There’s an old adage that names have power — and if anyone’s looking to prove the point, East Patchogue makes a great case study. Located on Long Island’s South Shore, the hamlet sits between the Village of Bellport and its namesake, the Village of Patchogue. Over the past two decades, Patchogue has experienced a rebirth. It’s now one of the most popular restaurant and entertainment districts on this part of the island. This has been a blessing for East Patchogue, which now draws those who want all the excitement close by without the noise, traffic and crowds of the village itself. “East Patchogue is the laid-back brother of Patchogue. I love the community. I moved here in 2018, and it was probably the smartest purchase I ever made,” says Ted Gounelas, an associate real estate broker at Coldwell Banker M&D Life, adding that he gets tons of clients who are only interested in looking in the Patchogue area. “I call it the land that time forgot. People walk their dogs, people know your dog’s name, but sometimes they don’t know your name. But there’s definitely a very nice community vibe throughout the [hamlet].”
There are a lot of homes located on the water with private docks in East Patchogue.
Swan River Preserve walking trail is a great pathway to see parts of nature at the park.
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Growth on the horizon
Patchogue itself is still growing, with no plans of slowing. “Actually, in a podcast where I featured the executive director for the Chamber of Commerce, he said that they envision Patchogue in the long term to be a city,” Gounelas says. “And it would be great to encompass a lot of townships and create a road map for an actual city.” Whether it’s part of this greater plan or just a consequence of Patchogue’s growth filtering down, East Patchogue is next in line for major improvements. The hamlet received a $10 million grant from Suffolk County in 2023 to aid an already-underway project to extend its sewage system. In total, the project will cost $22 million, but it will connect 100 homes and many businesses to the new sewage line. “It means they’ll be able to cater to more restaurants and businesses, being able to expand on main street on Montauk Highway,” Gounelas says. Several new apartment complexes are also in the process of being built, with the first — Greybarn Apartments — set to open in late 2025 or early 2026. “It’s probably going to drive even more traffic in terms of people who want to test it out, rent something and then eventually buy,” Gounelas says. “There’s a lot of stuff in the works.”
Patchogue's Main Street is filled with bars, resturants and shops.
Welcome to Mud Creek Dog Park.
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Swimming in Patchogue Bay, kayaking on Swan Lake
For many, the beaches and marinas are the best part of living on the South Shore. Mirimar Beach is a little stretch of sand with a pier that stretches into the calm water of Patchogue Bay. “There’s amazing fall sunsets on the Great South Bay,” says Lina Lopes, a licensed associate broker at Douglas Elliman who lives in East Patchogue and has sold homes there for 34 years. “People come down to the end of some of the main streets that go right to the bay at sunset in the fall. Even after a big rain, the rainbows that come across are amazing.” Parking at Mirimar Beach is minimal, but some prefer that because it thins out the crowds. And of course, there are plenty of other ways to get out on the water, even when residents aren’t in the mood to feel the sand between their toes. “At the end of Pine Neck Avenue, they have a boat ramp where you can bring out your boat, your jet skis,” Lopes says. “And many other spots, too. There are a lot of marinas in East Patchogue for your boat. There’s canoeing, kayaking, paddleboarding. My grandson is even part of a little self-made kayaking group, teenagers that do some kayaking in the area. In the wintertime, when the Great South Bay freezes, sometimes you see people walking on the frozen bay.”
Even local dogs get in on the fun at Mud Creek Dog Park, which has a dog-friendly stretch of beach. It’s large and fenced-in, so dogs can be let off-leash to explore, make friends and chase balls into the water to their hearts’ content. On the north side of Montauk Highway, Swan Lake River Preserve recently completed a revitalization project that involved restoring native plants and creating a fish passage. Thanks to that passage, river herring were able to migrate into all reaches of the river on their spawning run for the first time in more than 200 years. There are also paved, wheelchair-accessible paths in parts of the park. Its natural beauty, increased wildlife and accessibility make it a favorite spot for locals to walk, kayak on Swan Lake and glimpse local wildlife — swans, ducks, herons, turtles and more can all be seen here. “The nature is just beautiful,” Lopes says of East Patchogue as a whole. “There’s an osprey nest right behind our house, actually. Two ospreys come every spring and through the summer, and then they leave. There’s a couple of eagles around, right in that same nature preserve.”
Enjoy a day at the beach at Mud Creek Dog Park.
Patchogue Beach Clubs excellent private beach.
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Small fixer-uppers starting at around $400,000
The variety of housing styles in East Patchogue is impressive. It has an abundance of ranch-style homes, hi-ranches and Cape Cods, often built between the 1940s and 1960s, alongside a few contemporary-style homes built in the 1970s and 1980s. There are also many colonial homes, but they’re harder to pin down to a neat couple of decades; one of these houses could have just as easily been built in 1900 as in 2020. Homes built in the 1990s and later are often new traditionals. The neighborhoods themselves are also varied. “We have communities with sidewalks and curbs if you prefer to have development where the homes are closer by, or you can go to some of the other communities we have that are half an acre to an acre, set back, very wooded and neighbors are a little spread out,” Lopes says. Some East Patchogue homes are just a short walk or bike ride away from Patchogue’s busy downtown.
An older, smaller three-bedroom home in East Patchogue can start as low as $400,000 if it needs renovations, or it can climb to $700,000 if it’s been fully updated — though there are some new-construction homes on the market for under that $700,000 mark. Larger homes start at around $500,000 if they need renovations and can climb to $900,000 for a newer or updated home even if it’s not on the water. But with roughly 2.5 miles of coastline — not counting harbors and canals — and a few lakes, there are plenty of homes with water access in East Patchogue. Smaller homes can start as low as $400,000, but these are rare. Most will start at around $550,000, while waterfront homes with private docks could climb all the way to $2 million. And once people buy in the community, Gounelas says, they tend to stay. “The feeling is mutual among all your neighbors,” he says. “If you go through the streets of Patchogue, you’d see that people are making renovations, making improvements to their homes.” The community’s CAP Index crime score is 3 out of 10, which is lower than the national average of 4.
Lovely ranch style home sits in East Patchogue.
Ranch style home with lush landscaping out front in East Patchogue.
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Festivals, summertime Alive After Five in Patchogue
While East Patchogue itself doesn’t have many events, its location between Bellport and Patchogue gives residents easy access to events in both villages — especially Patchogue. “I think what keeps people coming back is a lot of the events and community that they have, everything from Alive After Five as well as all the parades they do,” Gounelas says. “They’ve probably lost count of holidays for all the parades that they do.” Held every Thursday evening in the summer from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Alive After Five features everything from live music and local vendors to ax throwing. An estimated 12,000 people came to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 2024, and that’s just the start of the village’s yearly events. “They do a mini ball drop around New Year’s,” Gounelas says. “They cater to the younger crowd, the extremely younger crowd, maybe like 5- and 10-year-olds who might not stay up until midnight. So they actually drop their own ball around 9 p.m. They have Feast of St. Liberata coming up in September, the Fourth of July Parade, of course, the Thanksgiving Parade, Christmas Parade. All the main holidays.”
Patchogue closes Main Street for Alive After 5.
Alive After 5 features a variety of different live music.
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Restaurants and essentials along Montauk Highway
As East Patchogue’s main road, Montauk Highway is lined with businesses and restaurants. It’s not as dense as in Patchogue and is more car-dependent than walkable, but it still provides a good selection. Lopes and Gounelas both listed Chachama Grill as their favorite local spot. “It’s nestled in a little shopping center, and you wouldn’t even know it,” Lopes says. “It’s amazing food.” Mi Tierrita Restaurant is a popular spot for Colombian food, and George’s Luncheonette is the go-to for a sit-down breakfast. Friends often meet for drinks at Two Morrow's Pub, which is rumored to have the oldest liquor license ever issued in Suffolk County. Groceries are available at Lidl or ShopRite, and other major retailers like Walgreens and Lowes provide essentials. And, of course, there’s the benefit of living so close to Patchogue. “I think one of the major draws was Patchogue’s Main Street and how they were able to create community,” Gounelas says.
Peter's Luncheonette in East Patchogue is a busy eatery with a loyal clientele.
Stop by the new Zucchini Natural Market right by Patchogue.
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Career education at Patchogue-Medford High
A small portion of the community is part of the South Country Central School District, which earns a B-minus from Niche, but most of East Patchogue is served by the Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District, which also has a B-minus grade. Children in the latter district can start their educations at Bay Elementary School, which earns a C, and Saxton Middle School, which has a B-minus, before moving on to Patchogue-Medford High School. The high school scores a B rating and provides a career and technical education program where students not only get hands-on professional experience but also make connections with potential future employers. Alternatively, Victory Christian Academy is a private school that teaches pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. It has an A on Niche and a student-teacher ratio of 5-to-1.
Patchogue-Medford High School, where US Navy Seal Hero Michael Murphy attended school.
Bellport High School main entrance for a solid education curriculum preparing for college.
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Major highways, LIRR’s Patchogue Station
Sunrise Highway and Medford Avenue run right through the area. East Patchogue is less than 60 miles from New York City. While commuting by car could take two and a half hours each way, the Long Island Rail Road brings commuters from Patchogue Station to Manhattan’s Penn Station in about an hour and a half. Patchogue also has a ferry that runs to Fire Island, with stops at Davis Park, Cherry Grove, Fire Island Pines and Ocean Beach. The trip takes a little over 15 minutes each way. Long Island Community Hospital is located right in the community, and Long Island MacArthur Airport is less than 8 miles away.
Written By
Hannah Rainey
Photography Contributed By
Anthony Costa
Video By
Ellie Brown
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