Thousands poured onto New Hyde Park’s Jericho Turnpike, turning the busy car thoroughfare into a pedestrian plaza Saturday afternoon for what the village called its biggest event of the year.
“It brings everyone out. It’s an exciting day,” said New Hyde Park Mayor Christopher Devane. “It’s our block party.”
Roughly 200 vendors, a dozen food trucks, a handful of bands and Northwell Health’s mobile clinics took over Jericho Turnpike from New Hyde Park Road to Lakeville Road from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
“The weather is beautiful,” said Deputy Mayor Madhvi Nijjar. “It’s a nice, fun day for the community. We love having it.”
Residents pursued booths hawking clothing, hats, home goods, dog treats, art, jewelry and toys while eating pizza, dumplings, Brazilian cuisine, Polish snacks and fair food, including zeppoles, lemonade, corn, soft pretzels, churros and cotton candy.
The village, which organizes the event, said the street fair is important to the community because it supports local businesses, highlights local organizations and brings people together.
“It’s a great event to just get the community together,” Trustee Rainer Burger said. “People are very busy these days, and this is one of those events that gathers friends, family, new friends, to enjoy the day. It also supports the Boy Scouts, Fire Departments and so forth. There are so many organizations within the community that also offer support and benefits.”
Officials said it was one of the largest street fairs held to date.
Business owners, like Howard Chung of Grand Master Chung Taekwondo, said the day gives them the opportunity to connect with new clients.
“We’ve never missed the street fair once,” Chung said. “It’s a great time. Everybody comes out, so it gives you the opportunity to show people what we can do, how we benefit the village. We end up having many people join us during the street fair every year.”
Chung said his business was the oldest and largest taekwondo school in the area. He was offering a month-long promotion for his school’s classes as a street fair special.
Northwell Health representative Maureen Early said the healthcare system brought a slew of health resources to the fair, including free flu shots, because the large-scale nature of the event allows them to reach a lot of people.
“New Hyde Park is our community,” Early said. “We’re committed to making sure that we’re providing education and resources to our surrounding community.”
She said Northwell also brought mental health resources to the street, alongside HIV testing, breast cancer self-exams, CPR training, Narcan use and overdose education and information on skin conditions and how to find a doctor if you think you may have cancer.
“What’s nice about these things is that if people find themselves in a relevant situation, they will be able to activate the education that we taught them here and bring it back into the community,” Early said.
Devane and his trustees said they looked forward to continuing to grow the event next year as it inches closer to its 30th anniversary.
