week, and we were wrong. Town announcement.

2. Any day — the Little Free Pantries in Lindenhurst. Lindenhurst Memorial Library has two Little Free Pantries in its back parking lot, plus a Little Free Pet Pantry. Non-perishable food can be placed directly in them. While you are inside, the library is swapping new or gently used board games and puzzles through December 30. Lindenhurst Memorial Library.

3. Friday, October 30, 6:30 p.m. — Veterans Awareness Week begins. Councilman DuWayne Gregory, who chairs the Town’s Veterans Advisory Board, and Assemblyman Kwani B. O’Pharrow are hosting the kickoff in the Town Board Room. The winners of the student essay contest will read their essays there. The flyer’s invitation is to honor veterans and show appreciation for what they gave. Questions go to Councilman Gregory’s office at 631-957-3127. Town flyer (PDF).

And one more, when it is possible. The Mercy Soup Kitchen in Wyandanch, which feeds about 150 people a day, is closed after Sunday’s fire at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. The church is asking for money, not goods, but has not yet published a way to give. We will add one when it does.

Sources: Town of Babylon, “National Red Ribbon Week Kicks Off!,” October 7, 2026 · Red Ribbon Town Hall flyer · Town of Babylon announcements · Veterans Awareness Week flyer · Lindenhurst Memorial Library, “Swaps, Recycling, and Donation Drives”

BABYLON EATS

The best doughnuts on Long Island, according to Long Islanders, do not come from a bakery. They come out of a fryer on a truck from Wyandanch.

Dilly Dilly Donuts NY was voted Best Doughnuts on Long Island in the 2026 FourLeaf Best of Long Island, the Long Island Press reported on October 14. The Wyandanch business beat Duck Donuts, which won the category in 2025.

It is run by owners Hadria and Rich Montilla, and the trick is in the timing. The doughnuts are minis, made to order and fried hot on site, then topped with cinnamon crunch, maple glaze, fruity cereal, chocolate, powdered sugar, or seasonal fruit preserves.

The truck works local festivals, private parties and community gatherings, so finding it takes a little more effort than finding a shop. The Press lists the business in Wyandanch at (646) 412-5631 and online at dillydillydonuts.com.

Heroes in North Babylon, this weekend. Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace launched a food truck this month for its 25th anniversary and Italian Heritage Month, and its tour is scheduled to stop in North Babylon on October 23, 24 and 25, serving sausage-and-pepper heroes, according to Greater Long Island. The announcement did not give a street location, so check Uncle Giuseppe’s before you go.

A pink drink in Babylon. For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, The Pizzeria created the Raspberry Ribbon: raspberry tea-infused vodka, limoncello, fresh lemon juice and simple syrup. It is on the menu through October at its Babylon location, among four, and $2 from each one goes to Making Strides of Long Island. Co-founder Cliff Weinstein told Greater Long Island that cancer has touched families in the community, including his own.

Sources: Long Island Press, October 14, 2026 · Greater Long Island, October 5, 2026 · Greater Long Island, October 5, 2026

SCHOOLS · WEST BABYLON

Most graduates come back to their old high school for a reunion or a football game. Vamsi Parikh came back with bananas and a needle.

Parikh graduated from West Babylon Senior High School in 2024. On October 6 he returned to Mrs. Prizzi’s Anatomy and Physiology classes, now as an undergraduate at Stony Brook University, with his research teammate Melody Touranant.

The two are on Stony Brook’s team for iGEM, the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition. Every year, undergraduate teams design their own synthetic biology project, work on it through the spring and summer, and then present it at the international iGEM Jamboree.

This year Stony Brook is working on biofilms, the layers bacteria build up on surfaces. The team is engineering a plasmid, a small loop of DNA, meant to break biofilms down as they form. The aim is a preventative approach after surgery, according to the district.

Then came the hands-on part. Parikh and Touranant taught the students basic suturing, the stitches used to close a wound, using a banana in place of skin.

The district says the point was to connect what students study in Anatomy and Physiology to real research, and to show them the role biofilms can play in surgical care. Community education and outreach are part of the iGEM experience too, the district notes, and Parikh took his into the classroom he had sat in two years earlier.

That is the quieter lesson. The distance between a high school lab bench and university research turned out to be one graduating class. For a West Babylon student holding a needle over a banana, that is a short enough distance to picture crossing.

Source: West Babylon UFSD, “Hands-On Science Lesson in Suturing,” October 19, 2026

OPEN / CLOSED · TOWN OF BABYLON

Three changes this week: a coffee shop that is moving, a restaurant that might lose its landlord on purpose, and a corner of Farmingdale that has been dark since winter.

MOVING · Babylon Bean, Babylon Village. After 32 years at 17 Fire Island Ave., Babylon Bean is moving to 54 E. Main St., just east of Bunger Surf Shop, and plans to open there in time for the holiday season, Greater Long Island reported. Co-owner Kayla Belcher, who has worked with the business for 14 years and became an owner this year, said the new space is being fully renovated, with couches, plants and more room to sit. A new kitchen means breakfast and lunch: smash burgers, fries, grilled cheese and soups, with coffee flights in the works. Belcher was clear on one point. Babylon Bean is relocating, not closing. Equipment will move over gradually.

FOR SALE · Breakers Burrito Bar, Lindenhurst. The building at 147 S. Wellwood Ave. that houses Breakers has been listed for sale, according to Greater Long Island. Breakers comes from the Davis family behind Great South Bay Brewery and their partners, and the owners say they are not leaving. A sale could let them stay on as a tenant under a new landlord. In a statement they acknowledged complaints about food and service, and they asked residents to tell them what to fix at a community workshop planned for Tuesday, October 20. Breakers opened in April in the old Great South Bay Brewery space, inside a historic downtown bank building. Their words: “We’re asking for the opportunity to listen, improve, and earn that support back.”

SOLD · the former Hooters, Farmingdale. Long Island’s last Hooters, at 25 Smith St., announced in February that it was closing for good, News 12 reported. Now the property has a buyer. Bolla Oil, the company behind Bolla Market, closed on the former Hooters and the neighboring parcel at 27 Smith St., where Valley Bank still has time left on its lease, for $5.7 million, Newsday reported October 19, citing the buyer’s broker. Bolla’s chief development officer, Sean O’Neill, told Newsday nothing is planned yet for the old restaurant, a 0.76-acre parcel that is listed for lease as a built-out restaurant or cafe space. So, for now, nobody knows what will go there.

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

Sources: Greater Long Island, “After 32 years, Babylon Bean is moving to a bigger Main Street space,” Oct. 15, 2026 · Greater Long Island, “Breakers property up for sale as owners acknowledge struggles in Lindenhurst,” Oct. 13, 2026 · Newsday, “Hooters’ last location on Long Island, in Farmingdale, sold to Bolla Oil,” Oct. 19, 2026 · News 12 Long Island, Feb. 16, 2026

FROM THE ARCHIVES

On the north side of Colonial Springs Road in Wheatley Heights there is a roadside marker that chooses its words very carefully. It says: “Legend Says After Sailing with Pirate Captain Kidd in 1690s, Conklin Built Home Here in 1710. House Destroyed by Fire in 1918.”

The word doing the work is “legend.” It is a good word for late October.

Jacob Conklin built the first home in what is now the Town of Babylon, according to the Town’s own history. How he paid for it is the question. Conklin, the Town’s history says, sailed with the pirate Captain Kidd, and afterward he had a large sum of money and used it to buy vast tracts of land.

There are two versions of how he came ashore. In one, he was pressed into Kidd’s service and escaped while the ship lay at Cold Spring Harbor, hiding among the Native Americans and later buying land from them. In the other, he was a full member of the crew who simply decided to get off when the ship reached Long Island.

The family’s own telling is the better Halloween story. In 1907 a descendant wrote to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle to set it down, according to the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, which funded the marker. In that version Conklin, sent ashore for water, slipped away and hid inside a hollowed-out tree. A search party came looking for him. According to the legend, the men sat down on the very log he was hiding in, and never found him. The ship sailed on to Boston, where Kidd was arrested. Kidd was later hanged in London.

Conklin stayed. The Pomeroy Foundation’s account says he married Hannah Platt in 1701 and raised seven children on land that some estimated at 3,500 acres. A 1937 town history called their house “unquestionably the finest.” It stood for more than 200 years, the Town says, until it burned in 1918.

Here is the part most people do not know. Jacob’s son, Colonel Platt Conklin, was the father of Nathaniel Conklin. In 1803 Nathaniel and his mother, Phebe, moved to the south side of what was then Huntington, found that their new house sat next to a tavern, and Phebe declared the place another Babylon. Nathaniel carved “New Babylon” on a stone tablet in his chimney.

So, if you believe the legend, the Town of Babylon was named by the grandson of a man who once ran from Captain Kidd.

Nathaniel’s 1803 house still stands, on Deer Park Avenue just south of the railroad tracks in Babylon Village, moved there in 1871. Jacob’s is gone. The marker is what is left.

Sources: Town of Babylon, “Town History” · Town of Babylon, “Wheatley Heights History” · Town of Babylon, “Historical Markers within the Hamlet of Wheatley Heights” · William G. Pomeroy Foundation, “Jacob Conklin”

FEATURED BUSINESS · DEER PARK

A chamber spotlight only works if someone keeps it lit. The Deer Park Chamber of Commerce invites people to its meetings to learn how to get featured in its Monthly Member Spotlight, and this month it put new ones up on its website.

The pick is EXIT Realty Enjoy, a full-service real estate brokerage that has just opened at 2001 Deer Park Avenue, Suite A.

The chamber’s October 11 post welcomes the office as its newest member. It says the brokerage serves clients across Long Island and the greater New York City area, and that the team behind it has more than three decades of experience in New York real estate. Its pitch, in the chamber’s summary, is personal representation over a one-size-fits-all approach: guidance, marketing, negotiation.

The opening came with a small official honor. According to the chamber, EXIT Realty Enjoy received a Certificate of Recognition from New York State Senator Martinez, recognizing the grand opening and the office’s commitment to serving the Town of Babylon.

The office’s own website lists the franchisee and broker of record as Newton Hinds III. It describes the office as handling residential and commercial real estate, with Deer Park as its home base and neighborhood pages for Amityville, Babylon, Lindenhurst and Farmingdale among others. The phone number is (631) 392-1700. The site does not post office hours, so call ahead before dropping by.

A real estate office is not a bakery. You will not wander in for a coffee. But a new storefront on Deer Park Avenue is a vote of confidence in the avenue, and a chamber that names its members is a chamber doing its job.

Elsewhere in the Town: the Amityville Chamber of Commerce has not named an October Business of the Month yet. Its most recent honoree is Imperial Cleaning, headquartered in Amityville, which the chamber recognized in September for more than 30 years of commercial and residential cleaning.

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

Sources: Deer Park Chamber of Commerce, “Community Member Spotlight: EXIT Realty Enjoy,” Oct. 11, 2026 · EXIT Realty Enjoy · Amityville Chamber of Commerce, Sept. 2026

EXCLUSIVE · TOWN HALL · ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

This Thursday, October 22, the Town of Babylon Zoning Board of Appeals sits in the Town Board Room in the East Wing of Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst. The hearing begins at 6:00 p.m. Nine applications are booked five minutes apart through 6:40, heard in the order advertised.

Two words first. A setback is the distance the zoning code says a building must keep from a property line, such as thirty feet from the front. A variance is the Board's permission to go below that number, or over a cap like the share of a lot a house can cover. Between them, these nine applications contain 27 separate requests.

Going up a story. On Park Circle South, East Farmingdale, a second-story addition needs relief on the front yard (30 feet down to 25.7) and the north side yard (10 feet down to 3.1). On Main Avenue (Seamen’s Road), Wheatley Heights, the whole request is for one side yard to go from 15 feet to 14.8, about two and a half inches (0.2 feet). On Young Street, West Babylon, a second-floor addition comes with a relocated outside basement entrance and a rear yard reduced from 40 feet to 34.66.

Rebuilding. On East Gate, Copiague, a house is being reconstructed after fire damage. The plan needs a front porch at 19 feet 10 inches instead of 30, and a window well 5 feet 1 inch from the west line.

The biggest list. On Caboto Avenue, Copiague, a proposed two-story side addition, plus a cellar entrance, deck and pergola already there, add up to seven requests. One of them takes lot coverage from 30 percent to 44.96 percent, 2,203 square feet over.

Keeping what is already built. Four applications ask to legally maintain work that exists. They are a rear two-story addition on Skidmore Road, Deer Park; a masonry wall, patio and a six-foot fence along Half Hollows Road at De Feo Court, Deer Park, where coverage would go from 20 to 43.7 percent; patios, a shed and a basement egress window on Fairfield Drive, Dix Hills; and a shed on 44th Street, North Lindenhurst, which also adds two egress window wells for a finished basement, where the rear yard would drop from 40 feet to 21.06.

Your part. These are public hearings, which means the room is open and neighbors can come to be heard on what is proposed next door. If one of these streets is yours, Thursday is the night.

The same board meets again on October 29 with five more applications. We cover those in this week’s Town Hall Notebook.

Source: Town of Babylon Zoning Board of Appeals, Notice of Public Hearing, October 22, 2026 · Town of Babylon Agenda Center

EXCLUSIVE · TOWN HALL NOTEBOOK · WEEK OF OCTOBER 19

Four Town boards meet in four nights this week, and each one posts its list in advance. We read them all. The biggest night, Thursday’s nine Zoning Board hearings, gets its own story. Here is the rest.

Monday: Planning Board. This board reviews site plans and subdivisions and weighs in on zone changes. Two public hearings were on Monday’s agenda. One was a request to split three lots into two at Broadhollow Road and Smith Street, Farmingdale, keeping an existing office building and gas station. The other was facade work, a raised roof and outdoor vehicle storage at an industrial building at Albany Avenue and Watkins Terrace, North Amityville. The longer list is the reserved calendar: projects already heard where the record is extended and the decision reserved. It includes a 4,620-square-foot automated car wash on Route 110 in North Amityville, a three-story self-storage building on Grand Boulevard, Deer Park, fourteen three-bedroom condominiums on Route 109, West Babylon, nine new houses on 45th Street, Copiague, and an indoor sports complex on Route 110, East Farmingdale.

Tuesday: Accessory Apartment Review Board. This board hears applications for accessory apartments under the Town’s accessory-apartment law. Five new applications were scheduled: two in West Babylon and one each in North Babylon, Copiague and Wyandanch. Renewals filed by affidavit did not have to appear.

Wednesday (tonight, 6 p.m.): Rental Review Board. It hears rental applications, both new and renewal. There are five new ones: two in Copiague and one each in Wyandanch, Deer Park and West Babylon, the last filed by a company, JJ & WC Inc., on Lexington Avenue. There is one renewal, in Wheatley Heights.

Next Thursday, October 29: Zoning Board of Appeals, again. Five applications are on the list. E&R Property Group LLC wants to keep a second-floor addition and basement entrance on Deauville Boulevard, Copiague. SKMA Enterprises LLC wants to keep a side addition and second-story balconies on Shore Drive, Copiague. A homeowner on Foster Boulevard, North Babylon wants to add a second story and a front porch. The other two are sign renewals. Leon Petroleum LLC wants a 19-foot-6-inch sign with a 36-square-foot price panel kept at 1501 Straight Path, Wyandanch. 641 Wellwood Avenue LLC asks the same for a 16-foot-7-inch ground sign at 49th Street and North Wellwood Avenue. Both current approvals run into 2027.

The apartment, rental and zoning hearings all meet at 6 p.m. in the East Wing board room of Town Hall, 200 East Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst. They are public hearings, open to anyone who wants to be heard.

Sources: Planning Board agenda, Oct. 19 · Accessory Apartment Review Board, Oct. 20 · Rental Review Board, Oct. 21 · Zoning Board of Appeals, Oct. 29 · Town of Babylon Agenda Center

COMMUNITY · WYANDANCH

For more than 40 years, the Mercy Soup Kitchen has done the same thing every day in Wyandanch: cooked, served and cleaned up after a meal for anyone who came through the door. On a typical day that is about 150 people.

On Sunday, October 18, that stopped.

A fire broke out at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, the soup kitchen’s home, abc7NY reported. Church leaders told the station it started near an exterior door and spread into the building, damaging the kitchen and the church offices. Firefighters from Deer Park, Wyandanch, North Babylon and West Babylon put it out, according to Newsday, and officials said no one was hurt.

The soup kitchen is closed for now, and nobody can yet say for how long.

“I couldn’t sleep at all last night. There’s just such a tremendous job ahead of us,” Vito Colletti, the soup kitchen’s president, told the station.

The pastor, David Anglada, said the loss is hard because so many families depend on it. “This ministry is significant. It provides food for many families here in Wyandanch, so we are heartbroken we can’t do what we do on a daily basis here,” he said.

There is a second, quieter problem. The electricity has been shut off while the damage is assessed, and volunteers are worried about the food that was stored inside.

The work has not stopped completely. While professionals inspect the building and work out what has to be repaired, the volunteers are handing out sandwiches. Colletti described the people behind the kitchen as the kind who wash pots for hours, who love to cook and love to serve. A man who once ate there and later volunteered told the station the neighborhood needs the place badly.

If you want to help: the church says it needs money, not food or clothing, because right now it cannot store donated food or clothing. The reports do not say how to give. As soon as the church or the soup kitchen publishes a way to donate, we will add it here.

There is no timeline yet for reopening.

Sources: abc7NY, “Wyandanch church fire shuts down soup kitchen serving 150 people a day,” October 19, 2026 · Newsday, “Fire in Wyandanch church forces closure of soup kitchen,” October 19, 2026

THE WEEKEND AHEAD · HALLOWEEN

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the season gets ten days. The best of it from the I Love Babylon calendar, weekend first.

THIS WEEKEND

Long Island Family Festival, Friday to Sunday, Tanner Park, Copiague. Rained out in September, the Copiague Chamber of Commerce’s festival is back on the bay: Friday 6 to 10 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Carnival rides, live music, an art, craft and gift show, and the Long Island Pet Expo. The listing says admission is free. Details

Rotary Club Pups on Parade, Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to noon, Lindenhurst Village Square Park and Gazebo, 116 N. Wellwood Ave. The Lindenhurst Rotary’s dog parade. No price listed. Details

NYSF Spooky Happenings Market, Saturday, noon to 4 p.m., 759 Long Island Ave., Deer Park. More than 100 vendors, live music, food trucks and puppy adoptions. Free. Details

Lindy Cares Trick or Trunk, Saturday, 5 to 7 p.m., back at the Village Square in Lindenhurst. The Village’s trunk-or-treat for children. No price listed. Details

Trunk or Treat and Breast Cancer Walk, Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., James A. Caples Memorial Park, 398 S. Bay View Ave., Amityville, run by the Amityville Teachers Association. No price listed. Details

Creepy Crawl, Sunday, noon to 3 p.m., downtown Babylon Village. The Village Chamber’s Halloween walk through participating shops, with a tote and map from registration. It ends at the Babylon Public Library, 24 S. Carll Ave., where the free Monster Mash Dance Party runs 1 to 4 p.m., no registration. Details

HALLOWEEN WEEK

Halloween Bash, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 5 to 6:30 p.m., Lindenhurst Memorial Library, 1 Lee Ave. Games, crafts, dancing and the Haunted SLED walkthrough in the library’s backyard. Free. Details

Amityville Music Hall, 198 Broadway, for the grown-ups: Shrek Rave: Swamp-O-Ween, Thursday, Oct. 29, 9 p.m., 18 and over, $26.99 to $56.99; and the Halloween Cover Show, Friday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m., $21, with local bands playing as classic hardcore and punk acts.

The little-kid parades, all free. Friday, Oct. 30 at 11 a.m.: the North Babylon Public Library concert and parade, and West Babylon Public Library’s costume parade for ages 1 to 5 at 211 Route 109. Saturday, Oct. 31 at 11:30 a.m.: the Copiague Memorial Public Library parade, then pizza and a cartoon. Check each library for registration.

Trunk or Treat at Simpson UMC, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2 to 4 p.m., 30 Locust Ave., Amityville. All welcome. No price listed. Details

Frankenstein, Saturday, Oct. 31, Studio Theatre Long Island, 141 S. Wellwood Ave., Lindenhurst. A Halloween bonus performance of Tim Kelly’s adaptation. No curtain time or price listed; check with the theater. Details

And tomorrow night: the Wyandanch Public Library’s free Halloween Horror Movie Night, Thursday, Oct. 22, 5 to 7:30 p.m., for teens and adults.

Source: I Love Babylon events calendar, October 22 to 31, 2026

ASK A LOCAL

Q: I would rather not stand in line on a Tuesday. Where can I vote early, and when?

Early voting for the November 3 general election starts this Saturday, October 24, and runs nine days, through Sunday, November 1.

The best part: in Suffolk you are not tied to one building. The Board of Elections says you can vote early at any one of the county’s 28 early-voting locations. Three of them are in the Town of Babylon. Here they are, as the Board lists them:

Babylon Town Hall Annex, 281 Phelps Lane, North Babylon NY 11703. In the gym.

North Amityville Fire Dept, 601 Broadway, Amityville NY 11701. Upstairs meeting room.

Wyandanch Public Library, 14 S 20th Street, Wyandanch NY 11798. In the auditorium.

Just over the town line, the list also has the Dix Hills Fire Department, 115 E Deer Park Road, Dix Hills, and the West Islip Senior Center, 90 Higbie Lane, West Islip.

The hours change during the week, so check before you go:

Sat. Oct. 24, Sun. Oct. 25, Mon. Oct. 26: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Tue. Oct. 27, Wed. Oct. 28: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Thu. Oct. 29, Fri. Oct. 30: noon to 8 p.m.

Sat. Oct. 31, Sun. Nov. 1: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The early-morning days are Tuesday and Wednesday. The after-work days are Thursday and Friday.

Not registered yet? The state deadline to get a registration in for this election is also Saturday, October 24. Under state rules, your application has to be received by the board of elections by that date.

Not sure you are registered, or where you vote on Election Day? The state’s voter lookup shows your registration and your assigned poll site. Choose Suffolk and enter your name, date of birth and address. On November 3 you vote at that assigned site, and the polls are open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

One more thing you will notice: Suffolk switched to new touchscreen ExpressVote XL machines this year.

Questions go to the Suffolk County Board of Elections in Yaphank, (631) 852-4500.

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

Sources: Suffolk County Board of Elections, “2026 General Locations and Timings” · Suffolk County Board of Elections · NYS Board of Elections, Early Voting · NYS Board of Elections, Registration and Voting Deadlines

EXCLUSIVE · TOWN HALL · LINDENHURST

Buried in an eighty-one-page resolution agenda, between a new stop sign on Frank Street and three condemned houses, the Town Board did something on October 7 that will matter enormously to a small number of Babylon families.

It made them exempt.

Local Law 16 of 2026, adopted 5–0, rewrites Article IV of Chapter 195 of the Town code. The new section — § 195-16.2, “Exemption for certain seriously disabled veterans” — says the primary residence of a seriously disabled veteran “shall be fully exempt from taxation and special district charges, assessments and special ad valorem levies.”

Not reduced. Fully exempt, special districts included.

The law hangs on subdivision 11 of section 458-a of the New York Real Property Tax Law, and it reads as a two-part test. A veteran has to satisfy one condition from the first list and the single condition in the second.

The first list — any one of these three. Discharged or released from active military, naval, space or air service under honorable conditions, which the law explicitly extends to Army and Air National Guard service performed under federal Title 10 orders. Or a qualifying condition as defined in section one of the Veterans’ Services Law, with a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable. Or a discharged LGBT veteran as defined in that same section of the Veterans’ Services Law, again with a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable.

The second condition, and the one that decides most cases. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs has to consider the veteran permanently and totally disabled as a result of military service — and the law wants the paper. It asks for “a letter, official form, or other document” from the VA that specifically says so.

Two more lines are worth knowing. The taxable assessed value cannot be pushed below zero. And nothing in the new section cancels an exemption anyone already holds under subdivision three of section 458.

The timing is the part to act on. The law takes effect on filing with the Secretary of State, and it applies to assessment rolls prepared on taxable status dates on or after October 1, 2026 — which is to say now, not next year.

If that describes your household, the next call is the Town Assessor’s office, with the VA letter in hand. Town Hall is at 200 E. Sunrise Highway, North Lindenhurst; the main number is 631-957-3000. We are describing a law here, not giving tax advice — the Assessor decides what applies to your parcel.

The Board had opened a public hearing on the amendment earlier that same afternoon, which is the step that let it vote the same day. That hearing is closed. The law is on the books.

It landed, as it happens, the same week the Town posted its Veteran’s Awareness Week notice. One of those two things will still be true in April.

Source: Town of Babylon Town Board, resolution agenda, October 7, 2026 (Resolution 708 / Local Law 16 of 2026) · Town of Babylon Agenda Center

EXCLUSIVE · TOWN HALL · LINDENHURST

New York caps how much more a town can raise in property taxes each year. A town that wants to go over the cap cannot simply do it. It has to pass a local law saying so, and it has to hold a public hearing first.

Babylon scheduled that hearing on October 7.

Resolution 705 is three sentences of plain intent. The Town Board, it says, “is desirous of passing a local law to pierce the tax cap,” and because state law requires a hearing before such a law can pass, one will be held at Town Hall on November 5, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.

A page later, Resolution 706 sets the hearing on the 2027 preliminary budget — same place, same date, same 3:00 p.m.

So the two questions arrive together: here is next year’s spending plan, and here is our request for room above the limit.

Both passed on the consensus agenda, offered by Councilman McSweeney and seconded by Councilman Gregory, 5 yeas, 0 nays.

What we cannot tell you yet is the size of it. The preliminary budget was not attached to the agenda packet; Resolution 706 says only that a copy “will be available at the office of the Town Clerk.” Any figure you see before that document is public is somebody’s guess, and we are not going to add one to the pile.

It is also worth being precise about what scheduling this hearing does and does not mean. Passing a cap-piercing law is not the same as piercing the cap. Towns across New York routinely adopt the enabling law as insurance and then pass a budget inside the limit anyway. It buys flexibility. It remains the single most consequential vote a town board takes in a year, and it is being taken at three in the afternoon on a weekday in early November.

If you want to be in the room: Town of Babylon Town Hall, 200 E. Sunrise Highway, North Lindenhurst, NY 11757 — Thursday, November 5, 3:00 p.m. The draft local law is on file at the Town Clerk’s office for public inspection during business hours, and notice of both hearings has to run in the Town’s official newspaper. The main number is 631-957-3000.

We will read the preliminary budget when it is out, and write up what is actually in it.

Source: Town of Babylon Town Board, resolution agenda, October 7, 2026 (Resolutions 705 and 706)