# Brookhaven (town, New York)

Brookhaven is the largest town in Suffolk County, part of Long Island, New York. With 485,000 residents (2020). It includes a patchwork of villages and other communities, and is the only town on the island to touch both the Long Island Sound and Atlantic Ocean. The villages of Belle Terre, Bellport, Lake Grove, Mastic Beach, Old Field, Patchogue, Poquott, Port Jefferson, and Shoreham are semi-autonomous, and provide their own services in addition to those provided by the town. Other prominent communities include Mount Sinai, Stony Brook, and Fire Island, a long and car-free resort island off the south coast of the town.

## Understand

Brookhaven is one of the more unique places on Long Island. It features the easternmost parts of the of sprawling NYC suburbs at its west end (locals say that New York State Route 112 in Brookhaven serves as the dividing line between suburban and rural Long Island) and the westernmost parts of the rural eastern half of Long Island (including tremendous nature preserves, state forests, and national parks/preserves). It is even one of America's most important destinations for science and medicine, containing the world-famous Stony Brook University (which is famed for its incredible science and medical programs) and the Brookhaven National Laboratory; the town, as such, is the perfect destination for anyone with an interest in science.

## Get in

Fly to Brookhaven on a plane to Islip's Long Island MacArthur Airport
Ferry to Port Jefferson from Bridgeport, Connecticut. +1 631 473-0286
Long Island Rail Road train into Ronkonkoma Station from NYC (Ronkonkoma Branch) or Port Jefferson Station (the Port Jefferson Branch). +1 718 217-5477
Denny's Taxi Service Corp +1 631-307-6056

## Get around

There are several major roads that allow for easy travel to various points of Brookhaven.
* Long Island Expressway
* Sunrise Highway
* North Ocean Ave
* Nicolls Road
* William Floyd Parkway
* North Country Road
* Middle Country Road
* South Country Road
The easiest way to travel is by car, though you can also travel by bus or taxi.

## See

* 40.873346-72.8720571 Brookhaven National Laboratory. One of the U.S. Department of Energy's national laboratories, founded in 1947. Normally closed to the public, but they have public open houses every summer, as well as group tours that require advance appointment.
* 40.8481-73.0177162 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park (On North Ocean Avenue). Dedicated in 1991 this monument is housed on Bald Hill, one of the highest points on Long Island and is marked with a 100-foot, red, white and blue, monument.
* 40.843859-73.0216173 Catholic Health Amphitheater at Bald Hill (formerly Brookhaven Amphitheater), 1 Ski Run Ln, Farmingville, ☏ +1 631-676-7500. Be sure to check out one of the many concerts and shows that come to this amphitheater. For a listing of the shows please check out their website.
* 40.848333-72.7888894 Long Island Game Farm, 489 Chapman Boulevard, Manorville. A children's zoo that includes some pens where visitors can pet or feed the animals. (updated May 2016)
* 40.97662-73.118625 Old Field Point Light, 207 Old Field Rd, Setauket- East Setauket. (updated Feb 2024)

## Do

* Walk around Port Jefferson, a seaside city that is full of shops, places to eat, a playground, and boating.
* 40.7384-72.844431 Smiths Point Beach. A public beach, that is very popular in the summer for Long Islanders. There is a campground along the beach where sites can be rented for a week at a time. There is a playground and a place to purchase food on the shore as well. Lifeguards watch over the beach every day from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
* 40.778-72.892 Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge, 340 Smith Rd, Shirley, ☏ +1 631-286-0485. 2,550 acres on the south shore of Long Island containing oak-pine woodlands, grasslands and fresh, brackish and salt water wetlands. (updated Feb 2024)
* 40.924-72.9353 Rocky Point State Pine Barrens Preserve, Rte 25A, Rocky Point. Long Island's largest natural area and its last remaining wilderness. (updated Feb 2024)

## Buy

* 40.864994-73.1301251 Smith Haven Mall, Lake Grove. With over 140 stores, a food court and a new outdoor mall section, this is the place to head to if you are looking to hit the stores. There is a wide selection of stores featuring clothing and products for children, young adults, and adults. If you come at Christmastime, Santa is available to have pictures taken with.

## Eat

* Mamma Lombardi's, 400 Furrows Rd, Holbrook, ☏ +1 631 737-0774. Pricy Italian Restaurant that is known for its pizza. Mamma Lombardi’s is part of a Lombardi’s chain, which includes several catering halls and a food also includes market.
* Salsa Salsa, 142 Main St, Port Jefferson, ☏ +1 631 473-9700. Small Mexican cuisine restaurant. Food can be ordered to stay or to go. Choose from a wide variety of Mexican food including homemade salsa.
* Ralph's Italian Ice, 623 Horseblock Rd, Farmingville, ☏ +1 631 736-4484. Wide assortment of desserts, from ice cream and shakes to ices in every flavor you can think of and some you wouldn’t. Ices come in both regular and cream form and are sold in a variety of sizes including a tub for parties or events. Ralph’s is only open during the warm weather seasons so be sure to call if you are planning to go in the early spring or late fall.
* Bobbique, 70 W Main St, Patchogue, ☏ +1 631-447-7744. M-F noon-9PM, Sa 1-10PM, Su 1-8PM. It has fantastic real pit barbecue and lots of great beers on tap. Not for vegetarians. (updated Dec 2021)

## Sleep

* Hampton Inn - Long Island / Brookhaven, 2000 North Ocean Avenue Farmingville, ☏ +1 631 732-7300.
* Shore Motor Inn, 576 Sunrise Hwy West Patchogue, ☏ +1 631 363-250.
* ShirleyMotel, 681 Montauk Hwy Shirley, ☏ +1 631 281-9418.

## Stay safe

For the most part, Brookhaven is a safe town at all times of the day and night, and the residents are proud in keeping their community safe, clean, and tight-knit. Chances are that the most rowdy behavior a tourist will encounter in Brookhaven is college partying by students at Stony Brook University. Like any large community, though, there are some areas which might be best to avoid, although most of the crimes are not targeted against tourists and are generally drug-related, gang-related. These areas include Mastic, Mastic Beach, and North Bellport, in addition to much of Gordon Heights and parts of Coram, East Patchogue, Medford, and Ridge. North Bellport and much of Gordon Heights are plagued by gang violence and poverty, and can get very dangerous (the Village of Bellport (just south of North Bellport), however, is incredibly safe). Mastic and Mastic Beach should be avoided, if possible; these areas suffer from poverty, high crime levels, sex offenders, and decay – although the Town of Brookhaven is working on a revitalization plan to help improve the area. The Medford and East Patchogue areas (which border one another), are adjacent to Gordon Heights and North Bellport, respectively, and both have some sections which see elevated levels of crime, while also having many other sections which are perfectly safe. Coram is generally extremely safe, though a couple areas may appear a little run-down or seedy. Ridge is very safe, with the sole exception being the Levitt & Sons-developed Strathmore Ridge complex (for years, the complex received subsidies for low-income housing and suffered from poor management and general neglect, and, as a result, became the only spot in Ridge notorious for some crime, although there have been drastic reforms in the complex's management in early 2020s, which are directly aimed at ending these issues and in maintaining a high-quality development). Using common sense, you will not experience any issues in Brookhaven.
Contrary to some rumors, Port Jefferson and Port Jefferson Station are extremely safe and popular places, and you should not worry about crime. In fact, the Village of Port Jefferson is one of the trendiest and touristy places in Suffolk County and on Long Island!
Should you experience any problems, dial 911 just as you would anywhere else in the United States. The Suffolk County Police Department is always happy to help.

## Go next

* Islip
* Smithtown
* Riverhead
* Southampton