Around Central Islip

Around Central Islip focuses on this diverse and unique community's history.

Around Central Islip focuses on a modern renaissance village that evolved through numerous and diverse cultures. 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.

Local author and historian Sister Anne Frances Pulling has amassed over two hundred photographs and combined them with delightful captions that promise to captivate and educate the reader. This charming visual history will earn a place on area bookshelves and be treasured for years to come by young and old, resident and visitor alike.