Quaint suburban St. James sits between state universities and North Shore beaches
It's easy to forget that Saint James is situated on Long Island's North Shore when embedded among this suburban village's tree-lined subdivisions and well-landscaped midcentury classic homes. "The village of St. James has an old-fashioned suburban layout with one main street, serving as the classical downtown," says Lynn Sabatelle, a Long Island local and associate real estate broker with Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty. The community is beside Stony Brook University to the east and connected to Long Island beaches and parks in the northern neighborhoods of Head of the Harbor and Nissequogue.
Neighborhood athletic parks and places for boating and swimming
Burke Veterans Memorial Park and Gaynor Park are within Saint James and offer tennis and basketball courts, playgrounds, and baseball fields. Burke Park also hosts a sand volleyball court. Nissequogue River State Park is north of Saint James and features hiking or cross-country skiing trails and a boat launch for kayaks and canoes. Folks can head to Smithtown for a day of swimming and sunbathing at Short Beach. Boating is common, with the Smithtown Bay Yacht Club being a popular membership for recreational sailors and deep-sea fishers.
A market of midcentury homes and townhouses
Saint James features ramblers, Cape Cods, bilevels, and Colonial Revivals, which were built from the 1950s through the early 2000s and midcentury modern townhouses east of Moriches Road. Prices range between $410,000 and $1.5 million, varying by square footage and lot size. Townhouses run from $445,000 to $700,000 and have two to three bedrooms. Sidewalks are consistent along the grid-patterned streets, and most yards are decorated with trees and shrubs.
Locals shop along Lake Avenue and Smith Haven Mall
The St. James General Store is one of the country's oldest general stores. It has served the community since 1857 and is featured on the National Register of Historic Places. To this day, locals still head there to grab candies, handmade crafts, soaps and essentials. Lake Avenue is the village's commercial corridor, with barbershops, studios and local spots like St. James Pizza & Pasta for a dine-in or carryout meal. To the southeast, there's Smith Haven Mall, hosting over 140 retailers, including Macy's and H&M. Across the street from the mall is an Aldi for grocery needs.
Annual festivities around St. James
Every year, the village's Chamber of Commerce organizes St. James Day, a festival that brings neighbors together with live music, food vendors, and kids' activities. Deepwells Farm hosts a haunted house around Halloween for folks looking for a good scare. The St. James Farmers Market is held on Saturday mornings from June to October at St. James Lutheran Church.
Connected to Long Island and Manhattan by road and rail
Saint James has an LIRR station, so folks can have public access around the island or catch a train to Penn Station in 2 hours or less. The Long Island Expressway is six miles south of the village for interstate access, while the Long Island MacArthur Airport is eight miles south and offers domestic and international flights. "This whole area is served by the Bridgeport-Port Jefferson Ferry for easy access off Long Island," says Sabatelle. Locals can venture nine miles east to the ferry terminal at Port Jefferson, which pulls into port at Bridgeport, Connecticut, after an hour's ride.
St. James Episcopal Church gave this village its name
St. James Episcopal Church is a historic house of worship that opened its doors in 1853. A few years later, the U.S. Post Office named this community after this church to honor its community contributions.
Students stroll to Smithtown area schools
The Smithtown Central School District serves the area. Students can attend Saint James Elementary, Nesaquake Middle, and Smithtown High School East, which all get A-ratings from Niche. Stony Brook University is east of Saint James and is ranked as one of the top SUNY schools. The university employs around 13,500 people and has over 26,000 students enrolled as of Fall 2024.
Written By
Maxwell Olarinde
