The Town of Babylon is one of ten

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York, constituting the eastern two-thirds of Long Island. It is bordered to its west by Nassau County, to its east by Gardiners Bay and the open Atlantic Ocean, to its no ...

, United States. Its population was 218,223 as of the 2020 census. Parts of Jones Beach Island, Captree Island and

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. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy once again divided Fire Island into two islands. Together, these two isl ...

are in the southernmost part of the town. It borders Nassau County to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. At its westernmost point, it is about from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

at the

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

border, and about from

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. The

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

is also within the town.

History

The region was once called Huntington South. Nathaniel Conklin and Nathan Kowitt moved their families to the area, and around 1803 named it New Babylon, after the ancient city of

. The town was officially formed in 1872 by a partition of the Town of Huntington.

Communities and locations

The following communities and locations are within the Town of Babylon:

Villages

* Amityville, in the southwestern part of the town. *

, in the southeastern section of the town. * Lindenhurst, in the southern part of the town, between the villages of Babylon and Amityville.

Hamlets

* Captree or Captree Island * Copiague * Deer Park * East Farmingdale * Gilgo, includes communities of West Gilgo Beach, Gilgo Beach, and Cedar Beach * North Amityville * North Babylon * North Lindenhurst * Oak Beach, includes community of Oak Island * West Babylon * Wheatley Heights * Wyandanch

Other communities

* Amity Harbor, in the hamlet of Amityville * Copiague Harbor, in the hamlet of Copiague

Islands

*''Captree Island'', an island partly in the southeastern part of the town and containing part of Captree State Park. *''Cedar Island'', an island in the Great South Bay. *''Fire Island'', a barrier beach island between the Great South Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, of which west of the Robert Moses Causeway, is within the confines of the Town of Babylon. *''Gilgo Island'', an island in the western end of the Great South Bay. *''Grass Island'', an island in the Great South Bay. *''Thatch Island'', an island in the Great South Bay. *''Oak Island'', an island in the Great South Bay.

Beaches

* Cedar Beach * Gilgo Beach * Oak Beach * Overlook Beach * Venetian Shores

State parks

* Belmont Lake State Park, a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

in the northeastern part of the town. * Captree State Park, a

partly in the southeastern section of the town and adjacent to the Fire Island Inlet. * Gilgo State Park, an undeveloped preserve on a barrier island on the southern side of the town. * Robert Moses State Park, a

on Fire Island, is partly in the town west of the Robert Moses Causeway.

Other

* ''Fire Island Inlet'', a passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great South Bay.

Town Parks

* Geiger Lake Memorial Park, Wyandanch, NY * North Amityville Park, North Amityville, NY * North Lindenhurst Park, North Lindenhurst, NY * Phelps Lane Park, North Babylon, NY * Tanner Park, Copiague, NY

Geography

Babylon is bounded by the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

to the south, Nassau County to the west, Huntington to the north, and Islip to the east. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (54.24%) is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 211,792 people, 69,048 households, and 52,407 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 71,186 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 76.34%

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 15.65%

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 0.27% aboriginal American, 1.89% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 3.36% from other races, and 2.47% from two or more races. 10.05% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 69,048 households, out of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 19.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.45. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $60,064, and the median income for a family was $66,261. Males had a median income of $45,160 versus $32,062 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $22,844. 6.7% of the population and 4.6% of families were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

. Out of the total population, 7.4% of those under the age of 18 and 7.4% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Media

WBAB 102.3FM is licensed to Babylon with studios at 555 Sunrise Highway. ''The Babylon Beacon'' has covered the town for many years.

Government

Babylon is governed by supervisor Rich Schaffer and four town council members.

Transportation

Airports

Republic Airport is an airport in East Farmingdale originally built by Fairchild Aircraft in 1927 and acquired by

Republic Aviation The Republic Aviation Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer based in Farmingdale, New York, on Long Island, New York, Long Island. Originally known as the Seversky Aircraft Company, the company was responsible for the design and produ ...

in 1939. Currently, it also houses the American Airpower Museum. Zahn's Airport also existed in North Amityville from 1936 to 1980. Long Island Macarthur Airport is a nearby commercial city-owned airport in Ronkonkoma, with daily commercial flights.

Railroad lines

The

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...

's Babylon Branch is the primary railroad line in the town running from the Nassau County Line and terminating in the Village of Babylon with stations from Amityville to

. Rail freight service also exists along the Central Branch which also uses some Montauk Branch trains running from the Main Line in Bethpage. East of Babylon station, the Montauk Branch continues across the Babylon-Islip Town Line. Additionally, the Main Line runs through the northern part of the town with stations in Pinelawn, Wyandanch and Deer Park.

Bus service

The Town of Babylon is served primarily by Suffolk County Transit bus routes.

Major roads

Southern State Parkway The Southern State Parkway (also known as the Southern State or Southern Parkway) is a controlled-access parkway on Long Island, New York, in the United States. The parkway begins at an interchange with the Belt and Cross Island parkways ...

Robert Moses Causeway * Ocean Pkwy Shield

Ocean Parkway * NY-24

New York State Route 24 * NY-27

New York State Route 27 * NY-27A

New York State Route 27A * NY-109

New York State Route 109 * NY-110

New York State Route 110 * NY-231

New York State Route 231

Notable people

* Charles T. Duryea, politician * Bob Keeshan, better known as

Captain Kangaroo ''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program ...

lived in Babylon Village * Steve Bellone, Suffolk County Executive * Tom Bohrer, Olympic rower * Rodney Dangerfield, comedian * Dan Meuser, US Representative for Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district *

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim (), is an American rapper. He is one half of Golden age hip-hop, golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, with whom he released four albums: ''Paid in Full ...

, rapper * The Sopranos actress Edie Falco in North Babylon for several years in the late 1960s and early 1970s. *

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

(born James Todd Smith) in North Babylon in the 1970s and 1980s. * Dee Snider, singer of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister lived in North Babylon in the early 1980s. * Patricia Kennealy-Morrison grew up in North Babylon and graduated from North Babylon High School in 1963. * Billy Hayes (writer) (North Babylon) wrote the autobiographical Midnight Express (book), which was made into a film by Oliver Stone. * Ronald DeFeo infamously known as the man who murdered his family in the beginning of the film The Amityville Horror * Robert Moses A resident of Thompson Avenue in Babylon Village, is world-renowned for creating the modern concepts of the state park and the super highway.

References

External links

* * *
''Babylon Beacon'' (local newspaper)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Babylon (Town), New York Towns on Long Island Towns in Suffolk County, New York Towns in New York (state) Towns in the New York metropolitan area Populated coastal places in New York (state) Populated places established in 1872 1872 establishments in New York (state)