By Paul J. Condra
The new chamber of commerce will be led by Paul Lanzetta, who has been working out of his Main Street guitar shop since last autumn to bring the organization together.
Our goals will be to work side by side with the business community and the village officials to make our town the best possible place for our families to grow and our businesses to thrive, Lanzetta said last October.
At the first meeting, the chamber plans to address such issues as Project Downtown, the Waterfront Improvement Project and the Huckleberry Frolic, which the chamber intends to sponsor this year, said Jennine Leale, public relations chair and owner of Jennine's Culinary Concepts.
Leale said there are 45 members of the new chamber so far, and they are hoping to start working together as soon as possible.
We've been a pretty sleepy town, she said. We're just trying to bring a little attention to the local businesses.
They also hope to rise from the dust of the former trade association, which had operated for about 11 years. The association voted to disband when a member filed a defamatory lawsuit against the group last April.
Such commerce organizations are an effective way for the business community to get involved with residents and government in the villages they operate.
We're not as big as Lynbrook, and we don't generate the amount of money as the businesses of Malverne, Leale said. But that is obviously not hindering the chamber's progress.
The meeting will take place at the East Rockaway Senior Center Building, next to the Village Hall on Atlantic Avenue. Call 593-0584 for more information. Speakers at the meeting include East Rockaway Mayor Charles Formont, East Rockaway Building Inspector Dennis McCabe and Carolyn Ferretti of the Grist Mill Committee.
