60.0°,
A Few Clouds Woodmere clock strikes the right time, now
Like the hour and minute hands of a timepiece, the Hewlett-Woodmere Business Association and the Town of Hempstead worked in unison to repair Victorian-style clock at the intersection of Broadway and Irving Place in Woodmere.
“After languishing for a decade, I am so pleased to help restore this icon fixture to its former glory,” said Supervisor Laura Gillen. “The Woodmere Business District is a key component of the community, so being able to repair such a tangible piece of history, which has so much pride invested in it, was really a special undertaking. Thank you to David Friedman and the Hewlett-Woodmere Business Association for their long-standing commitment to this project.”
For roughly a decade the clock has not worked. The push to have it fixed began with the HWBA. “We are so happy that the Woodmere clock has been repaired,” David Friedman, president of the HWBA, said in a media release “Thank you to former HWBA President Jaime Azcona, Councilman Anthony D’Esposito, and the terrific TOH electricians for making this possible.”
Beginning six months ago, town employees and Azcona, who owns Dance Express on Broadway in Woodmere, conducted the needed research on the clock manufacturer to learn which parts were required for the restoration. Azcona learned the clock company is in Maine. The necessary parts were obtained and then retrofitted to the clock. Power was restored two months ago.
“The clock told the correct time only twice a day, but now it proudly displays the correct time all day,” D’Esposito stated in the release. “It was important to renovate the clock in the heart of the community, and I am proud to have been involved in beautifying Woodmere’s downtown.
D’Esposito extended his appreciation to the town employees who took ownership of the project with what he called “enthusiasm” and “were tenacious in their efforts to ensure the clock was restored to its original grandeur.”
At the corner where the clock stands is a wooden pole that reads “NCJW Way” for the National Council of Jewish Women. The Lawrence-based Peninsula Section of the national organization once held a five-day celebration every January that included an open board meeting, a thrift shop sale, a visit to a community service organization, the Founders Day luncheon and a street naming, past President Jackie Fetner said.
One year, when is unclear, the post was installed. “We stood outside in our heavy winter coats for a photo op and picture was placed in the [Herald]!” Fetner said previously.
