Revisited West Islip after 26 years. (Babylon, Union: cul-de-sac, for sale, how much)

[70snyguy]

I just found this forum, and where else would you see a thread updating Butafuccos case! Priceless, I feel at home already, lol.

Hi all, I grew up in West Islip until I was 16. It was, and is still I'm sure, a wonderful town to live in. I took my kids to show them last year, on the way to a Montauk retreat, and it was eerie. Eerie in a good, yet still haunting, way. A lot changed since 82. First those tiny trees the county planted back in the mid 70s, I remember them going in, little wispy nothings that you had to be careful not to crush with your bike. Enormous , so I was first shocked by the tree coverage in the old neighborhood.

Finding the neighborhood was hard enough, at that age I only "borrowed" my parents car a few times, so the roads in a car were not that familiar. So ok, I found Good Samaritan no problem, there's St. Johns, so Captree day camp should be a couple more blocks. No wait, here's Robert Moses already, ok I passed it, Um,... ok so it's gone! Man, though I never attended the camp itself I built tree houses there as a kid, and it had a great indoor pool! It was just part of the neighborhood, anyway, that's that. The dueling elementary schools (Captree and Bayview) have new shiny backs on them. Though nobody here knows me anymore, the good news is Mike's Pizza and The Oak Neck Deli still remain!

So here's a few thoughts and questions. What I saw all through W. Islip, not just my old blocks, are the roads look like they have not been paved once since I left. No... literally. Old gray, pot holed riddled, cracked roads. How can this be? The main reason I was shocked is post 82 the house shot up to over a million in value, and it's still pretty close! The taxes there, well I don't have to tell you locals about the taxes there. I think someone has to examine this spending a bit closer! I was also surprised at some of the homes, not a reflection on the county, in the disrepair they were in. Some looked great, some newly built mods on the bay itself, but so many looked again like nothing was done since I left. Cedar shingle siding rotten and broken off, cracked peeled soffit and fascia, weird to see that. I know sea salt and all, but you're house is worth 800k! Get some stain!! Man, Lol.

To real old timers like me, what ever happened to places like "The Pioneer Diner", or "The Yankee Clipper!" (As you can see W.I., Babylon, and Bayshore are sort of all one town to me) First lobster ever eaten there at the Clipper, my Dad's favorite place to take us all, great memories. And that "Pioneer Burger", mmm! The way I found this board was by googling Pioneer Diner, as I didn't have a chance to see what stood there now, or if it was gone. I found one entry, someone mentioning it from this board, so here I came to enquire. Anyone have any old pics of the town from the 70s or early 80s? , Or of these places even?!?

I must say I was thrilled Friendly's in Bayshore didn't move an inch, had to bring kids in there, and yes I had a Fishamajig for old old times sake. They were better when I had a kid palate somehow, but still good! Anyway it was great to be back, I'd love to hear some insight to any of the above?!?

[Rachael84]

My husband grew up in West Islip. His parents bought the house in the early 70s I believe. They live in a court south of Montauk hwy, and tell us they remember some people used to ride horses along Montauk hwy. Their road also wasn't paved.

He was born in 1981, so he might remember some of the things you're talking about since they were probably there when he was 4-5 years old. He told me about this really good German restaurant in town, and how the pizzeria on the corner went up in flames about 8 years ago, I think.

[sands123]

The Yankee Clipper was torn down in the late 1980s; a huge doctor's office (South Shore Gynecololgy) was built on that spot.

The Pioneer Diner was replaced by the Delphi Diner.

The old Carousel Diner at the corner of Higbie and Union is still there, though.

The German restaurant was Herman's Captree House on Montauk Hwy just east of 231. Closed in the early 1990s (?) and is now the Parkwood Cafe with boring generic food.

The Day Camp on Snedecor & Montauk was turned into that little housing development cul-de-sac in the late 1980s.

Other FYI for West Islip:

Bell's Nursery went out of business 3-4 years ago. The land was sold to Petrelli Builders who put about 8 new homes on it. The houses started at $700K.

The Moose Lodge which has been in disrepair for years was finally torn down about a week ago.

The Captree Bowling Alley was what burned down in the early 1980s. It was replaced by a Stop & Shop which right now is being partially torn down and renovated into a "Super Stop & Shop".

Sorry I can't recall the name of the store but it was on Union Blvd at the Keith Lane end of the strip of stores where the Post Office is. Everyone used to go into it for odds and ends like school supplies, etc etc. It was what my parents used to call a "five and dime". You could usually find anything you needed there. ("South something-something????") Sad day when it went out of business in the late 80s/early 90s. It's now a big cardiology practice. Like we need more doctors in West Islip?

The West Islip Movie Theatre went out of business in the mid 1980s and stood empty for a long time. Then it became a Long John Silvers/A&W restaurant for several years before going empty again. Because the strip of stores next to the Stop & Shop was just torn down, Union Wine & Liquors has now moved into the movie theatre location.

The Ford dealer on Montauk Hwy was torn down this year.

It's not West Islip but FYI the Bay Shore Roller Rink was FINALLY torn down recently after being a vacant crumbling eyesore for years and years.

[S.I.B.]

Originally Posted by sands123

The West Islip Movie Theatre went out of business in the mid 1980s and stood empty for a long time. Then it became a Long John Silvers/A&W restaurant for several years before going empty again. Because the strip of stores next to the Stop & Shop was just torn down, Union Wine & Liquors has now moved into the movie theatre location.

Are you talking about the old theatre on Union? I distinctly remember going to movies at that theatre as late as 1989, if not later.

you're spot on with just about everything else you said...

[70snyguy]

Sands, wow! Thanks for that detailed accounting, great stuff and info!

The store you speak of, next to King Kullen, was called just that. 5 and dime, or possible 5 and 10, as we called it. Had a red sign, as I recall, shopped there all the time indeed. There was a Carvel there, a great pizza and Chinese place, etc. Some of those might have been by Grand Union, next plaza over, but the 5 and 10 was there. Yes I bowled with my dad at the alley often, and skating rinks in the late 70s were still a big social hangout, so many a fond memory there.

Thanks again, great stuff.

[sands123]

Yes S.I.B., that's the one.

I'm probably off on when it closed because we never went to that one. We'd go to the one in Babylon village or to the Commack multiplex.

Can anyone remember what that store at the end of the row at Union & Keith was called?

It's going to bug me all day that I can't remember it and I should because I used to always go in there.

70snyguy, thanks for correcting me on the bowling alley, it first became a Grand Union after the fire and then Grand Union became Stop & Shop.

You might remember the bagel place, Strathmore Bagels next to the post office. It was bought out by someone else and is now Bagel Buzz. Strathmore's bagels were great but the Bagel Buzz ones are terrible.

Sally's Cycle on Higbie Lane is still there by the way but the florist across the street from it burned down.

[sands123]

FINALLY remembered the name of that store on Union & Keith that everybody went to: Suffolk Stores.

70snyguy, did you get a chance to drive around any of south of Montauk neighborhoods (Pace Landings, Oak Neck Lane, Willets Point, Magoun Landing, Sequams Colony) and see any of the million$-plus houses that are there now?

There are currently 19 houses in West Islip on the market from 1.1 million to 3.6 million.

[missingny]

Originally Posted by 70snyguy

Sands, wow! Thanks for that detailed accounting, great stuff and info!

The store you speak of, next to King Kullen, was called just that. 5 and dime, or possible 5 and 10, as we called it. Had a red sign, as I recall, shopped there all the time indeed. There was a Carvel there, a great pizza and Chinese place, etc. Some of those might have been by Grand Union, next plaza over, but the 5 and 10 was there. Yes I bowled with my dad at the alley often, and skating rinks in the late 70s were still a big social hangout, so many a fond memory there.

Thanks again, great stuff.

I grew up in West Islip just off of Keith Lane in the 1970's...went to kindergarten to Paul Bellew when it was still called Secatogue. Used to walk up to that 5 & 10 all the time with my friends. some of the stores next to that escape me, but there was a bakery near the 5&10, and the old location for the Captree Deli, then King Kullen, then a great pizza place and CARVEL...miss the old Carvel...the post office and the bowling alley where my elementary school (St. Joseph's in Babylon) used to have a league....I miss those days...I've been back many times since and can't get over how much has changed. Oh well, nostalgia.....

[missingny]

Originally Posted by sands123

Yes S.I.B., that's the one.

I'm probably off on when it closed because we never went to that one. We'd go to the one in Babylon village or to the Commack multiplex.

Can anyone remember what that store at the end of the row at Union & Keith was called?

It's going to bug me all day that I can't remember it and I should because I used to always go in there.

70snyguy, thanks for correcting me on the bowling alley, it first became a Grand Union after the fire and then Grand Union became Stop & Shop.

You might remember the bagel place, Strathmore Bagels next to the post office. It was bought out by someone else and is now Bagel Buzz. Strathmore's bagels were great but the Bagel Buzz ones are terrible.

Sally's Cycle on Higbie Lane is still there by the way but the florist across the street from it burned down.

actually, the Grand Union was where the stop and shop is now since it was built...the bowling alley was in the same parking lot as the old king kullen, and whatever shopping center that's there now (I think it's king kullen) is on the same spot as the bowling alley was then. so it was the 5&10 on one side of the shopping center, then King Kullen, then the bowling alley, then you had to go back out onto the road to drive over to the Grand Union.

[sands123]

I'll take your word for it, I always thought the bowling alley was the farthest west of those three sections of Union Blvd (in other words where the Stop & Shop now is) but since it was so long ago I could be remembering wrong!

I've lived in West Islip since the early 70s so that's 30+ years. Scary.

What I definitely remember is looking at $2500/yr in taxes back then for a canalfront house in Captree Landings that cost 73K.

Those houses are paying close to $15K/yr nowadays, I know because a friend's former house went up for sale there recently and I went to the open house for old time's sake. They sold it in the 1980s for 300something and the current seller is asking over 800K.