By Mike Schnitzel
On Jan. 12 the Chamber of Commerce unveiled the first of what it hopes will be many community bulletin boards, at the Long Island Rail Road station.
The LIRR provided the display case at no cost to the chamber, which will be responsible for collecting the content to be displayed there. A display case can cost as much as $1,000, according to chamber President Frank DeMita.
"This is a great way to bring the community together and let people know what-s going on in Valley Stream," DeMita said. "This is a great place to be, and we have a lot of things to make people aware of."
The LIRR got involved after DeMita spoke to Jim Cioffi, the Far Rockaway branch line manager, who thought the Valley Stream station would be a perfect place for a bulletin board. After it was approved, DeMita was put in touch with ticket agent Patty Kohl, who worked with him to install the display case at the station.
The chamber hopes to install several more display cases in areas with heavy foot traffic, such as the post office, the Henry Waldinger Memorial Library and local banks.
Residents who spoke with the Herald agreed that it was great to have a place where they could go to see what's going on in the village. "It would be great for the community to see the events," said Frank Evola, who owns Sicilia d'Oro Pizzeria on Merrick Road.
"I'm going to check it out all the time," said Fabio Atanasio, a 2003 Central High School alumnus who now attends Nassau Community College.
DeMita said that the chamber would notify all nonprofit organizations about where they can send their notices of activities and special events so the chamber can post them in the display cases throughout the community. In addition, the Herald will provide content from its Community Update section, which will be identified by the Herald logo.
The idea for the bulletin boards was first broached after meetings between local nonprofit organizations and the Central High School District. At a May 11 community forum titled "Think Globally, Act Locally," there was a consensus among community representatives that an "organization database" was needed so that information on local activities could be made more readily available to the community.
"We know we want to centralize our efforts and learn how we might support one another-s work," Holy Name of Mary Parish Outreach coordinator Sister Margie Kelly said at the meeting.
High schools superintendent Dr. Marc Bernstein said that he was pleased that the bulletin boards were going up. "I'm delighted that the May 2006 community forum has already produced meaningful benefits to the community such as the Chamber of Commerce bulletin board," Bernstein said. "I thank Mr. DeMita and the chamber for their continuing wonderful support of this community and its schools."
In order to make the project successful, DeMita said, the chamber will need the community's support. He said that businesses can show their support by donating a display case, which would be installed at a location of the business-s choosing. Smaller donations can also be made toward the purchase of a case, DeMita said. Supporting businesses- names will appear on the display cases.
Nonprofit groups that would like their activities to be listed should contact the Chamber of Commerce at (516) 825-1741 for more information or send announcements to the chamber at P.O. Box 1016, Valley Stream, N.Y. 11582. DeMita said that the chamber would maintain the posting of notices as well as the display cases.
Mike Russo contributed to this story. Comments about it? MSchnitzel@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
