By I Love Babylon · Week of August 16 – August 22, 2026

A single gunshot in a West Babylon backyard in the middle of the afternoon, and three people in ski masks running from the house. A nurse’s aide from Wyandanch charged with abusing a 15-year-old patient in a hospital behavioral health unit. And on Main Street in Babylon Village, a pizzeria that lost a month to a collapsed crawl space finally turned the ovens back on — without laying off a single person. Here’s everything worth knowing from across the Town of Babylon — the big stories up top, quick hits below.

Jump to a story:
A Daylight Gunshot in West Babylon •
Wyandanch Aide Charged in Hospital Abuse Case •
The Pizzeria of Babylon Village Is Back •
Three Locals Among 15 in a Street Takeover Bust •
Another Week of Beach Closures •
MRI Technician Walks Free •
Quick Hits •
Nearby •
Coming Up •
Remembering Our Neighbors •
What to Watch Next

TOP STORY · WEST BABYLON · AUGUST 18

A Gunshot in a West Babylon Backyard, in Broad Daylight

Suffolk County police are investigating after at least one shot was fired in the backyard of a home on Columbus Avenue near Rutgers Road in West Babylon at about 4 p.m. on Monday, August 18. A witness told News 12 that three people wearing ski masks ran from the house after the shot.

No one was hurt and no property damage was reported. Police have not released a description of a suspect or a vehicle, and the investigation is open. What makes this one land differently is the hour — four in the afternoon, on a residential street, in August. Neighbor Kristin Ieva said she first assumed it was a firework: “I thought that maybe it was a firework because I know there’s a lot of fireworks near my house, but I definitely thought it sounded different.”

Anyone with information can call Suffolk County police at 631-854-8100, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-220-TIPS.

Sources: News 12 → · News 12 update →

COURTS · WYANDANCH · AUGUST 21

Wyandanch Hospital Aide Charged With Abusing a 15-Year-Old Patient

Trever Lauriano, 36, of Wyandanch, a nurse’s aide at Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip, was arrested on Friday, August 21 and charged with forcible touching, endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree sexual abuse.

Police say the abuse happened on Monday, August 3, while a 15-year-old girl was being treated in the hospital’s behavioral health unit. It was another hospital employee who called 911 to report it. The hospital said the aide was placed on administrative leave as soon as the incident came to light, and that the investigation ended in his termination.

Source: Daily Voice →

BUSINESS · BABYLON VILLAGE · AUGUST 17

The Pizzeria of Babylon Village Is Back — With Everybody Still on Payroll

The Pizzeria of Babylon Village reopened on Tuesday, August 17 at 11 a.m., about a month after a crawl space collapse under the Main Street restaurant damaged its pizza ovens and forced an abrupt shutdown. No one was hurt.

The detail worth pausing on: the company kept paying its staff for the entire closure. “The very next day, our leadership team met and agreed on two priorities: make sure we didn’t lose a single employee and reopen as quickly and safely as possible,” co-owner Cliff Weinstein said. The full menu is back.

A month of no ovens and nobody lost a paycheck. That is a good week for Main Street.

Sources: Greater Long Island → · News 12 →

PUBLIC SAFETY · NORTH BABYLON & DEER PARK · AUGUST 16

Three Babylon-Area Residents Among 15 Arrested in a Medford Street Takeover

Suffolk County police broke up a street takeover at Woodside Avenue and Sawgrass Drive in Medford at about 12:50 a.m. on Saturday, August 16, arresting 15 people and impounding seven vehicles. All 15 were charged with participating in and spectating at an unlawful speed contest.

Three of those arrested are from the Town of Babylon: Amanda Tucker, 18, and Marcello Martinez, 21, both of North Babylon, and Frank Spingola, 21, of Deer Park. Martinez’s vehicle was among those impounded. All of the defendants were due to be arraigned at Suffolk First District Court in Central Islip.

Street takeovers have been a recurring enforcement target across Suffolk this summer, and the pattern is that the crowds are drawn from all over the Island rather than from the town where the takeover happens — the arrest list here runs from Flushing to Lynbrook to Westbury.

Sources: Suffolk County Police → · Greater Long Island → · Patch → · FOX 5 →

PUBLIC HEALTH · THE BAY BEACHES · AUGUST 18–22

Another Week of Closed Beaches — and a Rain Advisory to Finish It

A week after Tanner Park’s closure, the bay beaches had another rough stretch. On August 18 the Suffolk County Department of Health Services closed Venetian Shores Beach in Lindenhurst — along with Gold Star Battalion Beach in Huntington — after testing found bacteria above acceptable limits. Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott noted that contaminated water can cause gastrointestinal illness and eye, ear, nose and throat infections.

Then on Friday, August 21, heavy rain put three Town of Babylon beaches under a swimming advisory: Amityville Village Beach, Tanner Park in Copiague, and Venetian Shores in Lindenhurst. Stormwater runoff carries contaminants into the waterways and pushes bacteria levels up temporarily. That advisory was set to lift Saturday, August 22 at 8 a.m.

Two closures and an advisory inside of two weeks is worth keeping an eye on as the season winds down. Before you pack the car, the fastest answer is the county’s Bathing Beach Hotline, 631-852-5822.

Sources: Patch → · Patch advisory →

COURTS · WHEATLEY HEIGHTS · AUGUST 13

Wheatley Heights MRI Technician Walks Free After Child-Endangerment Conviction

Robbie Baguio, 37, of Wheatley Heights, an MRI technician, was convicted of endangering the welfare of a child — a class A misdemeanor — for making a 16-year-old girl hold sexually suggestive positions during an exam at Orlin & Cohen Orthopedic Group’s Bohemia office on October 1, 2023.

He was found guilty on June 11 following a bench trial. At his sentencing on August 13, he received a conditional discharge, a mandatory surcharge and a stay-away order of protection — no jail. “This defendant was convicted of endangering the welfare of a child for using his authority as a healthcare technician to prey on a young girl who was simply in need of a routine exam,” the District Attorney’s office said.

Sources: Patch → · AOL →

Quick Hits

  • Veterans and active-duty service members fished out of Captree State Park on August 18, on a free trip hosted by the Town of Brookhaven with the Long Island Home Builders Care Group — transportation, lunch, rods, bait and tackle all provided. “This was an opportunity to give something back to our Veterans and active-duty service members,” Supervisor Dan Panico said. LongIsland.com →
  • Save the Suffolk County bathing beach hotline, 631-852-5822 — worth having in your phone for the rest of the season, given the week the bay beaches just had. Patch →

Nearby

West Islip High School was ranked among the top 30 high schools in New York State. West Islip sits just outside the Town of Babylon line, but it shares a border and a lot of families with West Babylon and Babylon Village, so it belongs in the neighborhood news. Patch →

Coming Up in and Around Babylon

  • “Murder on the Orient Express” — Friday, August 28, Lindenhurst. Details →
  • Jay Medal Soirée — Saturday, September 19. Details →
  • Back to School Backpack & Supply Distribution — Saturday, August 22, West Islip. Details →
  • Fire Island and Great South Bay weekend guide — what’s on across the water as the season turns. Fire Island News →

Looking for something to do this weekend? Don’t miss our latest events roundup — your guide to festivals, live music, markets and family fun across the Town of Babylon.
See this weekend’s events →

Remembering Our Neighbors

We take a moment to remember neighbors whose obituaries were published or shared this week. Our thoughts are with their families and friends.

One name this week reached well beyond the Town line. John Niland, who grew up in Amityville, died August 15 at 82 in McKinney, Texas. Born in Quincy, Massachusetts and adopted as a child, he starred at the University of Iowa, went fifth overall to the Dallas Cowboys in the 1966 draft, and made six straight Pro Bowls from 1968 to 1973 with first-team All-Pro honors in 1969, 1971 and 1972. He was on the line protecting Roger Staubach when Dallas won Super Bowl VI, 24–3 over Miami, in January 1972. Boston Globe → · The Athletic →

What Residents Should Watch Next

The West Babylon shooting investigation is the one to follow — a shot fired at four in the afternoon with three masked people running from the scene, and no arrests yet. Watch for whether police release descriptions. The Lauriano case moves to arraignment next, and hospital behavioral health units are likely to face questions about supervision. On the water, the question is whether the bay beaches settle down or keep cycling through closures for the rest of the season — two closures and a rain advisory in two weeks is enough to pay attention to, though heavy August rain is a routine cause. And Main Street watchers can note that The Pizzeria of Babylon Village is fully open again, ovens and all.

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Got a story we missed? Reply to the newsletter or email ryan@babylonlocal.com — we’re always looking for news from every corner of the Town.

For more local updates, events, and community stories, visit ILoveBabylon.com.