Bay Shore, affectionately referred to as “the heart of the South Shore,” has been a Long Island community staple since its inception in 1708. The area known as Greater Bay Shore or “downtown” to locals, has been through numerous changes ranging from its booming era in the early thirties when Main Street was a thriving metropolis, to the sixties, when the commercial downfall began. Recently, Bay Shore has gone through a revitalization of sorts, and by no accident either; residents and retailers consciously strive to return the town to the grandeur it once enjoyed.
Marilyn Schulman, spear-heading the rebirth of Bay Shore, remembers a busy Main Street with eight jewelry stores and a commanding soda fountain; The Grand Movie Theater and Gil Clark’s farmer’s market. With the ‘60s came the development of malls, such as Roosevelt Field and the Westfield Mall in Bay Shore; these attractions drew locals from the cozy downtown Bay Shore and consequently, it suffered. “Everybody went to the malls, it destroyed Main Street mentality all over the country,” recalls Schulman.
The 1970s brought another crushing blow to Bay Shore; the social structure changed with the closing of Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center. The oil crisis made it very expensive to run the old Victorian houses and many of the homes became multiple dwellings. Overcrowded homes coupled with the recession found a fifty percent retail vacancy in the ‘90s. “This is when the community decided to fight back.” notes Schulman.
The beautification and restoration of Bay Shore is a neighborhood undertaking spearheaded by Schulman. Schulman’s family owned the Bay Shore Lighting and Electrical Supply Company since 1945 – she still runs it to this day. The lighting company was recently named one of the top 50 Creative Retail Stores in the United States by Home Accents magazine. Longing to return the Bay Shore of her childhood, Schulman began what she calls the “reverse domino effect,” with the opening of her specialty gift store Willy Nilly. “I figured that if I could open a retail store then other store-owners would follow suit,” said Schulman. And she couldn’t have been more right. Today downtown Bay Shore flourishes in a way that it hasn’t since the early thirties.

New Stores
A number of new stores have opened in the past two to three years bringing back the liveliness and bustle of yesteryear.
Bay Shore resident Nicki O’Connell was one of the first to jump on the fast-track with her children’s store Bumblebabies. O’Connell moved back to Long Island from the city with the desire to help Bay Shore get back on its feet. “I wouldn’t have opened a business anywhere else,” O’Connell said. She leased a corner in Schulman’s Willy Nilly to sell children’s clothing and toys. In October 2003 she moved to her own location where she offers specialty, nostalgic and wooden toys to name a few. “It’s a lot of fun for parents to buy their kids toys like they had when they were young,” she muses. And the store has just expanded again. As if to bring the sense of community full circle, O’Connell recently opened a corner of her store to an up-and-coming concessionary Tre Sweet, a high–end candy store. Being the first “domino” to rise gives O’Connell a sense of pride that is unparalleled and she has high hopes for the future of the town.
“Bay Shore really offers a great sense of culture and retail shopping. We pull people from all over the island and we will get there,” she says with confidence.“All towns need a good balance of service, retail and restaurants.”
The new Bay Shore has no shortage of any of these essentials. Exciting and new destinations include Spa 85, a full service spa and salon owned by young entrepreneur Glory, located at 85 E. Main St Here you can get a great haircut, enjoy a massage and leave feeling like you were in trendy Tibeca. Samhal, an interior design store located at 53 W. Main St. offers extravagant and affordable home furnishings and décor for what owner Susan Tamberino calls “real people.” Samhal caters to people on a budget who want to shop like they are not, “people who want to invest.” Tamberino moved to Bay Shore six years ago with all intentions of opening her shop in town. “I came because I knew it was changing – it is amazing.”
Trendy restaurants and bars have popped up in Bay Shore as well, the original hotspot and highly recommended eatery is the always-crowded Milk & Sugar located at 49 W. Main St. Listed as one of the “Great Restaurants of Long Island,” by Greatest Restaurants magazine, Milk & Sugar has the reputation of being a bit of Soho right in Bay Shore. Sophistication seems to be the theme with the newly-opened Playhouse martini bar at 27 W. Main St. The Playhouse offers flavored martinis and happy hour specials, believing that the business class has a refined taste and a hankering for a stiff martini made right. To round out the smorgasbord of high-class libations and delectable dishes is Smokin’ Al’s an equally as tasty but much messier place to eat. Located at 19 W. Main St., Al’s serves up down home BBQ – authentic down to the last bone.

Main Street Spunk
Main Street in Bay Shore is a buzz with cash registers cha-chinging and patrons’ guzzling down delicious treats but that is not where the resurgence ends. Aesthetically Bay Shore has received a makeover as well. The Bay Shore Chamber of Commerce has plans to create a memorial garden in the center of town and the well-known Domini building is being rebuilt to complete period-restoration, presenting renters store-front space downstairs and upscale upper floor housing.
The spunky Schulman who put the ball in motion now sits back proudly and watches as her “reverse domino effect” comes to fruition and draws wisdom and inspiration from one of her favorite books, The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs. Schulman beams, “The streets have come to life.”