The Town of Babylon 150th Anniversary Parade ... that Was and Wasn't ...

Replica Town of Babylon Police Car, c. 1953; successfully driven by Pat Farrell.

You need some rain? Just ask the Town Historian to schedule an event and it is sure to rain. In fact, it will rain on your parade! Not sure what I am talking about, well do I have a story for you ... 

In 2022, the Town of Babylon proudly celebrated its Sesquicentennial ... its 150th Anniversary. Celebrations recognized the creation of the Town of Babylon, which separated from the Town of Huntington in 1872. It was an important milestone. 

On April 2, 2002, at Babylon Town Hall, we held a reenactment of the first Town Board meeting on April 2, 1872. It was a lovely event, but there had been some challenges getting ready for the day. We were gradually coming out of restrictions for large gatherings. Also, the Town Boardroom had been under renovation for several months and, for a while, there was some doubt that it might be available to use. 

Our Co-Chairs Bob Sweeney and Sandy Thomas. 

Sandy Thomas from Wheatley Heights and Robert Sweeney from Lindenhurst were chosen as Co-Chairs for our anniversary celebrations. 

As a Town-wide celebration, an anniversary parade was scheduled for Sunday, October 2, 2022. The parade was scheduled to start near the Copiague railroad station and proceed down Great Neck Road to Tanner Park. "Why Tanner Park?", so many people have asked. Because with 90+ acres it is the largest Town facility with ideal ingress/egress points and plenty of restrooms. AND, it is a beautiful park. 

Sub-committees representing every hamlet and village in the Town of Babylon were organized to create floats for the parade. It was a lot of Zoom meetings ... a lot of Zoom meetings, and we are grateful to all the people who stuck with us and moved things along. 

A sincere thank you to everyone who participated in those meetings and helped with float preparations:

  • Amityville (village) - Kevin Battcher Jr., Pat Cahaney, Joseph Guidice, Emil Pavlik
  • Babylon (village) - Gilda Gricka, Nancy Iglesias-Gillen, Frank Seibert, Judy Skillen
  • Copiague (hamlet) - Peter Buccino, Donna Farina, Phil Guerra, Janet Lombardo
  • Deer Park (hamlet) - Gina Lieneck, Carol Quirk, Valerie St. Bernard, Sherly Spencer, Lamont Wilson
  • East Farmingdale (hamlet) - Patrick Burns, Thomas Joseph 
  • Lindenhurst (hamlet of North Lindenhurst and Village of Lindenhurst) - Jo-Ann Boettcher, Alice Cromarty, Shawn Cullinane, Anna Jaeger, Peter Muhr, Ralph Somma, Maryann Weckerle
  • North Amityville (hamlet) - Tanya Crocker, Deborah Payton-Jones, Madeline Quintyne-McConney
  • North Babylon (hamlet) - Diane DeLuca, Richard Irizarry, Denise Leary, Garrett Simulcik, Travis Steward
  • West Babylon (hamlet) - Annette Casazza, Rich and Sue Harty, Tom Lano, Mary Jo Poldino, Joanie Weinschenk
  • Wheatley Heights (hamlet) - Christopher Black, Bill Frohlich, Cheryl Williams
  • Wyandanch (hamlet) - Phyllis Henry, Lasheca Lewis, Anne Stewart, Latesha Walker
  • Barrier Beach communities (hamlet) -  Jack Brooks, Jed Meade, James Schappert
So what happened on October 2, 2022? There was no parade. Optimism was defeated and the parade was canceled due to weather - rain and wind from Hurricane Ian. It was disappointing. 

With the support of our sub-committees, we rescheduled the parade for Sunday, April 30, 2023. It was going to be Bigger and Better. With the help of Town departments and community partners, we were ready to hold a fantastic parade!

We Were Ready. With thanks to: 
  • TOB Dept. of Public Works - Commissioner Vinny Piccoli and Deputy Comm. Phil Berdolt and their entire crew; including Eddie and Rich Q. who worked to tune-up the old Police Car and the Sign Shop that made community banners. 
  • TOB Public Safety - Commissioner Gerard Gigante and crew
  • Suffolk County Police Dept. 
  • TOB Parks - Commissioner Dan McKeon and Deputy Comm. Eva Rodriguez and their entire crew (a great and enthusiastic bunch) 
  • TOB Communications - Director Ryan Bonner, Patrick Maslinski
  • TOB General Services - Commissioner Joe Ferrandino and crew 
  •  Babylon IDA - provided snacks 
  • Director Viscel Moore and Gavin Rogers - TOB Beautification and the Jr. Beautification Ambassadors 
  • Gilda Gricka and Renee from the Town Historian's Office 
  • And, of course, our Town Board - Supervisor Rich Schaffer, Deputy Supervisor/Councilman Antonio Martinez, Councilman DuWayne Gregory, Councilman Anthony Manetta, Councilman Terence McSweeny, Town Clerk Gerry Compitello and Tax Receiver Jennifer Montiglio.  
What happened on Sunday, April 30, 2023? Well ... IT RAINED, AGAIN! We had to cancel the bands, the fire departments, the classic cars and all of the community groups. 

Instead of a parade down Great Neck Road, we held a "mini-parade" at Tanner Park. It consisted of the 13 floats. Led by the Town of Babylon float, the floats processed along the road through Tanner Park. A grandstand was set-up near the Senior Center. The officials disembarked their float and stood on the grandstand to welcome and acknowledge each of the community floats. And EVERYONE got soaked from the rain. 

Town of Babylon Float - Our Optimistic Officials. 

Barrier Beaches Float - Our Boisterous Beachers.

Copiague Float - Our Courageous Copiagians. 

Wheatley Heights - Our Winningly Heroic Wheatley Heighters.

East Farmingdale - Our Equally Formidable East Farmingdalers.

North Amityville - Our Notably Adventurous North Amityvillians 

Deer Park - Our Dependably Positive Deer Parkers.

Wyandanch - Our Wonderfully Winsome Wyandanchers.

Babylon Village - Our Boisterous Babylonians.

Lindenhurst - Our Legendary Lindians.

West Babylon - Our Wildly Beautiful West Babylonians.
North Babylon's Admirable Representative Aiden Rao (at right).

Amityville Village - Our Amazing Amityvillians.

Our Joyous Junior Beautification Ambassadors.
(l-r) Payton Lewis, Sean Moore, Kyra Moore, Arianna Luppy, Giovanna Luppy, Cassidy Bonadonna and Abigail Burns.

Officials Greeting Floats from the Grandstand.

The Healey Brothers - Joe and Nick. 

Between the October 2022 and April 2023, the following groups registered to participate in the parade. Many of these groups registered for both dates. A Very Special Thanks to you all! We were looking forward to celebrating with you.

·       Town of Babylon 

o   Town Police Car with former Town Police Officer Eugene Burnett

o   Town of Babylon Float with Town, County and State Officials

o   Town of Babylon Parks Dept.

o   Town of Babylon “Assessment Army”

o   Town of Babylon Health & Wellness

o   Town of Babylon Junior Beautification Ambassadors

o   Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office 

·       Deer Park

o   Deer Park Marching Falcons – Deer Park High School

o   BSA Troop 157

o   Deer Park Float

o   Deer Park Community Association

o   Constantino Brumidi Lodge 2211 Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America

o   Deer Park Drug Prevention Coalition

o   Our Lady of the Rosary Columbiettes

o   Knights of Columbus, Our Lady of the Rosary

o   3-D Dance Studios

o   Vision Long Island

o   Deer Park Fire Dept. 

·       West Babylon

o   West Babylon Float

o   West Babylon Beautification Society

o   West Babylon Lions

o   West Babylon High School Marching Band

o   Showtime Riders Motorcycle Club  

·       Lindenhurst

o   Lindenhurst Float

o   Lindenhurst School Board

o   Lindenhurst High School Marching Band

o   Explore in Dance

o   Moose Lodge 1421

o   Back In Time Cruisers Car Club

o   Lindenhurst Fire Dept.

·       Wyandanch

o   Wyandanch Float

o   VFW Post 361

o   LaFrances Hardiman Elementary School

o   Milton L. Olive Middle School

o   Wyandanch Kappa Leaguers

o   Wyandanch High School Army JROTC

o   Girl Scout Troop 518

o   Trinity Lutheran Church

o   Wyandanch Wildcatz

o   Sustainable WY of Starflower Experiences

o   Survivor Sisters/WY Walkers

o   Spin The Yard

o   Wyandanch Family & Recognition Day

o   Wyandanch Public Library

o   Wyandanch Senior Center

o   Wyandanch Fire Dept.

·       Wheatley Heights

o   Wheatley Heights Float

o   Martin A Kessler VFW Post 2912

o   Concern Taxpayers of Wheatley Heights/Dix Hills Civic. Inc.

o   Mothers Club of Wheatley Heights, Inc.

o   Wyandanch Wheatley Heights Lions Club

o   Alpha Phi Alpha – Long Island Alphas

o   National Panhellenic Council of Nassau & Suffolk

o   Wyandanch - Wheatley Heights Ambulance Corp

·       North Babylon

o   North Babylon Float

o   Belmont Lake Civic Association

o   Parkdale Civic Association

o   Poet Civic Association

o   North Babylon Chamber of Commerce

o   North Babylon Lions

o   North Babylon Girl Scouts

o   Cub Scout Pack 112

o   North Babylon High School Marching Band

o   North Babylon Fire Dept.

·       Babylon village

o   Babylon Village Float

o   Model T and Model A cars

o   Babylon Fire Department

·       Barrier Beaches

o   Barrier Beaches Float

·       East Farmingdale

o   East Farmingdale Float

o   New York Tow Trucks for Families

o   East Farmingdale Fire Dept.

·       Amityville village

o   Amityville village Float

o   St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

o   Amityville Fire Dept.

·       North Amityville

o   North Amityville Float

o   Keep Your Change

o   North Amityville Fire Dept.

·       Copiague

o   Copiague Float

o   Copiague High School Band – Walter G. O’Connell High School

o   Cub Scout Pack 154

o   BSA Troop 2000

o   BSA Troop 284

o   Kiwanis Club of Copiague

o   Copiague Chamber of Commerce

o   Copiague Fire Dept.

Thanks to Everyone Who Kept On Smiling ... 😁