Town To Host Street Renaming To Honor Popular Deer Park DJ

DEER PARK, NY —A popular Deer Park radio host will be honored during a street renaming ceremony this weekend. A portion of West 15th Street in Deer Park will be renamed "John ‘JP’ Parise Way" to celebrate Parise's 20 years on the air with his morning show co-host Roger Luce. The event will take place on Saturday, Feb. 29 starting at 1:30 p.m. on the corner of West 15th and Oakland Avenue.

Parise grew up on the block and lived there until his mid-20s. The Deer Park native began working for the classic rock station as a WBAB Rock Van driver in 1995, before becoming an on-air personality in 2000. Since then, he and Luce have entertained listeners across the Town of Babylon and beyond from their West Babylon studio each morning.

Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer recently paid a visit to "Roger and JP" on the air to personally congratulate them on 20 years of success. During his visit, he announced live on the air that not only would West 15th Street be renamed for Parise, but a newly-constructed relief station at Tanner Park, which is home to the band shell that hosts the free concert series in the summer, will be dedicated to the pair.

"I’ve known and have been listening to JP for a very long time," Schaffer said. "WBAB has always been a great neighbor and partner of the Town of Babylon, and I’m looking forward to celebrating the success of one of our own. JP is a great example for many young people in our town to follow,” he added."

The ceremony will consist of a short presentation by Schaffer before the new ceremonial signage is unveiled.