Village of Patchogue, New York

S ituated along the Great South Bay, opposite Fire Island on Long Island’s South Shore, Patchogue, New York is a small, incorporated village with deep roots in its maritime past. Oystering, shipbuilding, and fishing operations thrived there during the 1800s, and given its proximity to Manhattan about 60 miles to the west, summer tourism, too, was an important piece of the town’s fabric. When the Long Island Railroad extended service to Patchogue in 1869, charming, family- owned seaside resorts began populating the area, attracting throngs of visitors to the 2.2-square-mile hamlet. Meanwhile, Patchogue was simultaneously coming into its own as an industrial core, welcoming manufacturers, lace and lumber mills, banks, and a hodgepodge of small businesses. “If you look at the history of Patchogue, you’ll see that it’s always been a hub,” says David Kennedy, Executive Director of the Patchogue Chamber of Commerce. “For decades, it was the retail hub of Suffolk County and now it’s the entertainment hub in its current incarnation. Basically, Patchogue has a long-serving tradition of being an important centre for Long Island.” They’ve been enjoying a season of renewal since the 1990s, with new boutique shops and dozens of trendy restaurants opening alongside the restoration of Patchogue’s glorious local theater. In 1997, the Patchogue Village Board made the decision to acquire the old movie palace formerly known as Ward and Glynne’s. Local businessmen funded the building purchase and the Village used grant monies to renovate and restore the vaudeville relic to its former glory. WYORK Photo courtesy of Benny Migs