'Community of volunteers' in West Islip to get brewery, possible stores

THE SCOOP West Islip is “a community of volunteers," says Joseph DeCarlo, president of the West Islip Association, which aids new businesses coming to the area.

The wide variety of volunteer groups that work to maintain and improve the hamlet is most evident at the annual Memorial Day parade, he says. That’s when all organizations are brought together, including the West Islip Beautification Society, which maintains gardens and landscaping in the hamlet, and the Bicentennial Committee, which sponsors an annual country fair.

“It’s a place that you don’t see very much anymore in terms of the volunteerism,” says DeCarlo, also the president of the Oak Neck Lane Association, which he says maintains private roads and lighting.  “It’s a close-knit community of people who really do care, and that’s why they volunteer.”

The West Islip Association, DeCarlo adds, is working to bring a proposed QuickChek convenience food market, a restaurant and a small row of stores to the property of the former Dzus Fastener Co. facility, which is undergoing site remediation. Set to soon open is the Secatogue Brewing Company on Union Avenue.

Good Samaritan Hospital Center, on Montauk Highway, is adding an $18-million, 25,000-square foot cancer center by mid-2019, Newsday reported.

New construction on homes in the area is spotty, but “for the most part, it’s kind of stable in that it doesn’t get overbuilt,” DeCarlo says.

Houses in West Islip include a variety of split-level styles, as well as Colonials, splanches, high ranches and farm ranches, says 35-year resident Jamie Winkler of Winkler Real Estate. Prices, she adds, typically range from around $350,000 to homes south of Montauk Highway that can command as much as $2 million. The area also has three condominium developments, she says.

West Islip provides easy access to Fire Island and is about a 75-minute drive to Manhattan, Winkler says. With the Robert Moses Causeway running through town, residents “literally can be at the beach in under 10 minutes,” she adds.

While West Islip doesn’t have a traditional downtown, “we benefit from the Main Street feel of Bay Shore and Babylon because we are right in the middle,” Winkler says.

West Islip Beach and Marina, along the Great South Bay, includes a park that was renovated in 2014 in honor of Madeleine Hsu, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut.

The West Islip Beautification Society maintains 11 gardens and planters in the hamlet, more than 50 planter boxes along Higbie Lane and Udall Road, and patios and benches at the marina, says president Donald Boyle.

Home buyers are drawn to West Islip, Boyle says, because “it’s perfect for boating, the schools are great and the people are friendly.”

CONDOS AND TOWN HOUSES

There is one condo on the market. The asking price is $419,000. 

SALES PRICE

From Dec. 1, 2017 to Dec. 27, 2018,  260 homes were sold at a median price of $444,500, according to the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island. The low price for that period was $240,000 and the high was $1.45 million. During that time period a year earlier,295 homes sold at a median price of $415,179. The price range was $165,000 to $1.95 million.

SCHOOLS

Most students attend West Islip High School. St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School is also in West Islip. 

OTHER STATS

Town: Islip

Area: 6.2 square miles

ZIP code: 11795  

Population: 28,335

Median age: 41.3

Median household income: $111,687

Median home value: $450,000*

LIRR to NYC:  from Babylon, 53 to 79 minutes at peak

Monthly ticket: $350

School district: West Islip

SOURCES: 2010 Census; mlslI.com; LIRR;

*Based on sales  in the past six months, according to MLSLI

RECENTLY SOLD

$345,000

West 4th St.

Style: Ranch

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 1 full, 1 half

Built: 1963

Lot size: 80x100

Taxes: $10,785

Reduced: $4,999

Days on the market: 138

$520,000

Mast Ln.

Style: High-ranch

Bedrooms: 5

Bathrooms: 2 full, 1 half

Built: 1966

Lot size: .26 acres

Taxes: $16,926

Reduced: $59,000

Days on the market: 162

$710,000

Eaton Ln.

Style: Colonial

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 2 full, 1 half

Built: 1947

Lot size: 140x150

Taxes: $19,702

Reduced: $85,000

Days on the market: 212

NOW ON THE MARKET

$375,000

This four-bedroom, two-bathroom Cape offers a family room with a fireplace, a formal dining room and an eat-in kitchen with sliders opening to a deck. The 75-by-150-foot property also has a partially finished basement with an outside entrance. Taxes: $11,043. Cheryl Stevens, Realty Connect USA, 631-413-2434

$625,000

This high-ranch, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, features a living room, dining room, granite kitchen with a breakfast bar, and a family room with a bar.  The 120-by-150-foot property includes a back deck and patio. Taxes: $14,061.  Noel Kappauf and Debra Carr, Netter Real Estate, 516-456-3802, 631-786-9606

$1.499 million

This waterfront Colonial, with four bedrooms and 3-1/2 bathrooms, includes a formal dining room with a fireplace, a sunken den, and a two-room master suite with a bathroom. The .40-acre property features an attached two-car garage, in-ground pool, and 110-feet of bulkhead. Taxes: $29,030. Jamie Winkler, Winkler Real Estate, 631-321-8400

On Multiple Listings

Number of houses: 65

Price range: $213,999 - $3.699 million

Tax range: $6,364 - $48,690