MAY 2018 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 57
public skating, group and private
lessons, youth and adult hockey
programs, birthday parties and
more.
And if you’re really looking to
upgrade your legs, the arena
is home to the Long Beach
Skating Academy (516-705-7402,
longbeachny.gov), which offers
professional instruction to all age
groups and skill levels.
OCEANFRONT ARTS &
CULTURE
Folks have been flocking to Long Beach
for generations, for many of the same
reasons visitors head there now. For an
in-depth look at Long Beach history
and its artifacts, take a brief Sunday
afternoon beach break and visit the
Long Beach Historical & Preservation
Society (226 W. Penn St., 516-432-
1192, longbeachhistoricalsociety.org),
a local history museum housed in one
of the original Estates of Long Beach
summer residence villas, circa 1909.
The museum is open Sundays from
1 to 4 p.m. or by appointment, and
Sundays from 12 to 3 p.m. in July and
August.
Continue your historical journey
by driving past Cobble Villa, also
known as Villa Clara (657 Laurelton
Blvd.). The 2.5-story, asymmetrical
Mediterranean Revival-style brick
and stucco dwelling — listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
— is Long Beach’s first home, built
in 1909 for Sen. William Reynolds.
Since 1976 it has been the home
of the late artist Clara Steele and
her family, who still open its doors
to the public every December, so
guests may tour the house and enjoy
Clara’s artwork and unique décor.
Long Beach is also home to Arts
in the Plaza (1 W Chester St.,
Kennedy Plaza, 516-507-8383,
artsintheplaza.com), a weekly arts
festival that runs from Memorial
Day through Halloween. Every
Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.,
AITP features handcrafted art by
Long Island artists, live music,
cultural performances and a Kids
Art Station, with displays of fine art,
photography, custom jewelry and
unique handmade gifts.
If all of that local creativity leaves
you feeling inspired, pay a visit to
Earth Arts Long Beach (162 W. Park
Ave., 516-432-9000, earthartslb.
com), where you can paint your
own pottery, take art classes, book a
party or attend a summer art camp.
Programs are tailored for adults,
children and groups, and there
are periodic special events, like its
Mother Daughter Tea Party and
Mother’s Day Brunch. The fairer
sex can also enjoy the BYOB “Ladies
Night Out” event held there two
Friday evenings per month.
These are just a sampling of reasons
why Long Beach remains a welltraveled
LI gem, for both visitors
and the roughly 33,000 residents
who call the city home. As any real
estate expert will tell you, it’s all
about location, and Long Beach’s
location — plus its many attractions
— simply can’t be beat.
“Long Beach will continue to be a
place where people want to raise
their families because it is a fun,
vibrant, and tight-knit beachside
community,” says state Sen. Todd
Kaminsky (D-Long Beach). “The
Long Beach of the future must be one
that is resilient in the face of severe
weather and that continues to remain
affordable despite the rising prices in
the New York metro area. Having a
dependable and safe commuter rail
system is also important because it
allows folks to work in the city while
still living at the beach — a winning
combination.”
WHERE TO DINE
IN LONG BEACH
Grotta Di Fuoco
960 W. Beech St., 516-544-2400,
grottalbny.com
Lost & Found
951 W. Beech St., 516-442-2606,
facebook.com/LostandFound-
LBNY
Sorrento’s
255 W. Park Ave., 516-889-4800,
facebook.com/pg/Sorrentos-of-
Long-beach-146420935560897
Laurel Diner
300 W. Park Ave., 516-432-7728,
laureldiner.com
Gino’s
16 W. Park Ave., 516-432-8193,
ginoslongbeach.com
LB Social
62 W. Park Ave., 516-431-7846,
lbsocialny.com
Swingbellys Beachside BBQ
909 W. Beech St., 516-431-3464,
swingbellysbbq.com
Nagahama Sushi
169 E. Park Ave., 516-432-6446,
nagahamasushi.com
WHERE TO STAY
IN LONG BEACH
Allegria Hotel
80 W. Broadway, (516) 889-1300,
allegriahotelny.com
Long Beach Hotel
405 E. Broadway, 516-544-4444,
longbeachhotelny.com
The new $8 million emergency room
may not be as frequently visited as
the Long Beach boardwalk, but it
is among the biggest examples of
the barrier island’s comeback after
Superstorm Sandy.
The area was among the hardest hit
on Long Island in the 2012 storm.
Among essential services that
were lost were the old Long Beach
Medical Center, which closed
after an attempt to rebuild. In its
place, South Nassau Communities
Hospital established LI’s first
off-campus Emergency Services
Department, open 24/7, and the
Long Beach Urgent Care Center.
“The Long Beach facility has the
same South Nassau staff and
same high standards of patient
care as our Oceanside Emergency
Department,” said South Nassau’s
Emergency Medicine Department
Chair Dr. Joshua Kugler.
Patients treated and stabilized at the
new facility who require hospital
admission or advanced levels of
treatment will be transferred by
ambulance service to South Nassau
or the appropriate hospital.
South Nassau also plans to build a
two-story, 30,000 square-feet Medical
Arts Pavilion on the site of the former
LBMC. The facility could house
suites for family medicine, behavioral
health, ambulatory surgery, sports
medicine and physical rehabilitation,
dialysis and other medical services.
The projected cost of the medical arts
pavilion is $20 million to $30 million.
—TB
DESTINATIONS
Long Beach: The city where the sun burns slow.
LONG BEACH’S LIFELINE