Cruise Night has been a great success in Oyster Bay. Tom Vieweg of the South Street Café has been involved with the event that takes place Fridays at Firemen's Field in Oyster Bay. He reported to the Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce at their Sept. 18 meeting on the success of the event. His friend Chris Briggs, the owner of Outlaw Motor Sports in Huntington and a resident of Oyster Bay, approached Mr. Vieweg and said there was a need for a place for the about 150 Long Island car clubs to meet. They had been meeting at several locations, but were constantly being "knocked out" from the sites.

Mr. Vieweg and the Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce executive director Toni Junjulas asked the Town of Oyster Bay for permission to hold the event here, and received their OKs.

"The first night it was rough. There were just 10 cars. That was because the weather wasn't good. Cruise Night is a weather dependent event. The car owners don't like to bring out their cars if the weather looks bad. There were 60 cars the next weekend and 100 on Sept. 12. It was great. Both fire departments, the Atlantic Steamer Company and Oyster Bay Fire Company #1, came down and hung a giant American flag from their ladders. Tony Verrelli was there selling sausage and peppers; Bob of Gooseberry's was selling items; a new merchant in town was selling his cigars.

"We would like more merchants to come down. It costs $25 for a table, but you must be a member of the chamber to become involved. Then they can sell whatever they like. There is a tremendous potential here to bring people into town," said Mr. Vieweg.

They start getting set up at around 5:30 p.m. and stay until about 9 p.m., when it gets dark. Lighting is a problem at the field, but both fire companies brought their large flood lights to illuminate the area. This year they plan to run the event through October. Next year they will start up again around April.

Mr. Vieweg said they might hold a car show next year. The event will create walk-in traffic, he said.