East Islip Lanes closes as bowling alley preps to become assisted living center

A community staple for decades, East Islip Lanes has closed its doors as a developer prepares to build an assisted living facility in its place, a local chamber of commerce official confirmed.

"We're all sad that the bowling alley is leaving," said Gary Teich, president of the East Islip Community Chamber of Commerce, in an phone interview with Newsday Friday. "Pretty much everybody has at least one or two stories about that place that they could tell. Generations of families went there."

A plan advanced in 2024 to convert the bowling alley into a senior living facility, Newsday reported, despite residents' petitioning against the plan at the time. Locals are concerned about how the new facility will fit into the community and whether it will cause increased traffic, Teich said.

According to Teich, the bowling alley closed because the owners decided to retire. The owner could not be reached for comment.

"They're entitled to their retirement," Teich said. "They've put in their time there."

But the closure has left the community without what was once a meeting ground. 

"Now there's no place in town for kids to go, families to go," Teich said. 

A Google business listing marks the bowling alley "permanently closed." During business hours on Wednesday morning, the alley appeared closed, though there were people inside. A man inside the building declined to comment or identify himself.

Outside, a man who did not give his name or title said he was taking environmental samples to test for contaminants before "the demolition."

BSL East Islip LLC, the developer listed on site plans dated 2022, did not immediately return request for comment.

In a Bowlege.com Facebook group, a post on May 29 announced the expected closure.

"It's been confirmed that this coming Sunday, May 31st will be the last day of business for East Islip Lanes before it closes for good," the post reads. "If you want to get in one final game or just take a few pictures, now is the time."

The post went on to invite group members to "share pictures or stories" in the comment section. 

"This one hits hard for our family," wrote Facebook user Schery Ramadan. "East Islip Lanes was never just a bowling alley — it was a second home."

"East Islip Lanes has always been a home for the community," said East Islip High School Boys Varsity Bowling Coach Judy Fischer. 

The bowling alley has also been home to the Central Islip and Islip boys and girls bowling teams, Fischer said.

"And so we're all being displaced next year," said Fischer, a retired orchestra teacher going into her ninth season coaching the boys.

Ramadan, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, wrote the lanes were her son's "first foray into bowling in a bumper league," and described the location as a venue for "league nights and birthday parties," and "countless games with friends and family."

Next school year, East Islip students will bowl at Lucky Strike in Sayville, according to Fischer.

"We're just going to now join the ranks, unfortunately, of school districts that, they don't have a bowling center in their town," she said.

Students will be transported to practices and matches, and parents will have to make carpools, Fischer said. The program will continue, she added.

"We've been very fortunate to have East Islip Lanes here all these years, and now, we're not going to," she said. "We're just going to have to be going to a different town to have our team."