County earmarks more than $10M for projects in Babylon Town, its villages

More than $6 million for building purchases and $1.8 million for the arts are among the allotments for nearly $10.4 million in funding Suffolk County has earmarked for Babylon Town and its villages.

The money is from two sources: the county’s Jumpstart program that gives funds to municipalities for downtown revitalization and its JumpSMART program that awards federal American Rescue Plan Act money to organizations recovering from the pandemic.

The awards are part of $47 million being distributed across the county, Suffolk officials said.

The nonprofit Town of Babylon Fire Chiefs Association will get $1.5 million that Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer said will go toward the purchase of Deer Park Motor Inn on Commack Road.

Schaffer said the motel “has been a thorn in the community’s side for a million years,” with multiple arrests on site.

The town has been attempting to board up the property under its public nuisance law and Schaffer said after gaining possession the nonprofit plans to tear it down and build a museum honoring the history of firefighting and rescue services in the town. 

In addition, the town will get $125,000 for median improvements and to install a clock where Deer Park Avenue and Route 231 meet in North Babylon.

Schaffer said an arm of the town’s Industrial Development Agency will receive $200,000 to continue an initiative that helps entrepreneurs find financial, technical and legal assistance. 

In Amityville, $1.5 million will go toward the creation of a pedestrian plaza on Greene Avenue and an extension of Triangle Park. The two projects had been proposed as part of the village’s $10 million state Downtown Revitalization Initiative spending but the state ultimately rejected the projects.

“This money is really a blessing,” Mayor Dennis Siry said.

In Lindenhurst, $4.75 million in funding will go toward a new outdoor amphitheater, including the cost of buying a building that will be knocked down to extend Village Square for the project.

The village’s historical society will receive $300,000 for repairs and a new parking lot for its museum and the Kiwanis Club will receive $100,000 to make improvements to its welcome sign and median at the gateway to the village, said Suffolk County Legislative presiding officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst).

Babylon Village will get $100,000 that will go toward new sidewalks and access ramps for the disabled downtown, said Mayor Mary Adams.

The county awarded the village’s Argyle Theatre $1 million, money that will be used to make repairs to the walls, roof and facade of the 100-year-old venue, according to co-owner Dylan Perlman.

“For us and a lot of theaters like us, it’s difficult enough just to be able to operate,” said Perlman, who added that the funding for facility improvements will bring “us into the 20th century.”

The Babylon Citizens Council on the Arts will get $500,000 to renovate a historic house that will be turned into an art space for workshops, said Elizabeth Mirarchi, the organization's executive director.

The county said the organization will receive $300,000 more to renovate the group’s center in Lindenhurst.

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.