Axe-throwing range with digital targets opens in Farmingdale 

NY Axe, an axe-throwing range with digital targets, opens in Farmingdale on Friday.

There are, of course, other axe-throwing venues on Long Island, but co-owner Carl Mazza says NY Axe can lay claim to being the first digital range in the northeast, using a system that projects targets onto the wood. While traditional axe-throwing venues feature one bull's-eye painted on the wood, the digital experience can project games onto the target on demand. Projected games ready to go for the grand opening include tic-tac-toe, bull's-eye and a zombie-chopping adventure.

"About a year ago, I went to an axe-throwing venue in Brooklyn and was hooked," says Mazza, who with partner Mario Simone, also owns the long-lived Hart to Hart event entertainment company. "We saw a great opportunity to bring it to Long Island … The response has been tremendous."

NY Axe was scheduled to open last year, but the pandemic put its opening on hold. While the venue space can hold up to 60 guests for an hourlong session, capacity is being kept at 30 in order to keep participants separated safely in private lanes. Other COVID protocols include sanitizing between games, plus social distancing. Groups of two or more will automatically get a private lane.

There are 10 digital lanes in all, plus a private room for parties of 16 or more. Mazza also says that guests can try "safe archery" (with Velcro-style tips). An axe-throwing league is set to launch in May and Mazza plans "on opening multiple locations over the next year."