by Cris Italia
"It just doesn't look like Christmas around here, and that's very sad," said Elizabeth Lore, 62, a resident of Oceanside for 34 years. "It's just terrible. I can't be the only person in Oceanside that feels this way."
Even on a snow-filled Sunday morning, it's easy to detect the lack of holiday decorations on Oceanside's main thoroughfare, Long Beach Road. In neighboring communities, holiday finery hangs from nearly every light pole. So what gives? What about Oceanside? The Town of Hempstead says holiday decorations are the responsibility of a village or a chamber of commerce.
"We've done it in the past," said Bob Towers, vice president of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce. "But as the years went by we just kind of gave up on it. We couldn't raise enough money to maintain holiday decorations and lights."
Towers added that the lack of cooperation from businesses on the Long Beach Road strip convinced him that even trying to raise money was a wasted effort. "We would get maybe 25 to 50 dollars from some stores. It takes six hundred dollars to maintain a strand of lighted decorations stretching across Long Beach Road," Towers said. Given the lack of participation, he said, the problem is out of the chamber's hands.
"It just weird -- this doesn't feel like the holiday season around here," said Lisa Lore, 40. "I've lived here three years and I just notice the difference in holiday spirit between Oceanside and basically everywhere else."
Some residents say they have noticed the decline over the years. "Twenty years ago this neighborhood was lit up, and each year it was less and less," said Carolyn Ramos, 55, a resident for 52 years. "I figured the more businesses we had in Oceanside, the easier it would be to raise money and the more decorations we would have."
With just $4,000 raised five years ago, the last time Oceanside displayed holiday decorations, Towers was discouraged from trying again. "It just wasn't working," he said. "The money we raised five years ago was good enough to put up eight strands along Long Beach Road. That's just now worth it."
With the chamber finding it hard to raise money, Towers doesn't understand why businesses in Oceanside haven't taken it upon themselves to decorate store fronts. "At the very least, stores should do their own decorations," Towers said. "I'm surprised that we are the middle of December and the majority of businesses haven't done anything."
One Oceanside resident says it takes away from children's experience. "I remember when I was a kid how much I loved to look at the lights and just basically enjoy the whole experience," said Nicole Cox, 37. "It's really not fair to my kids, and every kid that lives here, to not have that same experience."
"I get very annoyed driving through other towns and looking at everything they have," Cox said. "I just wish they could put up anything -- a snowflake -- just something to recognize the holiday season."
Vito Lore, Elizabeth's husband, says this happens all year round. "This town does nothing. For Fourth of July, other neighborhoods have flags every where. You won't see that here," Vito said. "On every holiday you can tell where Oceanside starts and ends. We're the neighborhood without any decorations."
"We pay enough in taxes," Elizabeth said. "I just don't understand where all of the money goes. It shouldn't be too much to ask: I just wish this town could spread a little holiday spirit."
