Young Writer Honored

Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci presented Jay Nagpal, a young writer from Half Hollow Hills East High School, with a proclamation honoring the student for promoting Huntington history during Nagpal’s book signing at People’s United Bank on November 30th.

Jay Nagpal, a high school senior, wrote the book, “Miss Kim’s Class Goes to Town,” an illustrated children’s book focusing on historic sites throughout the Town of Huntington, designed to help raise awareness of many of the landmarks in the Town.

“We are proud of the rich history we share here in the Town of Huntington and it is terrific to see one of our students who shares that interest work to make others aware of our historic landmarks,” said the Supervisor.

Mr. Nagpal, who is deeply passionate about history and has written several historical research papers, one of which won first place at Long Island History Day, is the founder of the Dix Hills-Melville Historical Association and creator of the website, www.dixhillsmelvillehistory.org.

After creating the website, Nagpal realized there was a need to produce something that young children would enjoy while learning about their community. The result is a 27-page book highlighting landmarks such as the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Building, the Long Island Motor Parkway, the Vanderbilt Museum, and the Walt Whitman Birthplace.

Publication of the book was sponsored by People’s United Bank working in cooperation with the Huntington Historical Society.

Town Historian Robert Hughes, who provided guidance to Mr. Nagpal, said, “All of us who have worked with Jay as he created the website and wrote the book were impressed by his maturity, focus and intelligence.”

Mr. Nagpal has received recognition from his school district’s Board of Education for his dedication to raising awareness of local history and is also the recipient of the 2019 Brown University Book Award. He is also engaged in sustainability research at Stony Brook University, loves Western classical music and plays the piano and viola, for which he represents his school at the county and regional levels, and is captain of his school’s chess team. The book is available for sale at the People’s United Bank branch at 182 East Main Street, Huntington and at the Huntington Historical Society, www.huntingtonhistoricalsociety.org.