By Scott Brinton
Gary Hudes,
Hempstead Town Councilman
Chamber executive director moving to town as legislative aide
Over the past decade or so, the name Robin Karp has become synonymous with the Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores.
Karp has served as the chamber's executive director, and, from behind the scenes, helped guide the non-profit organization from average chamber to one of Nassau County's largest, most powerful business groups, boasting more than 350 members.
Last week, Karp announced that she is leaving her post to serve as legislative aide to the new Hempstead Town Council. She will act as a community liaison for Councilman Gary Hudes (R-Levittown), president of Gennaro Jewelers on Bedford Avenue and a former Bellmore Chamber president.
Karp said she sees her new position as an extension of her chamber work, which primarily was to serve local business owners and residents. "I have this passion to serve people," she said, adding that becoming a legislative aide "is doing what I love to do most on a larger scale."
Karp spoke while seated comfortably in her home office, surrounded by numerous photos of business openings and citations from elected leaders. Getting settled in her new job will not be so easy, though. She described Hempstead Town Hall as "this self-contained, enormous entity" with a complex maze of departments and offices.
Over the past two weeks, however, she has gotten out to community forums to meet and greet residents, always listening to their concerns. For example, she represented Councilwoman Angelina Cullin (R-Freeport) at the recent North Bellmore School Board meeting concerning the Martin Avenue School revamping.
Karp, who holds her bachelor's and master's degrees in education, will stay with the Bellmore Chamber as a consulting executive director for up to a year. Meanwhile, Rona Weiss, wife of chamber officer David Weiss, will become the business group's executive assistant until she is ready to assume Karp's role full time.
Weiss, who is co-president of the Bellmore-Merrick PTA Council, said she sees the executive assistant's position as a chance to further serve the community she has called home for 21 years. "It's basically very similar to what I've been doing all these years as an advocate for the schools," she said.
As chamber executive director, Karp helped oversee Bellmore Village's more than $3-million renovation project, turning a near-ghost town into a bustling, old-fashioned business district, complete with redbrick sidewalks and wrought-iron benches. Additionally, she acted as coordinator of the chamber's September Family Street Festival, which annually attracts an estimated 100,000 visitors.
Hudes, who acted as Bellmore Village's revitalization director, said, "Robin and I have worked on more projects than I can remember, very successful projects that really have served the community quite well. They have beautified the community. They have made the community safer. They have increased the value of the homes and businesses."
Jeff Lovering, the outgoing Bellmore Chamber president, said, "Robin is a special person. She's been a leader in the chamber for many years. She sets the tone. She always saw the big picture of what Bellmore could become."
For 14 years, Karp has made her home in Bellmore with her husband of 27 years, Harvey, a training director with Con Edison in New York City. Her oldest son, Adam, 20, is majoring in business at Geneseo College upstate. Her younger son, Bryan, 17, is a standout athlete at Mepham High School, serving as captain of the football, basketball and lacrosse teams. He has received several offers of athletic scholarships from colleges.
Karp noted that she will miss day-to-day contact with chamber members, whose unselfishness she praised.
"I have seen volunteers at their finest," she said, noting that the Family Street Festival is organized entirely by volunteers from the business group. "It's been a privilege to have worked with them all these years."
Karp also noted, "I don't feel as if I'm really leaving the chamber. I will have a hand in it. It's part of my fiber. It's part of who I am at this point."
