Hauppauge

Long known as the home of Long Island's largest industrial park, Hauppauge has gained popularity as a family-oriented community.

"It's become a very desirable area to live in," said Rob Scarito, a six-year resident and associate broker of Prudential Douglas Elliman in Smithtown, who credits the school district, children's programs and appealing taxes.

"The schools are very sports-oriented," said Rosanne Church, co-owner of Century 21 Country Squire in Hauppauge, noting that the playing fields are packed on weekends. "There were about 850 kids in soccer alone last year," Scarito said.

Hauppauge's first public library opened in 2001 at the intersection of Veterans Memorial and Nesconset highways. "More than 70 percent of local residents have a library card," said director, Kevin Verbesey, noting that a 50 percent membership is considered high. The 12,500-square-foot facility offers a collection of about 50,000 materials.

Neighborhoods display a variety of architecture, including capes, ranches, high-ranches, split-ranches and Colonials as well as newer Victorians and post-moderns. Many large homes, which replaced smaller, razed houses, have sprouted. "It's amazing, I never thought Hauppauge would be like that," Fernandez said. His company is scheduled to break ground between January and March to build 15 traditional homes, many of them brick, in three separate subdivisions.

The 1,400-acre Industrial Park, ranked among the largest in the country, houses 1,300 companies and 55,000 employees, according to Michael Finnegan, president of Austin & Williams, an advertising and public relations agency that represents the Hauppauge Industrial Association. In 2004, it accounted for a bit more than $25 million in real estate taxes and 63 percent of all Hauppauge school district taxes, Finnegan added.

Hauppauge also houses many state and county offices along Route 454. And there are golf courses and parks, including the Hamlet Wind Watch Golf and Country Club, Stonebridge Golf and Country Club and Blydenburgh County Park.

- Lisa Doll Bruno (12/30/2006)