New Town of Oyster Bay website, 'Oyster Bay Today,' live
Highlights history, businesses, activities in the community
The Town of Oyster Bay has launched a new interactive website, Oyster Bay Today, which town officials are optimistic will attract tourism to the town’s municipalities and support local businesses.
The website, which was in production for roughly seven months, launched May 29, and features informational videos on villages and hamlets in the town, including Sea Cliff and Oyster Bay.
Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino released a statement praising it as another way the town government is acting to attract visitors to local museums and other cultural centers. He also emphasized that the website would help residents stay more informed about events happening in their own backyard.
“From dining and shopping to recreation and leisure, ‘Oyster Bay Today’ helps fill your calendar with local adventures and memorable experiences in the Town of Oyster Bay,” Saladino said in a statement. “‘Oyster Bay Today’ fosters a sense of belonging and empowerment among its visitors, reinforcing the town’s identity as a vibrant and inclusive community.”
The website highlights eight municipalities in the town: Bethpage, Farmingdale, Hicksville, Locust Valley, Massapequa Park, Oyster Bay, Sea Cliff and Syosset. Others will be added, according to Town Councilwoman Vicki Walsh, although there is no timetable yet.
A brief video for each of the villages and hamlets details its history, businesses and community highlights. Each also features local restaurants, bars and breweries, although some pages, including Bethpage or Sea Cliff, currently highlight only one business. Walsh explained that the website will be an ongoing project, and emphasized that any businesses, museum or other establishment that is interested in being featured or collaborating with the town on this project can visit the website itself to get in touch with town officials.
“The way we’re working it out is, anyone who is interested in us coming down there, we go,” Walsh said. “We want to do everything we can to support our local businesses.”
The website also has information on the town’s museums, preserves, beaches, bicycling and hiking trails, as well as upcoming musical and civic events like concerts, parades and festivals.
In a separate statement, Walsh wrote that the site will offer visitors and residents plenty of activities and opportunities to be active — and to buy local.
“We aim to attract tourism and boost the local economy while offering events, activities, sights, tastes and sounds that the Town of Oyster Bay has to offer,” Walsh wrote. “From dining and shopping to recreation, concerts, and leisure, ‘Oyster Bay Today’ helps fill your calendar with local adventures and memorable experiences.”
Local business owners and employees whose companies are featured on the site have expressed support for it, emphasizing its importance in providing another form of publicity, the lifeblood of small businesses.
Terrence Kenniff, the owner of COCO Confections + Coffee in Sea Cliff, pointed out, “In a day where people’s attention span is so short, it’s important to have your name and your brand and your logo out in front of people as often as you can.” Kenniff, who is also the president of the Gold Coast Business Association, added that he would work to ensure that as many members of the association as possible get on the website, describing it as “a priority of mine.”
“I think it’s wonderful the Town of Oyster Bay is taking the initiative to try and promote the fact that what keeps the town and the Gold Coast of Long Island so great is not Amazon, it’s not GrubHub, it’s not DoorDash,” he said. “It’s the small mom-and-pop locations, it’s the people who support the community-based organizations, it’s the stores with their logos on your child’s Little League jersey, and these are the people that need the help nowadays.”
Vannessa Cruz, who manages the Locust Valley toy store G. Willikers, also praised the new website. Cruz, who lives in Glen Cove, said that by promoting both businesses and other activities in the communities, she was hopeful that it would encourage visitors to spend more time in their downtowns.
“I think getting the word out there makes it a lot easier for people to try to support local towns and kind of stay local,” Cruz said. “I think it’s important to kind of build that bond in the community, and camaraderie in the community.”
Kenniff and Cruz also said that town representatives spoke with them in advance about visiting, and took videos and photos of their stores, although not all featured spots got this advance warning.
Directors and staff at the Sea Cliff Village Museum and Raynham Hall Museum in Oyster Bay said they were unaware that they would be featured on the site. Courtney Chambers, director of the Village Museum, praised the initiative, but added that she hoped town officials would be willing to work with her to correct errors about the museum and its history.
“It’s a great idea and all publicity is good publicity,” Chambers wrote in a text. “There were a few errors in the Sea Cliff spotlight video and also a photograph that I haven’t seen before, so I want to get in touch them.”
Walsh explained that the errors occurred because the site was still under development, and going forward, she encouraged the museums to reach out to the town so they could fix them.
“There’s a lot to do here, between all of the parks and concerts and street fairs and everything else,” Walsh said. “The site is always going to have to be a work in progress, because we have new businesses opening and new events happening every day.”
For more information on the website — and if you are a business owner or the organizer of a local event that you want featured — visit OysterBayToday.com to get in contact with town representatives.
