Floral Park Chamber of Commerce President Shane Parouse maintains the village has a thriving business community at least in part because of his organization’s work.
“Being a member of the chamber supports business in general,” Parouse said. “Your business will benefit when you’re in an environment where businesses have a voice and you know your needs and your point of view are expressed in the community.”
Parouse, a wealth consultant who moved to Floral Park roughly a decade ago, said he was motivated to join the chamber and serve as its president not just because he’s a business owner himself, but because he believes in the importance of giving back and the business community at large.
“I believe that in a good community, everybody pitches in a little bit,” said Parouse. “That’s why when I moved here, I joined the Chamber of Commerce to be a part of that community. I think it’s important, and I think that part of what makes a good community is a healthy and thriving business sector.”
He said the organization is committed to stepping outside the box to support that business community. Recent unique initiatives include hiring a social media manager to support all of the chamber’s members and advocating for more pedestrian-friendly streets within the village’s downtown to increase foot traffic in the business district.
“Small business owners know that they need to have a good social media presence, but many of them for various reasons aren’t very good at it and to hire people to do it is very expensive,” Parouse said. “So, we decided to use the Chamber of Commerce budget to hire a social media director ourselves. She goes around to all of our members, offering to boost and post and craft content for them.”
He said the social media director, who was hired before he took over the presidency, has provided “immediate relief” and “unique value” to business owners in the community, regardless of their skill in social media.
“Some have a lot of trouble doing social media at all and really didn’t have a presence before…If they don’t know where to start, we can actually do it for them and integrate them into our channels,” Parouse said. “For those who are already good at it and are creating their own presence and their own content, then we’re boosting that content to our followers, adding thousands of impressions that they would not have otherwise had.”
Parouse said the chamber is currently laying the groundwork for a street pedestrianization planning process with the village, the county and the Town of Hempstead that would add crosswalks and signage and work to slow cars down in the two to three-block area around the train station downtown, where the majority of the businesses are located. He said the project would be a 2026 focus for the board.
“We’re going to be working on an initiative with local government to make our streets
people first,” he said. “Especially in the suburbs. “The priority has been around moving vehicles through villages. That takes away from the experience everybody wants to have in these walkable districts. We want people with kids and strollers and old folks with walkers to feel comfortable getting around on those streets.”
“Storefront retail business has suffered in the transition to online business and the COVID-19 pandemic caused a lot of problems for these businesses,” Parouse said. “The more people who are strolling around Tulip Avenue or Covert Avenue and feeling comfortable doing that, the better it is for our businesses. More street traffic means more people walking by are going to stop in and spend money in their businesses.”
Parouse and his board’s advocacy for pedestrianized streets is an example of another reason he said the business community benefits from the chamber’s existence: its connection to local government, police departments, charitable organizations, and other groups involved in making decisions that impact them.
“We maintain strong and warm relationships with all the local groups that are relevant and important to business like the government, police department and charitable organizations,” he said. “As a result, when a business owner has a problem, say they’re trying to get a permit to change the way that they build out their store or they’re having some troubles with theft issues or security, we can help them.”
The chamber also provides opportunities for business owners to connect with each other and the community, particularly during its annual events, like its summer street fair and holiday tree lighting festival. Parouse said those connections are critical as they can turn into business.
“We provide an opportunity to build relationships and network with all the other business people in the community,” Parouse said. “Whether you’re a lawyer or you have a flower shop or a restaurant, the more people you know, the more business you’re going to get. People do business with people they know and like.”
He said he believes being a member makes a business more likely to be known by and more attractive to residents.
“I think people are more likely to choose a business that’s a member of the local chamber of commerce vs. one that is not involved in the community in that way,” Parouse said. “If I’m going to hire a plumber, I look at the chamber’s website to make sure I’m hiring a plumber who’s a member of the chamber.”
Through the rest of his term as president, Parouse said he is committed to working to build stronger relationships with larger organizations nearby, including the New York Racing Association, the new Belmont Park Village shopping center, the UBS Arena and the New York Islanders, who have an office on Tulip Avenue.
“We believe those relationships will benefit our members and benefit the village as a whole as well,” Parouse said.
He said he urges all businesses, new or old, in the area to join. Annual membership rates are $195 for a regular, small business membership, $270 for a platinum membership, which offers additional marketing benefits, and $95 for individuals and nonprofit organizations.
“Anybody who has a business where residents of the community could potentially be customers or clients would benefit from participating in the Chamber of Commerce,” Parouse said. “People have a good impression when they know that you’re a member.”
