Brookhaven (town, New York)

Brookhaven is the largest town in Suffolk County, part of Long Island, New York. With 485,000 residents (2020). It includes a patchwork of villages and other communities, and is the only town on the island to touch both the Long Island Sound and Atlantic Ocean. The villages of Belle Terre, Bellport, Lake Grove, Mastic Beach, Old Field, Patchogue, Poquott, Port Jefferson, and Shoreham are semi-autonomous, and provide their own services in addition to those provided by the town. Other prominent communities include Mount Sinai, Stony Brook, and Fire Island, a long and car-free resort island off the south coast of the town.

Understand
Brookhaven is one of the more unique places on Long Island. It features the the easternmost parts of the of sprawling NYC suburbs at its west end (locals say that New York State Route 112 in Brookhaven serves as the dividing line between suburban and rural Long Island) and the westernmost parts of the rural eastern half of Long Island (including tremendous nature preserves, state forests, and national parks/preserves). It is even one of America's most important destinations for science and medicine, containing the world-famous Stony Brook University (which is famed for its incredible science and medical programs) and the Brookhaven National Laboratory; the town, as such, is the perfect destination for anyone with an interest in science.

Get in
Fly to Brookhaven on a plane to Islip's Long Island MacArthur Airport

Ferry to Port Jefferson from Bridgeport, Connecticut. +1 631 473-0286

Long Island Rail Road train into Ronkonkoma Station from NYC (Ronkonkoma Branch) or Port Jefferson Station (the Port Jefferson Branch). +1 718 217-5477

Denny's Taxi Service Corp +1 631-307-6056

Get around
There are several major roads that allow for easy travel to various points of Brookhaven.
 * Long Island Expressway
 * Sunrise Highway
 * North Ocean Ave
 * Nicolls Road
 * William Floyd Parkway
 * North Country Road
 * Middle Country Road
 * South Country Road

The easiest way to travel is by car, though you can also travel by bus or taxi.

Do

 * Walk around Port Jefferson, a seaside city that is full of shops, places to eat, a playground, and boating.

Stay safe
For the most part, Brookhaven is a safe town at all times of the day and night, and the residents are proud in keeping their community safe, clean, and tight-knit. Chances are that the most rowdy behavior a tourist will encounter in Brookhaven is college partying by students at Stony Brook University. Like any large community, though, there are some areas which might be best to avoid, although most of the crimes are not targeted against tourists and are generally drug-related, gang-related. These areas include Mastic, Mastic Beach, and North Bellport, in addition to much of Gordon Heights and parts of Coram, East Patchogue, Medford, and Ridge. North Bellport and much of Gordon Heights are plagued by gang violence and poverty, and can get very dangerous (the Village of Bellport (just south of North Bellport), however, is incredibly safe). Mastic and Mastic Beach should be avoided, if possible; these areas suffer from poverty, high crime levels, sex offenders, and decay – although the Town of Brookhaven is working on a revitalization plan to help improve the area. The Medford and East Patchogue areas (which border one another), are adjacent to Gordon Heights and North Bellport, respectively, and both have some sections which see elevated levels of crime, while also having many other sections which are perfectly safe. Coram is generally extremely safe, though a couple areas may appear a little run-down or seedy. Ridge is very safe, with the sole exception being the Levitt & Sons-developed Strathmore Ridge complex (for years, the complex received subsidies for low-income housing and suffered from poor management and general neglect, and, as a result, became the only spot in Ridge notorious for some crime, although there have been drastic reforms in the complex's management in early 2020s, which are directly aimed at ending these issues and in maintaining a high-quality development). Using common sense, you will not experience any issues in Brookhaven.

Contrary to some rumors, Port Jefferson and Port Jefferson Station are extremely safe and popular places, and you should not worry about crime. In fact, the Village of Port Jefferson is one of the trendiest and touristy places in Suffolk County and on Long Island!

Should you experience any problems, dial 911 just as you would anywhere else in the United States. The Suffolk County Police Department is always happy to help.

Go next

 * Islip
 * Smithtown
 * Riverhead
 * Southampton