Car parades in Merrick a cause for celebration

Merokeans are still finding ways to celebrate birthdays, bat mitzvahs and other milestones amid the coronavirus pandemic.  Car parades, for example, have become a  popular custom for people to spread the love while abiding by social distancing orders. 

A virtual mitzvah

Merrick Avenue Middle School student Zara Selvin, 12, spent more than a year practicing her haftorah  in preparation of her bat mitzvah, but because of New York's social gatherings ban, she had to deliver it via Facebook Live. Her mother, Sabrina, said it was viewed by "so many people."

Zara's party was scheduled for April 4, but is now postponed until November. Selvin, who is a partner with her husband, Jared, at Selvin Law Firm  in Seaford, said she didn't want the date to pass without doing something special. So last Saturday, a family friend,  Jodi Goldberg, organized a car parade  in honor of Zara's bat mitzvah.

An "overwhelming amount of cars" drove by the Selvin's home in south Merrick that day. As Hebrew music blasted in the background, Zara's friends waved to her from their sunroofs, brandishing signs and balloons, and dropped off gifts in the driveway. 

"I was very surprised," Zara said. "It felt really special that all my friends got together to do this whole parade for me. I love my friends, and I'm really happy they did that for me."

Seeing an outpouring of support and friendship on what would've been her daughter's bat mitzvah day was "emotional" for Selvin, she said. "We're grateful that we were still able to practice a longtime [Jewish] tradition," she added. "No matter what is going on in the world . . . our customs persist."

Keeping 50 fabulous

To celebrate her 50th birthday, Debbie Pressman, of Merrick, had planned to go to Miami with 14 of her girlfriends. But because of the pandemic, she had to cancel her travel plans. 

Her family noticed that she was "bummed out," she said, so Pressman's husband recruited her girlfriends to drive by the house on March 29  — Pressman's 50th birthday. 

It was a rainy Sunday. The Pressmans set up a tent in the driveway and called Debbie outside — a line of cars were lined up around the park near her house.  Pressman's girlfriends drove by honking their horns, brandishing signs and throwing gifts her way, sharing her birthday from afar.

"Everyone's really down because of this time, but they made it really special," Pressman said. "It was a better birthday than I could've imagined.

Pressman is a sales manager for PIX11 News, and leads a busy lifestyle. The pandemic, however, has allowed her to appreciate her time spent at home.

"I'm eating dinner with my family every night, and sketching and drawing with my daughter," she said. "I haven’t done that since college."

Pressman added that a silver lining of this unprecedented time is being able to self-reflect and reset, and she recommends others do the same. 

"Do the thing for yourself that you’ll never get a chance to do," she said.