Thursday, October 1, 2026
Earlier this summer, Chrissy O’Toole realized that she did not know many of the more than 2,000 members of her Valley Stream News Facebook Group. To remedy that O’Toole spent the last month organizing a ‘get together’ for the members on Aug. 18.
“How else could you meet people from different parts of town in different school districts?” she asked.
To organize the event, she reached out to village officials and local business owners in hopes that they would provide sponsorship. The first to agree was Wali Syed, a CPA who has lived and worked in the community for 12 years. Then came the newly-formed Kiwanis club, which provided an umbrella insurance policy for the event. Sweet Blessings Event Planning provided a banner, and DJ Marie played music throughout the evening.
Other sponsors included Paramount Physical Therapy, the Valley Stream Chamber of Commerce and Tek-Genie. Food was provided by Ancona Pizzeria, Mia’s Restaurant, Little Sugar Shop, Sip This, T&F Pork Store and Subway.
Just in case there was not enough food, O’Toole also asked everyone in the Valley Stream News Facebook group to bring food and drinks. By the time the event occurred at Arthur J. Hendrickson Park on Aug. 18, there was more food than was needed for the nearly 80 Valley Streamers that braved the rain to meet their neighbors.
“No one said ‘no,’ everyone contributed,” said Sharon Daly, a lifelong Valley Stream resident.
She said that she decided to go to the get-together to support O’Toole and to get to know people in the community. “There are so many new faces in Valley Stream that I haven’t met, and I want to meet them and get to know them,” Daly said.
Marcia Mangal, who has lived in Valley Stream for 22 years, also said that she decided to attend to meet others living in her community and ensure that her children know their neighbors.
“I have them participating in things in their community, because I want them to know that wherever they go, they’re home,” she said.
Mangal added that she was impressed by O’Toole’s efforts. “Chrissy’s amazing,” she said. “This was a lot that she undertook, and she has the best intentions for Valley Stream.”
But O’Toole did not seem fazed by her hard work. “Next year, we’ll do even better,” she said.
