Exclusive | Long Island town on mission to give 50,000 kids holiday toys

Santa Claus is coming to town — the Town of Oyster Bay, that is.

Residents in the Long Island community are on a mission to host the municipality’s largest-ever toy drive and donate more than 50,000 holiday gifts to kids in need this season, building on half a decade of good tidings.

“The people here are so generous. We did 19,000 toys in 2020, then 25,000 the next year, then 34,000, then 38,000, and last year was 42,000,” Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino told The Post.

“This year, Santa will need a bigger sleigh. We want to hit that 50,000 number for the first time,” he said.

The Toys For Tots-partnered donation event will be held Dec. 6 at Massapequa’s Burns Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes hours of fun for kids, plus a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Massive turnout from the past five years was a silver lining of the pandemic, as the town used to collect only an average of 4,000 gifts a year at its offices and buildings in 2019 and before.

Things changed when COVID forced social distancing, and the park in Massapequa was turned into a drive-through toy depot. The new format initially saw almost five times the usual amount, and word caught like wildfire in the area.

“This is the one positive out of that time,” Saladino said.

“If not for the pandemic, we never would have had this idea, and so many kids wouldn’t have had smiles on Christmas morning.”

The event quickly became a joyful holiday tradition, as high-school teams routinely stopped by in uniform to drop off gifts and cheer.

Adults began recruiting everyone in their social circles to do the same.

“There was one man in three bowling leagues who got almost all of his peers to donate,” said Town of Oyster Bay Director of Operations Andrew Rothstein, who runs the drive.

“Each year, he fills his red pickup truck with more toys than the season prior.”

Troves of local car-collector groups and motorcycle clubs have made it a rite of passage to contribute as well.

“Another person drops off five or six bicycles on their own just because,” Rothstein said.

“It’s amazing how much people want to give.”

Checking it twice

This is the first time the town has turned the drive into a numbers game, as locals have become excited by a chance to hit the magic 50,000 for the first time.

“It will be tough, but I think we can do it. More and more people want to help,” said Nassau resident Frank Yao, who has been generously donating for the past three years since hearing about the popularized event.

“I’ve seen this grow year by year. I keep hearing more people talking about how meaningful it is to be part of.”

Those looking to donate should bring unwrapped gifts with them to the park, according to Rothstein.

He added that Nerf guns, dolls, Lego sets, stuffed animals and board games are among the most popular items to come in over the years and are a good suggestion for first-timers.

The all-day event has another memorable moment for many pandemic-born toddlers, as they’re invited to walk up on stage and hand their Christmas letters to Santa.

“For a lot of kids, this has been the first time they ever met Santa, actually,” Rothstein said.

“And so many children come and want to donate bought toys on behalf of their families. You really see what the holidays are all about here.”