West Islip is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

and CDP founded roughly in 1683, located in the Town of Islip in

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County () is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is mainly located on the eastern end of Long Island, but also includes several smaller islands. According to the 2020 United States census, the county's populat ...

, United States. Situated on the South Shore of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

, the population of the CDP was 27,048 at the time of the 2020 census.

Geography

West Islip is located at (40.715008, -73.297746). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 6.46%, is water.

Great South Bay The Great South Bay is a lagoon situated between Long Island and Fire Island, in the State of New York. It is about long and has an average depth of 4 feet 3 inches and is 20 feet at its deepest. It is protected from the Atlantic Ocean by Fire ...

, Jones Beach Island and

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Lon ...

lie to the south.

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

and

North Babylon North Babylon is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 17,509 at the 2010 census. Overview North Babylo ...

form the western border.

Bay Shore Bay Shore is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Islip, New York, United States. It is situated on the South Shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay. The population of the CDP was 29,244 at the time of the 20 ...

lies to the east, and in the north West Islip borders on Deer Park and Brentwood. West Islip is east of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and west of

Southampton, New York Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stret ...

. West Islip's western boundary is a natural one formed by Sampawams Creek, Hawley's Lake, and the Guggenheim Lakes.

Demographics

History

The first people to settle in the area were the

Secatogue Mohegan-Pequot (also known as Mohegan-Pequot-Montauk, Secatogue, and Shinnecock-Poosepatuck; dialects in New England included Mohegan, Pequot, and Niantic; and on Long Island, Montaukett and Shinnecock) is an Algonquian language formerly spoke ...

Indians. The unearthing of an Indian burial ground north of West Islip beach enabled historians to reconstruct a village of these Indians who lived along the edges of the Great South Bay, Sampawams Creek, Trues Creek and Willetts Creek. Farming and fishing were the main occupations. In the mid-19th century, the completion of the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average week ...

brought travelers to West Islip. Today West Islip has its own fire department, post office, public library and Good Samaritan Hospital. A short drive affords access to good fishing and swimming.

Demographics of the CDP

As of the census of 2020, there were 27,048 people in 9,040 households in the CDP. The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.9% White, 1.7% Asian, 0.6% Black, 0.1% Native American, and 0.6% from other races, and 1.1% being multiracial. There were 7,459 families, out of which 39.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.2% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.5% were non-families. Nearly 11.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09, and the average family size was 3.43. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. The median income for a household in the CDP was $103,789, and the median income for a family was $117,451. Males had a median income of $75,868 versus $54,389 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $38,933. About 2.9% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.9% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

West Islip is located approximately east of

Babylon station Babylon is a station on the Long Island Rail Road in the village of Babylon, New York at Railroad Avenue west of Deer Park Avenue ( Suffolk CR 34). It is on the Montauk Branch, and is the eastern terminus of the Babylon Branch service. To the w ...

on the

Health

* Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center * AFC Urgent Care West Islip * ProHEALTH Urgent Care of West Islip * Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care

Education

Public school districts: * West Islip School District Private schools: * St. John the Baptist Diocesan High Schoolbr>

Our Lady of Lourdes School
* The Bridges Academy Public libraries:
West Islip Public Library

In popular culture

Flash-based internet cartoon series '' Homestar Runner'' references West Islip in the cartoon
old comics
. An apparent West Islip resident e-mails Strong Bad, which results in the character mispronouncing the name of the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

as "is-lip" rather than the common pronunciation "ice-lip". Strong Bad also parodies the name, imagining West Islip as a "British new wave band". A poster for the fictional band later appears in the character's video game, Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People.

Notable people

* Matt Anderson,

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kan ...

forward *

A. J. Benza Alfred Joseph Benza is an American gossip columnist and television host. Early life Benza was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City, though he moved with his family to West Islip, New York on Long Island shortly after his birth. He has tw ...

, gossip columnist and television host * Tom Bohrer, two time Olympic silver medalist in the

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...

(1988 and 1992) and head coach of the Boston University Men's Crew. *

Sal Caccavale Salvatore Caccavale (born May 16, 1985 in West Islip, New York) is a former American soccer midfielder and now coach. He founded and directs his own youth soccer club called Achilles FC. He also serves as the head men’s soccer coach at St. Joh ...

, former MLS player for the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

* Kevin Cosgrove, victim of the September 11th terrorist attacks whose

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency n ...

call and last words were recorded * Thomas Joseph Downey,

congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

from 1975 to 1993, West Islip High School Class of 1966 *

Edie Falco Edith Falco (born July 5, 1963) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Carmela Soprano on the HBO series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), and Nurse Jackie Peyton on the Showtime series ''Nurse Jackie'' (2009–2015). She also ...

, actress best known for her role on the long-running hit TV series ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

'' * Sean Henry, CEO of the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

John J. Flanagan John J. Flanagan (born May 7, 1961) is an American politician from Long Island, New York. A Republican, Flanagan represented New York's 2nd State Senate district from 2003 to 2020. He also served as senate majority leader from 2015 to 2019, and a ...

, New York State Senator *

Aidan Kelly Aidan A. Kelly (born October 22, 1940) is an American academic, poet and influential figure in the Neopagan religion of Wicca. Having developed his own branch of the faith, the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn, during the 1960s, he w ...

, 2014 USA Olympic Luge slider * Mike Komisarek, retired NHL player for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Rick Lazio Enrico Anthony Lazio (; born March 13, 1958) is an American attorney and former four-term U.S. Representative from the State of New York. A Long Island native, Lazio became well-known during his bid for U.S. Senate in New York's 2000 Senate e ...

, 1976 WIHS graduate, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 2nd congressional district, 1993–2001 * Ken Marino, best known for his work with

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

’s

The State A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "sta ...

and

Wet Hot American Summer ''Wet Hot American Summer'' is a 2001 American teen comedy film directed by David Wain from a screenplay written by Wain and Michael Showalter. The film features an ensemble cast, including Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Molly Shannon, ...

Al Oerter Alfred Oerter Jr. (September 19, 1936 – October 1, 2007) was an American athlete and a four-time Olympic Champion in the discus throw. He was the first athlete to win a gold medal in the same individual event in four consecutive Olympic Ga ...

, Olympic discus thrower. Prior to Mexico City Olympics in 1968 he lived in West Islip and would frequently work out at the high school field. * Gary Sullivan, professional soccer player * Brett Swenson, placekicker in the NFL (

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

) born in West Islip * Kris Statlander, professional wrestler for

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, ...

* Nick Tropeano, Major League Baseball pitcher *

Frank Vignola Frank Vignola (born December 30, 1965) is an American jazz guitarist. He has played in the genres of swing, fusion, gypsy jazz, classical, and pop. Career Vignola grew up on Long Island, New York. His father played accordion and banjo and his ...

, virtuoso guitarist * Jarett Gandolfo, New York State Assemblyman * Maria Tash, jewelry designer and founder of the eponymous luxury piercing and fine jewelry brand

References

External links

West Islip Historical Society

{{authority control Islip (town), New York Census-designated places in New York (state) Census-designated places in Suffolk County, New York Populated coastal places in New York (state)