Photo: Hayden Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Living in Shelter Island, NY: what to set up and who to call
Power in Shelter Island comes from PSEG Long Island, a state utility rather than a private company. Shelter Island has its own drop-off, Shelter Island Recycling Center, on 34 North Menantic Road.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Shelter Island, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Shelter Island.
Power comes from PSEG Long Island
PSEG Long Island (Long Island Power Authority), a state utility, serves all of Shelter Island. Its homes paid an average of 26.2¢ per kWh in 2025, about $195 a month (its average across New York, for customers on its standard service). New York lets you buy power from another supplier; 0% of PSEG Long Island’s home customers do, and PSEG Long Island still delivers it.
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from West Neck Water District
West Neck Water District supplies Shelter Island: about 4% of residents live in its service area. About 94% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws ground water and serves 100 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 11,392 systems serving <=100 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 1.3 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 1.8 ppb. That’s higher than 65% of similar systems’ latest results.
The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report
EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0 (EPA’s estimate). Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. NY5110623.
3 home internet providers serve Shelter Island
94% of 2,655 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 74% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Optimum | Cable, Fiber | 95% | 8,000/8,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless, Fiber | 41% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 37% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash and recycling in Shelter Island
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Shelter Island, from the town’s own site.
Shelter Island Recycling & Transfer Station
- Mon7:30 am–5:30 pm
- Tue7:30 am–5:30 pm
- Wed7:30 am–5:30 pm
- Thu7:30 am–5:30 pm
- Fri7:30 am–5:30 pm
- Sat7:30 am–5:30 pm
- Sun7:30 am–5:30 pm
From shelterislandtown.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026. Rules change: the town’s page is the last word. .
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Shelter Island is in Shelter Island Union Free School District.
C+School gradeSee Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2024; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Shelter Island spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Shelter Island residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Shelter Island | ZIP’s residents in Shelter Island |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11964 | Shelter Island, NY | 76% | 100% |
| 11965 | Shelter Island Heights, NY | 24% | 100% |
A few homes fall in 11963.
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Shelter Island
Who supplies Shelter Island’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
West Neck Water District (EPA ID NY5110623). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 78% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 1.3 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Shelter Island?
PSEG Long Island (Long Island Power Authority), a state utility. Its homes paid about 26.2¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Shelter Island?
Optimum, Verizon, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Shelter Island?
11964 (76%), 11965 (24%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Shelter Island in?
Shelter Island Union Free School District.
How do I register to vote in Shelter Island?
In New York you can register online until 10 days before Election Day, in person until 10 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before and received 10 days before). Elections here are run by the Suffolk County Board of Elections. Check your registration at voterlookup.elections.ny.gov.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: Shelter Island’s own website (shelterislandtown.gov), read Oct 21, 2026, pickup and drop-off facts extracted and checked against the page they came from.
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet: FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.