Sondra Bachety, center, holds plaque with her name on it that will be placed on new pavilion at Overlook Beach. With her are town officials who passed a resolution at a recent town board meeting honoring her.

When she served as a Babylon Town Councilwoman, Sondra Bachety took special interest in the Town’s beaches and its summer programs. She made sure they were clean and accessible to residents and viewed them as Babylon’s most precious of natural resources.

On Saturday, August, 24, the Town of Babylon will honor the longtime public official and political leader by naming the new pavilion at Overlook Beach the Sondra Bachety Pavilion.

"It is absolutely appropriate and fitting that the Town honor her in this way," said Babylon Town Supervisor Steve Bellone who, together with the Town Board announced their decision at a town board meeting last week. "She was a role model for so many women in politics who came after her."

Bachety, served as the Town’s first Babylon Town Councilman. She later served as the first woman in the County Legislature from the 12th district and the first and only female County Presiding Officer. She was also the first woman to serve as the Democratic leader in the Town of Babylon.

"I think the choice of honoring her by naming the pavilion after her is very appropriate," said Babylon Town Democratic leader Jeff Casale. "She always took a tremendous interest in the beaches and summer programs in Babylon and brought that interest countywide with open space preservation programs.  She made women’s issues, everyones issues."

"I have the utmost respect for her," said Babylon Town Councilwoman Ellen McVeety. "She was a pioneer in her field of politics, long before anyone entered the fray. She was an excellent councilwoman, county legislator and political leader and she took her strong personal convictions into her role as a lawmaker."

Tony Noto, a Republican who was Deputy Town Supervisor from 1968 to 1971, when Bachety was on the Town Board said the honor to Bachety is well deserved and that it is nice to see the town is recognizing a former town official whose body of work is to be commended.

"What happens over time is that the old politicians become older and the younger politicians become younger and they don’t have the associations with the past," he said. "But Sondra Bachety was a woman whose voice was very important in the Town for a long time."

Noto recalls that she was a lone Democrat on the Town Board, serving with two Republicans and two Conservatives. "Everyone was extremely concerned about where Sondra Bachety stood on an issue," he said.

Bachety, who stepped down as Babylon Industrial Development Agency Director this year, and is working part time for the Suffolk County Democratic committee, said she was both shocked and honored by the town’s decision. Town officials got her to the meeting by telling Bachety that her granddaughter was winning an award.

"I sat there absolutely stunned when they announced that I was being honored," said Bachety. "And that is unusual for me because I always know what is going on. I am absolutely thrilled."

Bachety said she never thought of her accomplishments in terms of firsts. "My children grew up on the town’s beaches and I got involved in politics because I wanted the town to offer even more to the residents," she said. "The only time it sunk in was when I was elected Presiding Officer and that was only because people made such a big deal about it. The same of it is that there hasn’t been another women PO since."

Bachety said she looks upon herself and her role as a public official as fortunate. "I learned from everything I did and feel very fortunate to have had the opportunities I had," she said.

The Town will unveil the plaque at the Pavilion as part of its annual Beach Blast celebration August 24.