Babylon Town gets $3 million to convert dilapidated motel to firefighter museum

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced more than $5 million in state funding Tuesday for Long Island fire departments, including $3 million for the Town of Babylon to convert a derelict motel into a firefighters museum.

Hochul announced the funding Tuesday at the Deer Park Fire Department, where she also awarded $2 million to the South Floral Park Fire Department for a new training center and $300,000 for improvements at the Suffolk County Fire Academy.

The state funding is aimed at recruiting a new generation of volunteers as well as improving training for Long Island volunteer firefighters, which make up part of 91,000 volunteers in 1,600 fire departments statewide, Hochul said.

"How do we honor our firefighters and let them know how crucial you are to our society? Why don't we just collect the stories of the firefighters past, present and those possibly in the future, really getting young people excited about this? But you need a central place to do this: ‘A hall of heroes,’" Hochul said.

"This museum will help restore some of the missing parts ... and it preserves the local history and it actually just educates the whole community," she said. "It’s a gathering place for local residents."

The $3 million in state funding puts plans over the top for the Town of Babylon to buy the property and demolish the Deer Park Motor Inn. The motel had been known for crime including repeated calls to police for incidents involving domestic violence and drug overdoses, Babylon Town Supervisor Richard Schaffer said.

Suffolk County previously awarded $1.5 million in grants for the town to acquire the motel to build the museum.

The town planned the museum dedicated to Babylon Town volunteer fire departments after more than a decade of discussions with the Babylon Fire Chiefs Association, the group’s president and former Amityville Fire Chief Rob Waegerle said.

"You could say it’s been a decade in the making, starting with discussion around the firehouse kitchen table," Waegerle said. "The Town of Babylon’s fire service has a rich history and old-timers are disappearing. ... Instead of boxes in a basement, this should be out for the public to see."

He said the museum will be dedicated to different volunteer fire departments in the town, making up more than 100 years of service. He also envisions part of the museum to educate the public about fire safety.

The museum is not related to the Nassau County Firefighters Museum in Uniondale.

Funding for training will help the South Floral Park Fire Department, which was in danger of closing 10 years ago as membership dwindled to about 20 people, Hochul said.

The department in recent years started a junior fire explorer program, which helped more than double its membership to over 50 people, South Floral Park Mayor Nyakya T. Brown said.

"By investing in the infrastructure of our fire department, you're not only upgrading our facilities. You are building a foundation our volunteer firefighters and EMTs need to protect us every single day," Brown said.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.