Columbus Day holiday closings

Today is Columbus Day, a federal holiday commemorating the arrival of the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in the Americas on Oct. 12, 1492. The day was made a federal holiday by an act of Congress in 1934. In 1971, with the federal Monday Holiday Act, the observance of the holiday was changed to the second Monday in October.

Riverhead municipal trash pickup follows its regular schedule today. LIRR and Suffolk County buses follow a regular weekday schedule. 

Here’s what’s closed today:

• all government offices, courts, schools, the post office — no mail delivery (except Express Mail), most banks, Riverhead Free Library

What’s open:

• New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, most retail stores, grocery stores and restaurants

Observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is observed on this day, honoring the Indigenous peoples of America, who lived here long before Europeans sailed to this continent — some for thousands of years.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day began as a counter-celebration to Columbus Day and, though it the holiday traces its roots to a United Nations conference in 1977, it was first designated an official holiday in Berkeley, California in 1992 — the year that marked the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in the Americas.

Indigenous Peoples Day honors Native American peoples and their histories and cultures.

“The story of America’s Indigenous peoples is a story of their resilience and survival; of their persistent commitment to their right to self-governance; and of their determination to preserve cultures, identities, and ways of life,” President Joe Biden said in a proclamation last week. Biden in 2021 issued the first-ever presidential proclamation commemorating Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

“I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.  I also direct that the flag of the United States be displayed on all public buildings on the appointed day in honor of our diverse history and the Indigenous peoples who contribute to shaping this Nation,” Biden said in the proclamation, in which he discussed the federal government’s recent efforts to improve its relationship with tribal nations.