Shoreham, which featured the large
Wardenclyffe Tower
Wardenclyffe Tower (1901–1917), also known as the Tesla Tower, was an early experimental wireless transmission station designed and built by Nikola Tesla on Long Island in 1901–1902, located in the village of Shoreham, New York. Tesla inte ...
. As of 2016, this site was being renovated as the
Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe
The Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe (also known as TSCW) is a nonprofit organization established to develop a regional science and technology center, museum and makerspace at the site of Nikola Tesla's former Wardenclyffe laboratory on Lo ...
.
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi (; 25 April 187420 July 1937) was an Italians, Italian inventor and electrical engineering, electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegrap ...
opened one of the world's largest radio facilities, known as
RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
's ''Radio Central'', in
Rocky Point.
Modern history
In the post-war era, Brookhaven experienced a massive population boom. This was partly due to its proximity to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
along the
Long Island Rail Road and the highway system of
Robert Moses
Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid 20th century. Despite never being elected to any office, Moses is regarded ...
. The township's most internationally renowned institutions,
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...
and
Brookhaven National Lab
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Upton, Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base and Japanese internment c ...
, both date to the years following World War II.
During the mid-century, a number of major transformations were conducted by philanthropist
Ward Melville
John Ward Melville (January 5, 1887 – June 5, 1977) was an American philanthropist and businessman active in the "Three Villages" in western Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. He donated 400 acres of land and money to establish Stony Broo ...
in the "Three Village" area (
The Setaukets
Setauket is a hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven, New York, Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States, on the North Shore (Long Island), Nort ...
,
Stony Brook, and
Old Field). Melville, an Old Field resident and owner of what later became
CVS Corporation
CVS Health Corporation (previously CVS Corporation and CVS Caremark Corporation) is an American healthcare company that owns CVS Pharmacy, a retail pharmacy chain; CVS Caremark, a pharmacy benefits manager; and Aetna, a health insurance provi ...
, used his fortune to transform Northwestern Brookhaven to his vision of an idealized New England-style region. To this end, he ordered the construction in 1939 of the
Stony Brook Village Center
Stony Brook, New York, is located just 60 miles from Manhattan, and is home to the Stony Brook Village Center. The colonial-style village center was the creation of philanthropist and businessman Ward Melville. The center blends shopping, restaur ...
, a picturesque commercial center set on village green in
Stony Brook, with clapboard buildings designed to look as if they had colonial origins. In 1962, Ward Melville donated 400 acres of land for the relocation of now-named
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...
from
Oyster Bay.
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) sits on the site of
Camp Upton
Camp Upton was a port of embarkation of the United States Army during World War I. During World War II it was used to intern enemy aliens. It was located in Yaphank, New York in Suffolk County on Long Island, on the present-day location of Bro ...
, a
United States army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
installation that was used as a training ground in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
by thousands of soldiers including composer
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russi ...
. In 1946 ownership of the grounds was transferred for use by the new national laboratory, which began operating the following year. Brookhaven researchers have since made such diverse contributions as patenting
Maglev
Maglev (derived from '' magnetic levitation''), is a system of train transportation that uses two sets of electromagnets: one set to repel and push the train up off the track, and another set to move the elevated train ahead, taking advantage ...
, designing one of the
first video game
The history of video games spans a period of time between the invention of the first electronic games and today, covering many inventions and developments. Video gaming reached mainstream popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, when arcade video ga ...
s, detecting the first
solar neutrino
A solar neutrino is a neutrino originating from nuclear fusion in the Sun's core, and is the most common type of neutrino passing through any source observed on Earth at any particular moment. Neutrinos are elementary particles with extremely smal ...
s, designing pollutant-eating bacteria, creating the first
PET scan
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a functional imaging technique that uses radioactive substances known as radiotracers to visualize and measure changes in metabolic processes, and in other physiological activities including blood flow, r ...
, and various contributions to
particle physics
Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) an ...
. The laboratory contains the
Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the
National Synchrotron Light Source
The National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in Upton, New York was a national user research facility funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Built from 1978 through 1984, and officially shut down ...
. Noted physicist and Nobel laureate
I.I. Rabi
Isidor Isaac Rabi (; born Israel Isaac Rabi, July 29, 1898 – January 11, 1988) was an American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1944 for his discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance, which is used in magnetic resonance ima ...
was instrumental in the national laboratory's establishment.
Geography
Brookhaven is located centrally on the geographic Long Island and extends from the
North Shore to the
South Shore. According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the town has a total area of 531.5 square miles (1,376.6 km
2), of which 259.3 square miles (671.6 km
2) is land and 272.2 square miles (705.1 km
2 or 51.22%) is water. It is the largest town in New York in terms of total area, excluding water. However, there are four towns in the state with more land area:
Arietta in
Hamilton County,
Long Lake in Hamilton County,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
in
Herkimer County
Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named af ...
and
Webb
Webb most often refers to James Webb Space Telescope which is named after James E. Webb, second Administrator of NASA.
It may also refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Webb Glacier (South Georgia)
* Webb Glacier (Victoria Land)
* Webb Névé, Victor ...
in Herkimer County.
Brookhaven is bounded to the north by the
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...
, and to the south by the Atlantic Ocean.
Riverhead and
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
to the east, and
Smithtown and
Islip
Islip may refer to:
Places England
* Islip, Northamptonshire
*Islip, Oxfordshire
United States
*Islip, New York, a town in Suffolk County
** Islip (hamlet), New York, located in the above town
**Central Islip, New York, a hamlet and census-d ...
to the west.
A large part of
Fire Island
Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York.
Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Lo ...
(accessible by a bridge at Smith Point) and the
Great South Bay
The Great South Bay is a lagoon situated between Long Island and Fire Island, in the State of New York. It is about long and has an average depth of 4 feet 3 inches and is 20 feet at its deepest. It is protected from the Atlantic Ocean by Fire ...
are in the town.
Bald Hill, a large hill in the hamlet of
Farmingville, marks where the glacier which formed Long Island stopped. At the top of Bald Hill is a
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
veterans memorial.
Telescope Hill
Telescope Hill, at , is the highest point of elevation in the Town of Brookhaven, on Long Island, New York, United States. The hill is located at the end of Tower Hill Ave., on the border of the ZIP codes of the hamlets of Selden and Farmingv ...
, to the west of Bald Hill Cultural Park, is slightly taller at above sea level and the highest point in the town.
Climate
Physical features
*
Outer Barrier
The Outer Barrier, also known as the Long Island and New York City barrier islands, refers to the string of barrier islands that divide the lagoons south of Long Island, New York from the Atlantic Ocean. These islands include Long Beach Barrier I ...
*
Fire Island
Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York.
Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Lo ...
*
Great South Bay
The Great South Bay is a lagoon situated between Long Island and Fire Island, in the State of New York. It is about long and has an average depth of 4 feet 3 inches and is 20 feet at its deepest. It is protected from the Atlantic Ocean by Fire ...
**
Patchogue Bay
Patchogue Bay is a lagoon on the south-central shores of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York.
Part of the Great South Bay, Patchogue Bay is a cove between the points of land known as Blue Point and Howells Point, and across which ferrie ...
**Bellport Bay
**Narrow Bay
**
Moriches Bay
Moriches Bay ( ) is a lagoon system on the south shore of Long Island, New York. The name Moriches comes from Meritces, a Native American who owned land on Moriches Neck.
Two townships in Suffolk, New York ( Brookhaven and the Southampton) shar ...
Demographics
As of the
2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
,
there were 485,773 people residing in the town. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was . The racial makeup of the town was 83.0%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
(including 72.0%
Non-Hispanic whites
Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Amer ...
), 6.1%
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
or
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.1%
Native American, 4.7%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.1%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, and 3.8% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
people of any race were 15.6% of the population.
Economy
According to Brookhaven's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the town are:
Attractions
*
Baseball Heaven
Baseball Heaven (BBH) is a 27-acre baseball complex in Yaphank, New York on Long Island,. The complex is located close to Long Island MacArthur Airport. Baseball Heaven has been around since August 6, 2002. Baseball Heaven attracts talent from t ...
in Yaphank
*
Cupsogue Beach County Park
Cupsogue Beach County Park is a park at the eastern end of Fire Island and the western end of Westhampton Island, known locally as Dune Road, one of Long Island's easternmost barrier islands. The Atlantic Ocean, Moriches Inlet and Moriches Bay s ...
*
Manor St. George in Shirley
*
Old Field Point Light in Old Field
*
Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove
*
Smith Point County Park
Smith Point County Park is a beachfront park facing the Atlantic Ocean on the east end of Fire Island, along the central south shore of Long Island, near Shirley, New York, United States. It is the largest park owned by Suffolk County.
The park ...
in Shirley/Mastic Beach
*
Southaven County Park
Southaven County Park is located in South Haven and Yaphank, New York in central Long Island. It is located between Sunrise Highway ( Route 27) just west of William Floyd Parkway, off of Victory Avenue ( Suffolk CR 56/North Sunrise Service Road) ...
in South Haven
*
Splish Splash water park
A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...
in Calverton
*
Stony Brook Village Center
Stony Brook, New York, is located just 60 miles from Manhattan, and is home to the Stony Brook Village Center. The colonial-style village center was the creation of philanthropist and businessman Ward Melville. The center blends shopping, restaur ...
in Stony Brook
*
Watch Hill
*
Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge
The Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge is located on the south shore of Long Island and is one of the undeveloped estuary systems on Long Island. In 1947, Maurice Wertheim donated on eastern Long Island to the United States government; the dona ...
*
William Floyd House
William Floyd House, also known as Nicoll Floyd House and Old Mastic House, was a home of Founding Father William Floyd, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, in Mastic Beach, New York. It was his home from 1734 until 1803. ...
in Mastic Beach
Government and politics
Patchogue was the town seat of Brookhaven until 1986, when it moved to Medford and then its current location near
Bald Hill in Farmingville.
Brookhaven is led by a town supervisor and a six-member town council, which are all four-year term elected positions. Council members have been elected by district since a referendum in 2002.
Prior to 2002, the local
Republican Party for the Town of Brookhaven nearly controlled the entirety of the town board for several decades, except for a four-year period in the mid-1970s when
Democrats held a majority under Supervisor John Randolph.
This one-party domination, and a series of scandals, led to a tarnished reputation of local politics and accorded the nickname "Crookhaven".
After the referendum was passed In 2002,
Steve Fiore-Rosenfield became the first Democrat to be elected since the 1970s in 2003.
In 2005,
Brian X. Foley, a Democratic county legislator, won the town supervisor race. Constance Kepert and Carol Bissonette were also elected to the town board. With the re-election of Fiore-Rosenfield the Democrats gained control of the Brookhaven town board for the first time since the 1970s.
In 2007, councilwoman Carol Bissonette chose not to pursue re-election, but to instead run for the open receiver of taxes seat. Her district, the sixth, was won by Republican Keith Romaine, returning the town to a 4-3 majority on the town board. The new majority opted to elect councilman Tim Mazzei as majority leader.
In 2008, Brian X. Foley was elected to the New York state senate. As per New York state law his seat was declared vacant, a special election was held on March 31, 2009, to replace him. Democrat
Mark Lesko
Mark J. Lesko (born February 4, 1967) is an American politician and attorney who served as the acting Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division at the United States Justice Department. Prior to that, from January 20, 2021, he ...
. defeated Majority Leader Mazzei to become Supervisor. In August 2012, Lesko chose to step down and join a tech company on Long Island. A special election was held on November 6, 2012, which was won by Republican county legislator Edward P. Romaine, who had previously served as county clerk. With Romaine's victory and the subsequent victories of Daniel Losquadro in 2013 for the special election of highway superintendent, and Independence party member Donna Lent to town clerk, the Republican party and its endorsed allies won all townwide seats for the first time since former supervisor John Jay LaValle.
In presidential politics the town of Brookhaven is often considered the bellwether for presidential results in Suffolk County. In the past four elections Brookhaven has voted for the winner of Suffolk County. With a population of almost 500,000, Brookhaven represents 1/3rd of the vote in Suffolk County. The Democratic party picked up narrow victories in the elections of 2004, 2008, and 2012. In 2016,
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
defeated Democrat
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
by 13.52 points or a margin of 54-40 (including third parties). This was the first victory for a Republican candidate in both Brookhaven and Suffolk County as a whole since 1992 when the town voted for
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
over
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
. Brookhaven continued its Republican swing in 2020 voting for Donald Trump again by a reduced margin.
Communities and locations
Villages (incorporated)
Brookhaven has eight
villages
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
:
*
Belle Terre
Belle Terre is a village in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 792 at the 2010 census.
History
The peninsula on which the community of Belle Terre is ...
*
Bellport
Bellport is a village in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 2,084 at the 2010 census.
The Incorporated Village of Bellport is named after the Bell family ...
*
Lake Grove
*
Old Field
*
Patchogue
*
Poquott
Poquott is a village in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 953 at the 2010 census. The village is located in the Town of Brookhaven, on the North Shore of Long Island, and is officially known as the Incorporated Villa ...
*
Port Jefferson
Port Jefferson (informally known as "Port Jeff") is an incorporated village in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. Officially known as the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, the population ...
*
Shoreham
Hamlets (unincorporated)
Brookhaven includes all or part of approximately 50
hamlets
A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...
. One of those hamlets is also named Brookhaven.
*
Blue Point
*
Brookhaven
*
Calverton ''(mostly in
Town of Riverhead)''
*
Center Moriches
Center Moriches ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 7,580 at the 2010 census. Center Moriches is in the town of Brookhaven. It is the location of the historic Masury Estate B ...
*
Centereach
Centereach () is a hamlet and census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 31,578 at the 2010 census.
History
The hamlet of Centereach was first called West Middle Island, but primarily became known a ...
*
Cherry Grove
*
Coram
*
Davis Park
*
East Moriches
*
East Patchogue
*
East Setauket
*
East Shoreham
*
Eastport ''(partially, with
Town of Southampton)''
*
Farmingville
*
Fire Island Pines
*
Gordon Heights
*
Hagerman
*
Holbrook Holbrook may refer to:
Places
England
*Holbrook, Derbyshire, a village
* Holbrook, Somerset, a hamlet in Charlton Musgrove
* Holbrook, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, a former mining village in Mosborough ward, now known as Halfway
*Holbrook, Suffolk, ...
''(mostly in
Town of Islip)''
*
Holtsville ''(small part in Town of Islip)''
*
Lake Ronkonkoma
Lake Ronkonkoma is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 20,155 at the 2010 census.
Lake Ronkonkoma is mainly located in the Town of Brookhaven, but has ...
''(small parts in Towns of Islip and
Smithtown)''
*
Manorville ''(small part in Town of Riverhead)''
*
Mastic
Mastic may refer to:
Adhesives and pastes
*Mastic (plant resin)
*Mastic asphalt, or asphalt, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid
* Mastic cold porcelain, or salt ceramic, is a traditional salt-based modeling clay.
*Mastic, high-grade con ...
*
Mastic Beach ''(Mastic Beach, previously an incorporated village which was dissolved 11:59 PM on December 31, 2017)''
*
Medford
*
Middle Island
*
Miller Place
*
Moriches
*
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...
*
North Bellport
*
North Patchogue
*
Ocean Bay Park
*
Port Jefferson Station
Port Jefferson Station is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven, in Suffolk County, in New York, United States. The population was 7,838 as of the 2010 census.
History
The area now known as Port Jefferson Station ...
*
Point O'Woods
*
Ridge
A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...
*
Rocky Point
*
Ronkonkoma ''(mostly in Town of Islip)''
*
Selden
*
Setauket
Setauket is a hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven, New York, Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States, on the North Shore (Long Island), Nort ...
*
Shirley
Shirley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë
* ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film
* ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film
* ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...
*
Sound Beach
*
South Haven
*
Stony Brook
*
Strongs Neck
*
Upton
*
Wading River ''(mostly in Town of Riverhead)''
*
Water Island
*
West Manor
*
Yaphank
Yaphank () is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 5,945 at the time of the 2010 census.
Yaphank is located in the south part of the Town of Brookhaven. It is served by the L ...
Other communities
*Bayberry Dunes
*Bellview Beach
*Canaan Lake
*Coram Hill
*Crystal Brook
*
East Yaphank
*Hallock Landing
*Old Mastic
*
Poospatuck Reservation
The Poospatuck Reservation is a Native American reservation of the Unkechaugi band in the community of Mastic, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is one of two Native American reservations in Suffolk County, the other being the Shinnec ...
*Rocky Point Landing
*Patchogue Highlands
*Siegfried Park
*South Manor
*South Medford
*
South Setauket
*South Yaphank
*Squassux Landing
*Smith Point
*Wading River Landing
*West Yaphank
*Woodhull Landing
*East Selden (Selden)
Education
Brookhaven is the home of
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...
, which moved to
Stony Brook from its original Oyster Bay campus in 1962; the university has since become the town's largest employer. The town is home to the first and largest campus of
Suffolk County Community College, located in
Selden. The town is also home to
The Stony Brook School
The Stony Brook School is a 7–12 private, Christian, co-educational, college-preparatory boarding and day school in Stony Brook, New York, United States. It was established in 1922 by John Fleming Carson and fellow members of the Stony ...
, a Christian college prep and boarding school in
Stony Brook.
Transportation
Major roads
*
Interstate 495
*
New York State Route 25A
New York State Route 25A (NY 25A) is a state highway on Long Island in New York, United States. It serves as the main east–west route for most of the North Shore of Long Island, running for from Interstate 495 (I-495) at the ...
*
New York State Route 25
New York State Route 25 (NY 25) is an east–west state highway in downstate New York in the United States. The route extends for just over from east midtown Manhattan in New York City to the Cross Sound Ferry terminal at Orient Poin ...
*
New York State Route 24
New York State Route 24 (NY 24) is a east–west state highway on Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. The highway is split into two segments, with the longest and westernmost of the two extending from an interchange with In ...
*
New York State Route 27
New York State Route 27 (NY 27) is a long state highway that runs east–west from Interstate 278 (I-278) in the New York City borough of Brooklyn to Montauk Point State Park on Long Island, New York. Its two most prominent c ...
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New York State Route 112
New York State Route 112 (NY 112) is a state highway located entirely within the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, in the United States. It runs from an intersection with Montauk Highway (formerly part of NY 27A) i ...
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New York State Route 347
200px, Intersection of NY 347 and 112
New York State Route 347 (NY 347) is an east–west state highway located in Suffolk County, New York, in the United States. It connects the Northern State Parkway in Hauppauge to NY 25A in ...
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County Route 16
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Montauk Highway
Montauk Highway is an east–west road extending for across the southern shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, in the United States. It extends from the Nassau County line in Amityville, where it connects to Merrick Road, to Montauk ...
, including
County Route 85 and
County Route 80
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County Route 97
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County Route 83
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County Route 46
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County Route 51
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County Route 111
Bus service
The Town of Brookhaven is served primarily by
Suffolk County Transit bus routes, although the
Village of Patchogue has its own bus service.
Railroad lines
Long Island Rail Road has three lines running through the Town of Brookhaven. The
Main Line
Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to:
Transportation
Railway
* Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system
* Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...
includes
Ronkonkoma station
Ronkonkoma (signed as Ronkonkoma L.I. MacArthur Airport on station signage) is a major railroad station and transportation hub along the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road in Ronkonkoma, New York. The station is the eastern terminus of the ...
, which not only serves as a major transportation hub, but is also located on the Islip-Brookhaven Town Line. It also contains the and stations. The
Montauk Branch
The Montauk Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles (185 km) from Long Island City on the west to Montauk on the east. Howe ...
, located on the
South Shore of Long Island
The South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, is the area along Long Island's Atlantic Ocean shoreline.
Description
Though some consider the South Shore to include parts of Queens, particularly the beach co ...
, includes the , , and stations, with the
Center Moriches station
Center Moriches ( ) was a station stop along the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. It was located on Railroad Avenue and Hamilton Street in Center Moriches, New York.
History
The station was built by the Brooklyn and Montauk Railroad, ...
having operated until 1998. On the
North Shore of the town, the
Port Jefferson Branch
The Port Jefferson Branch is a rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The branch splits from the Main Line (Long Island Rail Road), Main Line just east of Hicksville ...
contains two stations as it enters from the Town of Smithtown:
Stony Brook station along the northern edge of
SUNY at Stony Brook, and
Port Jefferson station
Port Jefferson Station is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven, in Suffolk County, in New York, United States. The population was 7,838 as of the 2010 census.
History
The area now known as Port Jefferson Station ...
along
Main Street where the line terminates.
Ferries
The primary ferry within the Town of Brookhaven is the
Bridgeport-Port Jefferson Ferry, which takes vehicles and passengers across the
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...
to and from Port Jefferson to
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...
. On the Great South Bay, passenger ferries take vacationers to and from Fire Island. The ferry terminals in Patchogue lead to the communities of
Davis Park, and
Watch Hill Visitor's Center, on the western edge of the
Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness
Otis may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Characters
* Otis (Superman), in the films ''Superman'' and ''Superman II'' and related DC Comics media
** Otis Graves, in the TV series ''Supergirl''
* Otis (''The Walking Dead''), in the Image Comic ...
Area. Bellport also has a ferry leading to Bellport Beach on Fire Island.
From Fire Island itself, communities have ferries from Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove, both of which are popular vacation spots for LGBT tourists as well as the
Sailors Haven Visitor's Center, which is located within the Sunken Forest Visitor's Center. All three ferries lead to
Sayville
Sayville is a hamlet and census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Located on the South Shore of Long Island in the Township of Islip, the population of the CDP was 16,853 at the time of the 2010 census.
History
The ea ...
in the Town of Islip.
Ocean Bay Park is the westernmost community in the Town of Brookhaven, and ferries from there lead to
Bay Shore
Bay Shore is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Islip, New York, United States. It is situated on the South Shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay. The population of the CDP was 29,244 at the time of the 2020 ...
.
Airports
The town of Brookhaven contains three minor reliever airports, all of which are in south shore communities. The first one is the
Brookhaven Calabro Airport
Brookhaven Calabro Airport is a public airport located one mile (1.6 km) north of the central business district of Shirley, in Suffolk County, New York, United States. This airport is publicly owned by the Town of Brookhaven.
Although mo ...
in Shirley. East of this is the
Spadaro Airport
Spadaro Airport was a privately owned, public use airport located one nautical mile (2 km) northeast of the central business district of East Moriches, in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It was included in the National P ...
and
Lufker Airport both of which are in East Moriches, and both of which share a taxiway. Coram Airport was operational until 1984.
Coram Airport Site (WikiMapia)
/ref>
Notable people
*Alfred Charles Garratt
Alfred Charles Garratt (October 3, 1813 – June 30, 1891) was an American medical doctor who frequently used electricity as a medical tool. He was the first full-time medical doctor in electrotherapy in the United States and wrote the first bo ...
*Tapping Reeve
Tapping Reeve (October 1, 1744 – December 13, 1823) was an American lawyer, judge, and law educator. In 1784 he opened the Litchfield Law School, the first law school in the United States, in Litchfield, Connecticut.
Early life
Tapping Reev ...
See also
*
References
External links
Town of Brookhaven official website
{{authority control
Towns on Long Island
Towns in Suffolk County, New York
Towns in the New York metropolitan area
Populated coastal places in New York (state)