Islip, New York

Islip, New York

Islip is a town in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the South Shore of Long Island.

The Town of Islip includes a smaller area called the hamlet and census-designated place of Islip. This area is where the town's main offices are located and helps serve as the center for the whole town.

History

Matthias Nicoll moved to New York from Islip, Northamptonshire, England, in 1664. His son, William Nicoll, got land that reached from East Islip to Bayport and included many nearby places. The Town of Islip was officially created in 1683.

Over time, Islip grew slowly until after the Revolutionary War. Then, progress sped up because of shipping. By the mid-1800s, ferries and the Long Island Rail Road started serving the area, bringing more visitors. Tourism helped the town grow, and many visitors built summer homes.

In the early 1900s, new ways of traveling and new housing changed the town. After World War II, many people moved to Islip. It changed from a quiet farming area into a busy suburb. The population grew quickly from 71,000 in 1950 to 280,000 in 1970.

In 1987, the town dealt with an incident with a garbage barge. The town started programs to help keep the environment clean, including one of the first recycling programs in the United States.

Geography

Islip is on the South Shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The Atlantic Ocean is to its south, Babylon is to its west, Smithtown is to its north, and Brookhaven is to its east. It also touches Huntington to the northwest.

The town covers 162.8 square miles (422 km²). Of this, 103.2 square miles (267 km²) is land and 59.6 square miles (154 km²) is water. It includes parts of Fire Island, Jones Beach Island, and Captree Island. These islands are separated from Long Island by the Great South Bay.

Demographics

In the year 2000, the town of Islip had 322,612 people living there. There were 98,936 homes, and 78,555 families. Many people lived close together, with 3,064.5 people for every square mile. Most of the people were White, but there were also many Black or African American, Asian, and people from other races.

In these homes, 39.4% had children under 18. Most homes, 62.4%, were married couples living together. Some homes had only a mother and children, and others were made up of single people.

About a quarter of the people were children under 18, and about 10% were older people aged 65 or more. The average family had about 3.5 people.

By 2006, the average amount of money a family made was $86,190 each year. Not everyone had enough money, with about 6.2% of people living below the poverty line.

Government

Islip is led by a Town Supervisor, who works like a Mayor, with help from four elected council members. A Town Clerk and Receiver of Taxes are also elected. All leaders serve four-year terms, with elections in odd-numbered years.

The town board makes important decisions, such as creating budgets and making new laws. Over time, control of the town has changed between groups. Recently, more people from different backgrounds have been encouraged to join local government to ensure fair representation.

Economy

Some big companies have their main offices in Ronkonkoma, like NBTY and Sigma Corporation. The town has a special area for international trade called the Town of Islip Foreign Trade Zone. This area is close to Long Island MacArthur Airport.

Communities and locations

Note: ✝ Denotes area is on Fire Island

Villages (incorporated)

• Brightwaters
• Islandia
• Ocean Beach ✝
• Saltaire ✝

Hamlets (unincorporated)

• Bay Shore
• Bayport
• Baywood
• Bohemia
• Brentwood
• Captree (partially; with the Town of Babylon)
• Central Islip
• East Islip
• Great River
• Hauppauge (partially; with the Town of Smithtown)
• Holbrook (partially; with the Town of Brookhaven)
• Holtsville (partially; with the Town of Brookhaven)
• Islip
• Islip Terrace
• Kismet ✝
• Lake Ronkonkoma (partially; with the Towns of Brookhaven and Smithtown)
• Lonelyville ✝
• North Bay Shore
• North Great River
• Oakdale
• Ronkonkoma (partially; with the Town of Brookhaven)
• Sayville
• West Bay Shore
• West Islip
• West Sayville

Other communities

• Atlantique ✝
• Captree
• Corneille Estates ✝
• Dunewood ✝
• East Fire Island (Middle Island)
• Edgewood (Brentwood ZIP code)
• Fair Harbor ✝
• Lakeland (Ronkonkoma ZIP code)
• Robbins Rest ✝
• Seaview ✝
• Sexton Island
• West Fire Island (Thompson's Island)

State parks

• Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park
• Brentwood State Park
• Connetquot River State Park Preserve
• Heckscher State Park
• Robert Moses State Park

Transportation

Airports

Long Island MacArthur Airport and the New York Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) are both in the hamlet of Ronkonkoma. MacArthur Airport is owned by the Town of Islip and maintained through the Town of Islip Department of Aviation.

A smaller rural airport known as Bayport Aerodrome also exists within the town and is used for antique aircraft. It is also owned by the Town of Islip.

Railroad lines

The Long Island Rail Road's Montauk Branch runs through the town between the Village of Babylon and the Hamlet of Blue Point in the Town of Brookhaven. It has stations from Bay Shore through Sayville. The other line is the Main Line which runs through the northern part of the town with stations in Brentwood, Central Islip and Ronkonkoma.

Bus service

The Town of Islip has bus service from Suffolk County Transit.

Major roads

See also: List of county routes in Suffolk County, New York

• I-495 is the Long Island Expressway. It runs along the northern part of the town.
• Southern State Parkway enters the Town of Islip from the Town of Babylon. Trucks cannot use this parkway.
• Heckscher State Parkway leads to Heckscher State Park.
• Sagtikos State Parkway runs from West Islip to the Long Island Expressway.
• Robert Moses Causeway leads from Robert Moses State Park to Southern State Parkway.
• Ocean Parkway runs across Jones Beach Island.
• NY 27 is Sunrise Highway.
• NY 27A is Montauk Highway west of Connetquot River State Park.
• CR 67 is part of the Long Island Motor Parkway
• CR 85 is Montauk Highway east of Connetquot River State Park.
• CR 93 runs from Sayville to Lake Ronkonkoma.
• CR 97 is Nicoll's Road.
• NY 111 runs from the Hamlet of Islip to the Town of Smithtown.
• NY 231 runs along the Babylon-Islip town line.
• NY 454 is the Veterans' Memorial Highway. It runs from NY 347 to NY 27 and serves as the address for Long Island MacArthur Airport.

Ferries

Passenger ferries go to Fire Island from Bay Shore and Sayville. Bay Shore has terminals for ferries to several places on Fire Island. Sayville's ferry terminals go to Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines, which are popular vacation spots, as well as to Sailors Haven.