An overcast sky early Saturday morning gave way to bright sunshine for the 17th annual New Hyde Park Street Fair, which was jammed with record crowds browsing the vendor booths and attractions along Jericho Turnpike.
Village of New Hyde Park Mayor Daniel Petruccio said it had taken him nearly an hour to maneuver through the crowd from the east end at New Hyde Park Road to the classic cars parked along Lakeville Road near the west end of the fair at Covert Avenue.
“Just when we think we can’t get any larger, we get bigger than last year,” Petruccio said. “This year was special because we got to honor the New Hyde Park girls softball team.”
The 11- and 12-year–old girls were the stars of a ceremony in front of Village Hall at 11 a.m. honoring their achievement of competing in the Little League Softball World Series in Portland, where they finished fifth last month.
Tony Ciuffo, president of Craft Affair, the company that organized the vendors for the fair, estimated the crowd was “well in excess of 30,000.”
“I thought it was very good. I was very happy,” he said.
It was Ciuffo who suggested incorporating the car show that has become one of the fair’s most popular attractions. And it was a well-attended attraction on Saturday.
The star of the car show, in Petruccio’s judgment, was a shiny black 1964 Thunderbird owned by 77-year New Hyde Park resident Jerry Langone, who did his own restoration work on the car.
“When I bought it, it was a work in progress,” Langone said, modestly adding “It’s just a hobby.”
New Hyde Park residents took home both the mayor’s trophy and first place as the people’s choice for top cars in the show put on by AutoFest.
A father and son team of Tom Benedetto and his son, Tom Jr., a recent graduate of New Hyde Park Memorial High School, got the nod from the people for their fire-engine red ‘65 Mustang. The younger Benedetto said restoring the car had been a joint project with his dad, who said they’re going to keep working on the car.
“I’ll do some things. We’re going to change it around,” the elder Benedetto said.
Nearby, at a booth for the Dads Club selling New Hyde Park Memorial High School T-shirts and sweatshirts to raise money for the club’s charitable efforts, one of the dads said customer response was strong.
“Sales are going very well,” Keith Solar said. “There’s a lot of school spirit out here.”
Adelphi University students selling raffle tickets to raise money for the special Olympics also said ticket sales were going well.
Down the street at the Knights of Columbus booth, Brian Ennis said fundraising for children’s charities the Knights support and the special Olympics was drawing an “incredible” response from fair-goers.
In front of Gino’s Trattoria & Pizzeria, owner Joseph DePaulis said sales of pizza and pasta were going better than last year.
“I think it was a great success and a great turnout,” said Mark Laytin, president of the Greater New Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce.
Near Village Hall, members of the Sons of Italy Cellini Lodge were raising money – and people’s awareness – for the Garibaldi-Meucci House on Staten Island. The house where Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi lived in exile with inventor Antonio Meucci before he returned to Italy and united the republic.
Cellini Lodge Luigi Squillante said the house is a tangible testament to Garibaldi’s legacy and vital part of the heritage for Italian-Americans, who have long been part of the heritage of New Hyde Park.
Across from Village Hall, youngsters were enjoying an inflatable playground that included a slide.
The Boy Scouts from Troop 298 said water sales on the warm. breezy day were “great.”
Afrin Bhuiyan, a New Hyde Park Memorial High School junior, said students raised “a lot of money” for the Model U.N. Club painting henna patterns on fair-goers’ hands.
The New Hyde Park Fire Department had two trucks on display near New Hyde Park Road. Down the street, Grandmaster Chung Tae Kwan Do students were demonstrating of their martial arts skills and, in a more gentle aesthetic vein, dancers from the Center Stage Performing Arts Studio were showing their graceful moves.
Fair-goers were visibly enjoying all aspects of the fair, from the dancers and tae kwan do kickers to the diverse vendors’ wares in the middle of Jericho Turnpike and the zeppoles and gyros they were eating. And they were enjoying catching up with old friends
“We come every year. We love it, it’s beautiful,” said Lauren Petricca with her daughter, Ally. “We see everybody from the community we haven’t seen in a while.”
