(Photo by Rich Forestano
The New Hyde Park Street Fair turns 20 on Saturday, Sept. 19, and the 20,000 to 25,000 attendees will keep the last vestiges of summer alive with shopping, zeppoles and small-town fun. Sponsored this year by North Shore-LIJ Health System, event coordinators are primed for a solid fair.
“The secret, I think, to our success every year is we maintain the foundation that makes the fair so successful,” New Hyde Park Village Board Research Assistant/Fair Coordinator Janet Bevers said. “We have community support, great food, shopping, fun for children and adults.”
Fair reps expect at least 220 vendors to line the street fair this year. In the fair’s inaugural outing in 1995, just 90 craft vendors showed up.
“We wanted to make it the best fair on Long Island,” Queens-based Craft-A-Fair President Tony Ciuffo said. “We try to keep building on it every year and when it comes together, it’s a great thing.”
Each year, vendors rent space on the turnpike from New Hyde Park Road, continuing west to Covert Avenue. In 2013, a few extra blocks were added near Lakeville Road, where it extends today.
“I think the first fair was like a giant garage sale,” Mayor Robert Lofaro said. “Then it moved to Jericho Turnpike. It’s an outstanding community day.”
For Ciuffo, the fair represents two decades of hard work from village government, craft vendors, businesses and community residents.
“When you see everyone smiling at the fair, with some that have attended every one of them for 20 years, it makes all the work worth it,” he said.
Former trustee Florence Lisanti was one of the first organizers of the street fair. Her dedication to the event is what drove it to the success it is today, officials said.
“It’s our biggest community event in the village,” Bevers said. “I wasn’t here when it started [20 years ago] but I can’t help but think about those that were involved in the early days. It’s only right to acknowledge those who had the spirit and desire to make it work.”
North Shore-LIJ will, for the first time, set up a Health and Wellness Pavilion that spans a major portion of Lakeville Road, with a 30-foot tall, 100-foot long tent. More than 12 exhibitors from LIJ will showcase initiatives, programs and health services at the pavilion. North Shore University Hospital and LIJ will bring in cardiology and neurosurgery service lines along with an exhibit from Cohen’s Children Medical Center in New Hyde Park.
“We believe this year is going to be the best with it being the 20th anniversary as well as what North Shore-LIJ is bringing,” Lofaro said.
Cohen’s will offer bicycle safety tips and poison prevention. EMS reps will have an ambulance at the pavilion available for tours.
“The planning stage has been wonderful,” said Long Island Jewish Medical Center Director of Community Outreach and Communications Kathleen O’Neill. “We’re happy to be involved. We are members of the community and we serve that community as well.”
The hospital’s community health team will hold CPR demonstrations and a holistic nurse will conduct meditation classes for fairgoers. Furthermore, the Monter Cancer Center will highlight nutrition and food benefits for chemotherapy patients.
“We’ll have things that are interactive to draw the attention of both adults and children,” O’Neill said. “The village has been wonderful.”
Local merchants, Greater New Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce members, charity and service groups can set up tables on the sidewalk free of charge, Bevers said. Local charities will be on hand, including the New Hyde Park Museum, Dads Club, New Hyde Park Red Cross Club, Manor Oaks School, Hillside Grade School, Knights of Columbus, The Katie McBride Foundation, The Gladiator Fund, G&E Linder VFW, The American Legion, New Hyde Park Fire Department’s Ladies Auxiliary, village beautification committee, Cub Scout packs 544 and 489, Troop 298, among others.
Jeanette Frisina, vice president of the Greater New Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce, is coordinating a scavenger hunt for fairgoers, complete with cash prizes for winners. The list of merchants involved with the hunt will be published on the chamber website one week before the fair.
Attendees must be 16 or older for the hunt. First prize is $250, with additional prizes still in the works.
“We designed it because we wanted to honor the 20th anniversary and for the business community to get more traffic at the fair and tables,” Frisina said.
Purple Heart Town Ceremony
The New Hyde Park Village Board will host a ceremony at 11 a.m. at Village Hall, coinciding with the street fair, commemorating the village’s designation as a Purple Heart Town. Resident and Vietnam war veteran Michael Dolan Sr. helped lead the charge to attain the status for New Hyde Park.
The designation recognizes the sacrifices made by members of the U.S. military who have earned the Purple Heart medal by being wounded in combat. Central Boulevard will serve as Memorial Way, leading to Memorial Park on Albert Street.
“This recognizes the sacrifice veterans made, for us” Deputy Mayor Lawrence Montreuil said. “We have Memorial Park dedicated to fallen veterans. We thought it’s a right tie-in to put Central Boulevard as Memorial Way.”
