March 19 should have been Gabby Petito’s 26th birthday. But instead of watching Petito blow out her birthday candles, her family is advocating for an end to the domestic violence that killed her. Miller’s Ale House, in Levittown, is joining the fight.
Miller’s Ale House is partnering with the Gabby Petito Foundation to raise money for victims of domestic violence. Twenty percent of all food and drink sales on March 20 will go to the not-for-profit organization, which the Petito family made in Gabby’s memory.
In 2021, Petito, then 22 years old, was killed by her fiancé Brian Laundrie, police have said. The case gained widespread media attention and a Netflix documentary, American Murder: Gabby Petito released on Feb. 17.
“I followed the whole story,” Chris Nevins, general manager of the pub, told the Press. “And I watched the Netflix special, and I saw at the end of the last episode they put up a screen, ‘Gabby Petito Foundation.’ … Having two daughters, three granddaughters, and being in this business 50 years, [Petito] reminded me of a lot of girls that come through here.”
Wanting to do something for Petito’s family and their cause, Nevins worked with the organization to create the fundraiser. As if by fate, it is ready at the perfect time for an honorary birthday celebration.
Local lawmakers helped promote the fundraiser.
“Back many years ago, this was a subject that wasn’t talked about,” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said. “It was considered something that was between spouses, and it wasn’t a matter of public policy.
“What we’ve seen is that over the years, we’ve become educated to know there are many people — especially women — who have been victims, and in the past, because nobody would talk about it, they didn’t report it,” he continued. “And the fact of the matter is that we can only help if we know what’s going on.”
Nassau is stricter on domestic violence than state law requires and was named the safest county in America last year. Even so, domestic violence continues to plague women. Nearly 20,000 combined reports were made to the Nassau County Police Department and the county’s Domestic Violence Hotline in 2020 alone, according to the recently shuttered Safe Center LI.
That number likely doesn’t scratch the surface of the true number of victims, as domestic violence is one of the most underreported crimes in Nassau and nationwide, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.
“One in 3 women are victims of domestic violence,” said Mary Wickam, Petito’s grandmother. “This is 2025 — what are we doing? We have to change this. We have to change it through awareness, through education, through new laws. It’s just unthinkable that this is what’s still happening.”
“We need to stop asking ‘Why didn’t she leave?'” she said. “We need to start saying ‘Why didn’t he stop?'”
On March 14, only five days prior to the press conference, the Safe Center Long Island — the only emergency shelter for survivors of domestic violence in Nassau County — was shuttered due to lack of funding. In its place, the county has partnered with Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) to continue to help victims, although in a reduced capacity from the Safe Center LI. Officials said the county is choosing between NUMC and two not-for-profit organizations, Safe Horizon and Empower, Assist, Care (EAC), as its permanent partner to resume providing essential resources like a women’s shelter, child care center and 24/7 hotline assistance.
“Right now, we have a working team that is meeting on a regular basis to make sure that we do everything to make sure that women who have these issues are safe, their families are safe, and they get the help they need,” Blakeman said.
Donnelly urged those facing domestic violence to call 911 in an emergency situation, or the Domestic Violence Hotline in a non-emergency situation at 516-542-0404.
“We have many, many ways to help women get out of situations they may feel like they can’t or feel like their hands are tied in some ways,” Donnelly said. “So please, don’t be afraid. Please call. We are here to help, and we will help.”
The partnership between the Gabby Petito Foundation, Miller’s Ale House and Nassau officials is the kind of collaboration needed to end domestic violence, noted Nassau County Comptroller Elaine Phillips.
“It can’t just be government,” said Phillips, visibly choked up. “It also takes foundations like the Petito Foundation. We have to work as a team. We all have to do our part so these statistics of 1 in 3 women gets changed.”
The county will light the dome of the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building purple to bring awareness to domestic violence.
The fundraiser for the Gabby Petito Foundation at Miller’s Ale House is from 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. at 3046 Hempstead Tpke., Levittown.
