Dr. James F. Michel was a physician who lived and worked in and around the village of Farmingdale, in Nassau County. He started a real estate company known as J.F. Michel Realty Co., which developed residential properties in East Farmingdale.
The nearly 3-acre recreation park, named Michel Park, was gifted to the East Farmingdale Civic Association, which, in turn, deeded the park to the Town of Babylon in 1957.