While the weather is still hot and humid, fall is really just around the corner and so is the New Hyde Park Village Third Annual Street Fair to be held on Sept. 26. The Turnpike will be closed off for the fair from New Hyde Park Road to Lakeville Road in New Hyde Park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Village trustees Florence Lisanti and Bob Seldomridge, along with Mayoral Assistant Tony Ciuffo, are working in concert to make sure that this Street Fair is the best to date.

Four years ago, the village instituted the street fair, which was designed to acquaint the community with the merchants on the turnpike and to promote shopping in New Hyde Park, not just on one day, but on all days. It was an instant success and has grown since then.

Therefore, most shopkeepers, who service close to 15,000 customers the day of the fair, will make sure that the patrons will return to their shops on Jericho Turnpike to shop by means of innovative sales, distribution of discount tickets for the future, raffles and giveaways available to those who come to the Sept. 26 Street Fair.

Village officials are sensitive to the competition especially from the 24 hour, seven day a week "box" stores, opening all around us, that constantly challenge the small privately held businesses on the Turnpike. That is why our goal is to help our merchants in every way possible. Now all we need, to achieve that goal, this year, is for the weather to cooperate and if that is the case then on Sept. 26, New Hyde Park will have another successful street fair.