Around Central Islip (Images of America)

Around Central Islip focuses on a modern renaissancevillage that evolved through numerous and diversecultures. It was a small English settlement of the 1800s when “Come to Central Islip, Good Work, Good Pay” was advertised in the newspapers in Ireland. This brought an influx of settlers from nearly every county in Ireland. The area became known as “Little Ireland in America.” At the turn of the century, Central Islip housed one of the largest psychiatric centers in the country. Village life centered around this establishment for many decades. Decentralization of the hospital in 1955 resulted in the abandonment of numerous buildings with a degenerative effect on the village; blighted neighborhoods became commonplace. The transformation brought about by the arrival of the New York Institute of Technology resulted in the community’s revitalization and beautification. Today, Central Islip is a vibrant and dynamic community.