Kings Park Round-Up: Holiday Events, Adult-Only Basketball & More

KINGS PARK, NY — Next week, we gather with friends and family for Christmas, Hanukkah, the Festival Kwanza and gear up to welcome new beginnings as we say farewell to 2019 and usher in 2020.

Before we get into what's going on in Kings Park, here's a broad message from Supervisor Edward R. Wehrheim:

"This is the time of year when we are reminded of what is truly important to us. We reflect on all we have to be grateful for. Each year, my fellow elected officials in Smithtown come together to sponsor local families who are in need of a little extra kindness. I would like to say 'thank you' to the Smithtown Children’s Foundation and the school district social workers who helped us to discreetly surprise these families with gifts in time for their respective holiday. The work they do year round is an extraordinary gift to our community. They are in good company with many local non-profit groups, ensuring no one is forgotten this holiday season.

Volunteers at Christmas Magic have been gathering every Saturday morning in Hauppauge to wrap gifts for 13,000 homeless children in shelters across Long Island and even branch out to the outer boroughs. The organization, founded by Hauppauge attorney, Charles Russo, relies solely on private donations year round to deliver thousands of holiday miracles.

The Nesconset non-profit; Heros 4 Our Heroes, will devote the afternoon of Saturday Dec. 21 to handing out Hams & Turkeys to local U.S. Veterans at the Northport VA. Volunteers or families looking to give back together this year can still donate online or lend a hand by arriving before noon at the lobby of the Northport VA hospital.

Collection boxes for Baxters Food Pantry (Long Island Cares) are still posted in the lobby of Town Hall and at our Animal Shelter (410 Middle Country Road) if you would like to help a four-legged stranger in need.

There is no shortage of goodwill in Smithtown and for that I am truly grateful to serve in a community that cares so deeply for neighbors and strangers alike.

However you choose to spend your holiday, on behalf of all of us at Town Hall, we wish you and yours a very healthy and Happy Chanukah, a Merry Christmas, Kwanzaa celebrations filled with joy and prosperity and may your New Year be filled with hope, promise and great expectations."

Here's what's happening on a community level in Kings Park:

The Kings Park Chamber of Commerce is hosting its annual Menorah lighting ceremony on Sunday, Dec. 22 at 11 a.m. at Veterans Plaza in Kings Park. Residents can use the municipal parking lot across from the Fire Department for parking if the library lot is full.

The Town of Smithtown Recreation Department’s Over the Hill basketball begins Jan. 6 at RJO Middle School in Kings Park. These adult-only basketball evenings are held every Tuesday and Thursday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., open to all residents who enjoy playing the sport. Over the Hill Basketball season runs from Jan. 6 through March 6, 2020.

Wehrheim is very pleased to announce that the Town has formally adopted the Downtown Kings Park revitalization plan. Residents can view the plan via the planning department’s Studies & Reports page here.

A new Bus Shelter has been installed at the Kings Park train station. The previously damaged shelter was replaced by Suffolk County DPW. Wehrheim commends the Town's partners in the Kings Park Civic and Chamber associations who worked together to advocate for the bus shelter.

The Town's Parks Department is working on installing the playground at Kings Park Memorial Park. New concrete sidewalks and foundation for the surfacing is completed. The Parks team plans to continue with work, weather permitting.

The Parks Department is putting the final touches on winterizing the bluff at Callahan’s Beach. Work involves removing the dock at the Kings Park Bluff and winterizing irrigation systems at Callahan’s Beach among other standard end-of-year prep work.

If you have ideas or would like certain topics discussed in this weekly report, you can email the Supervisor Office at supervisor@smithtownny.gov.