Charles Gulden was one of Bay Shore’s well-to-do industrialists who had their idyllic vacation home built near the bay on South Clinton Avenue. He succeeded in founding his condiment company, which had hit products such as his namesake Gulden’s Mustard.
Celebrating this success with his family, Charles built his Netherbay Estate. However, over the years with his family, his wife slowly began to change, exhibiting behaviors now associated with dementia.
Shaped by the community’s growth and the health issues of his loved ones, Charles’s son, Frank, focused on the betterment of locals through access to quality healthcare. Frank became a benefactor and president of Bay Shore’s Southside Hospital (currently South Shore University, part of the Northwell Health network) during the Great Depression. When medical treatment was cut throughout the state, Frank’s presidency of Southside expanded health care and innovative treatment to his community. Ninety years later, Netherbay at Bay Shore, a new assisted living and memory care community, will open its state-of-the-art facility at the old Gulden estate.
The community, built by local development companies Bayberry Capital, Racanelli Construction and managed by national seniors housing operator Meridian Senior Living, consists of 72 assisted living private apartments and 50 dedicated to residents needing memory care.
By working with Bay Shore Chamber of Commerce, The Bay Shore Beautification Society, and Bay Shore Historical Society, restoring the original architectural vision of Clarence K. Birdsall’s 1890 Queen Ann-style home was painstakingly undertaken.
The main house’s focal point is the original peak, which was retrofitted to the center of the building. The old stable was refurbished with an open floor plan to become an event pavilion for residents. Frank Gulden’s former home will become the Netherbay Club, a 24-person adult daycare center with various social activities.
“Netherbay at Bay Shore will specialize in providing a better quality of life to people who need dignified care. Our Montessori Moments in Time Memory Care and our Life Inspired program in our assisted living neighborhood can be transformative for adults who need expert care and compassion,” said Executive Director Joanne Albanese. “The key component is to have residents in a comfortable, home-life environment, unlike the institutional feel of many nursing homes and hospitals.”
For Bayberry Capital, led by CEO and lifelong Bay Shore resident Charles Ferraro, Netherbay is a passion project that is personal to him.
“You can’t run into somebody who does not have a loved one needing memory care, including my own family––my father has Alzheimer’s disease,” said Ferraro. “I wanted to build in Bay Shore a true community that I could proudly bring my own dad.”
It’s this dedication to serving seniors and helping others that Albanese said has come full circle nearly 100 years after the Guldens lived on the property.
“Bayberry Capital and our partner Racanelli Construction shares our passion for helping family, friends, and their loved ones and understands the need for this facility,” Albanese explained, ”The Guldens understood service and the importance of quality healthcare, and it’s so poignant that now we are going to build our own new legacy at Netherbay. Our motto is Neighbors Helping Neighbors because we believe in our responsibility to serve older adults at a vulnerable time in their lives.”
The need for memory care in our region is growing. According to the 2020 United States Census data, 18.1% of Long Island’s population is over 65. Alzheimer’s risk increases with age, from 5% of people between the ages of 65 and 74 to 34% of people 85 years and older. The CDC estimates that 6.9 million people currently have Alzheimer’s in the U.S., but that number is projected to double to 14 million by 2060.
“We have several projects, such as a 30-unit building on Fifth Ave., and another residential building on Ocean Ave., but our largest project is Netherbay,” stated Ferraro. ” We are focused on being the best community for people who need advanced care in assisted living and those with dementia.”
Netherbay plans to open in the first quarter of 2025 and Charter Resident applications are now being accepted. Visit netherbayatbayshore.com or call 631-458-5065.
