‘Tiny’ had a huge impact

Dominick Magliaro, the ice cream man known as Tiny, packed much into his 93 years. An Inwood staple, he lived there for almost his entire life — spending three years fixing planes in England during World War II, and his last four years with his niece, Victoria Magliaro, in East Hampton and Florida.

After the war, Magliaro tried a few jobs before finding his calling. He began selling frozen treats out of a pickup truck with a cooler in the 1950s. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy damaged his truck beyond repair. “Separating him from his truck was like trying to tear his head off,” Victoria said.

Tiny died on June 21 — the first day of summer — and now the community in which he served ice cream and candy for generations hopes to honor him by dedicating a street in his memory. Elisa Hinken created a petition on change.org last month requesting that the Town of Hempstead name a street after Magliaro. As of press time, there were nearly 1,200 signatures.

“[Tiny] served my husband and I, our children and the first of our three grandchildren,” Hinken said. “It’s something so simple, but he touched lives for nearly seven generations.”

Although Magliaro never had any kids of his own, he loved making them happy. “From time to time during the offseason, he would take his truck out over to the school, said his nephew, Michael Magliaro. “Coming home the kids would get a kick out of seeing the ice cream man in the winter.”

Alice Johnson, who grew up in Inwood, commented on the petition site, “If you didn’t have money for ice cream he would give it to you anyway. He loves kids and we loved him.”

When he wasn’t driving his truck around, Magliaro loved to walking, and according to his sister, Fran Craig, he also enjoyed hunting big game and building balsa wood model airplanes. They grew up at 41 Maiden Lane, along with three other siblings.

Hempstead Town Councilman Bruce Blakeman and Supervisor Anthony Santino support the street dedication. On his Facebook page on June 27, Santino wrote, “Dominick Magliaro was a legend in Inwood — an absolute Five Towns treasure … I support remembering his devotion to the community in perpetuity by celebrating his life and legacy with a street dedication in the Inwood neighborhood he called home.”

The town does not rename streets to avoid confusion. A sign with the honoree’s name is affixed to the pole along with the existing sign. Magliaro’s nephew, says he was contacted by the town, but it has yet to confirm whether Maiden Lane would be where the sign is installed. The process to dedicate the street is under way, but no date has been set for the ceremony. “We are looking forward to coordinating an event reflective of the number of lives that Tiny touched in the Inwood community,” said Susan Trenkle-Pokalsky, a town spokeswoman.

Craig and Michael Magliaro both said the dedication is a great honor, and that Tiny would have loved it. Victoria Magliaro added, “After surviving World War II and the Depression to … now be remembered like this is great.”

“About 25 years ago my father retired,”Michael said, “and he convinced [Tiny] to come down to Florida with him. He lasted a couple of months before he was back up here selling ice cream.”

Family members said Dominick remained active until his death, reading books and caring for his cat, Freddie, and dog, Tessa. “He was a little guy, but he loved big things, [hunting] big game, the big war and his big truck,” Victoria said.

To share your memories of Tiny, go to http://bit.ly/2sZGMQK.