By Mike White 🌧️ March 5, 2026

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☕ Good morning, Long Island.

🎁 Happy birthday to my brother Chris! (This is a test to see if he actually opens my emails.)

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The Farm Italy is a striking neighborhood restaurant and cocktail bar that offers the simplicity, beauty and seasonal freshness of local Italian dining. Now with locations in Westbury, Huntington and Mohegan Sun

1. Massapequa Park’s Jesse Findling shines again on American Idol

🎤 After this week’s performance, Luke Bryan ran up on stage and gave Jesse Findling a hug, and later posted on Instagram “A star is born y’all.” The 19-year-old singer has advanced to the show’s Top 30. “It’s insane to think about making it this far," Findling told Greater Long Island.

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2. Alure is gone and experts predict most customers won’t get a dime back

🏚️ Once nationally recognized as an eight-time project builder on ABC’s ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,’ Alure’s sudden shutdown has left hundreds of Long Island customers with unfinished or never-started work and hefty lost deposits.

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3. Proposed Melville Crossing development heads to March 19 hearing

🚆 Plans for the project — known as Melville Crossing — call for a residential and retail complex on a roughly 16-acre site currently occupied by an aging office building and large parking areas.

More headlines to highlight

🚧 Plans to convert IRS office space in Holtsville into an ICE detention and processing center are drawing pushback from Brookhaven officials, who say the use isn’t permitted under current zoning.

🔥 A propane leak in North Bellmore prompted a hazmat response Tuesday, temporarily shutting down nearby businesses as firefighters used a controlled burn-off kit to safely vent the tank. No injuries were reported.

🍻 Hoptron Brewtique is back. The beloved craft-beer bar held a soft opening in Port Jefferson and plans its official grand opening Friday, marking a comeback six years after closing its original Patchogue location.

🛍️ Ross Dress for Less is doubling its Long Island footprint this weekend, with new stores opening Saturday in Lake Grove and Riverhead — the latest step in the discount retailer’s fast-growing presence here

🎳 A massive new entertainment complex is opening May 18 at Tanger Outlets in Deer Park. Main Event — featuring bowling, laser tag, arcade games and dining — will be the chain’s first New York location.

🍝 A Bay Shore restaurant space that housed Joe’s Pizza & Pasta for about 40 years is getting new life as Villa Roma, a new Italian spot from local restaurateur John Parini expected to open this spring.

🛒 A new Whole Foods Market opens today in Holbrook, becoming the Island’s eighth location and stocking more than 900 local products.

Greater Babylon coverage is funded in part by The Argyle Theatre, where Broadway comes to Babylon. Click here for tickets to Newsies.