Miracle on Beech Street

This week, a group of residents and West End business owners met their fundraising goal to replace holiday lights in the West End that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy, one of the many initiatives aimed at helping Long Beach businesses during the holidays.

The winter months are typically harsh for businesses, residents say, and many are still recovering from last winter, which began only weeks after Sandy and saw the majority of Long Beach businesses closed.

This year, local businesses, the Chamber of Commerce and other organizations — including Project 11561, a group formed after the storm that organizes beautification and revitalization projects across Long Beach — are partnering with the city to bring more business to local shops and restaurants. That effort will include new holiday lights.

A few years ago, many West End businesses pooled their resources to buy lights for the neighborhood, according to Project 11561 co-founder Jessie Farrell, which gave Beech Street a festive look for the holidays. Until recently, everyone thought the lights were safe in storage, but it turns out that they were exposed to saltwater during Sandy, and the Nassau County fire marshal deemed them a fire hazard.

Business owners were told that replacing the lights would cost about $10,000, and Project 11561 decided to start a “crowdfunding” campaign to replace them. Farrell said that group members understood that, given the continuing struggles of many West End residents, people might think that making donations for lights was silly. But, she added, if businesses and residents could benefit from them, it was well worth it.

“It’s a little difficult to launch and ask for money when people aren’t home,” said Kelly Sullivan, a member of the Historic West End Business Association. “But we thought it was so important to brighten up the West End. And it seems silly that it’s just Christmas lights, but it really does help businesses, helps get people out of the house and brightens up people’s moods, and we thought it was so important to have it.”

“People want to help,” Farrell said. “There have been donations from $5 to $500, and everything in between. It all adds up.”