Bellmore Car Show a no-go

Typically held from the first week of May through the opening week of October every year, the Friday Night Car Show hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores has been postponed for 2020 due to the absence of a permit from the Town of Hempstead.
However, the lack of a permit and a host didn’t stop roughly 200 car and motorcycle enthusiasts from congregating for months at the usual location — the Bellmore Long Island Rail Road parking lot on Bellmore Avenue — until authorities broke up a gathering on July 31 following noise complaints from residents.
That night, a Herald photographer at the scene witnessed Nassau County Police Department cruisers and Metropolitan Transit Authority vehicles close down the unauthorized “car show.” Officials escorted attendants, vendors and a DJ off the lot for operating without supervision or a permit.
“We were not issued a permit for the car show this year,” said Chamber President Jim Spohrer. “It’s pretty well-known that we don’t have the permit. We’ve had a message posted on our website and a sign posted in the parking lot that it’s postponed until further notice.
“We couldn’t conduct the shows with the social distance guidelines in place due to the pandemic, so the town returned our check for the [permit] application,” Spohrer added.

Dean Fazio, of Bellmore, said he’s attended the car show for 17 years and wasn’t aware of the permit situation. He went to a handful of gatherings this year, but wasn’t there on July 31.
“The car show is like a family,” Fazio said. “It’s a great way to meet people with the same interests and hobbies. In my opinion, people have taken advantage of it by doing burnouts and not abiding by the social distance rules. I don’t think it should be taken away from Bellmore.”
Spohrer, who has been running the car show for seven years on a volunteer basis, said the permit is purchased annually and allows for 302 parking spots. Entry costs $5 per vehicle.
“Some weeks we’ve had 400 cars looking to get in,” Spohrer said. “Contrary to what some people think, only one person gets paid as part of the shows and that’s the guy who cleans up the parking lot at the end of the night.”
Though he didn’t witness any incidents himself, Spohrer said he’s received dozens of calls from residents concerned about cars drag racing and spinning donuts, as well as people dismissing social distance guidelines. “The residents are up in arms,” Spohrer said. “I just hope what’s been going on won’t ruin us getting the permit for next year.”