New Exhibit Opened at OBHS – Tracing Peg: Slavery in Oyster Bay

The Oyster Bay Historical Society held a reception for its latest exhibition, Tracing Peg: Slavery in Oyster Bay, on Oct. 24. The exhibit was curated by Danielle Apfelbaum as the Society’s contribution to Archives Month, celebrated each October. Ms. Apfelbaum, a master’s candidate in Library and Information Science at C.W. Post’s Palmer School, met with trustees, members, and other interested visitors to talk in detail about her role as curator and to answer questions about her exhibition.

Chamber President Seeks Help Wherever He Can Find It for OB

Working on Plans While Asking for Help

Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce President Alex Gallego attended the Thomas R. Suozzi cocktail reception being held at the Spector Group in Woodbury along with Bill DiConza, Esq. the chair of the chamber’s revitalization committee.

“The evening was a fundraiser for Mr. Suozzi. My goal in going there was to speak with him about his 90/10 plan, which is to encourage cool, walkable communities,” said Mr. Gallego.

Meet the Candidates for Nassau County Executive

In the race for Nassau County Executive, Democrat Tom Suozzi of Glen Cove will attempt to retain the post he has held since 2002. He is running against longtime Republican Legislator Ed Mangano of Bethpage.

Oyster Festival Flooding Leaves Nonprofits With Decisions to Make

The nor’easter on Saturday evening, Oct. 17 through Sunday, Oct. 18 was compounded with a new moon and a high tide in Oyster Bay harbor that hit at noon on Sunday, making flooding a major concern for the hamlet and challenging the Oyster Festival.

“The nor’easter effectively made a washout of the festival on Sunday,” said Gregory Druhak who was walking around the festival a little after the Sunday high tide, taking pictures. “I saw a guy standing in the Southwest Airlines booth. I had gone there to pick up T-shirts for a couple of people from Dave at the Frank M. Flower booth. The money all goes to the Celia Flower Food Pantry. Nearby there was a guy at the Southwest Airlines booth, Xavier Granico smiling and giving out pretzels. He drove all the way from Baltimore, to be at the booth. On the other side, the baymen (in tall boots) were standing totally in water, selling clams.

TOB Supervisor Race: Venditto Vs. Scalia

Candidates for the office of Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor were asked for their comments on councilmatic districts versus at-large representation; the new law for the dissolution of villages and special districts; the use of TOB SEA Fund Bond money; the most important function of the supervisor; and their accomplishments.

Oyster Fest: A Rainy Challenge Met

This year’s Oyster Festival was a true challenge. The weather has always hung in the balance, and usually the festival runs in spite of it. This year, however, was exceptionally challenged. Usually there is only one bad day. While the festival ran, the weather ruled.

With all the weather reports saying the weekend was going to be wet, cold and windy, people were contacting Cindy Smith, ImageQuest Communications, Inc. who handles public relations for the festival, “Over Thursday night we got a 100 emails from people asking if the Oyster Festival was still on. The festival is on. We put up information on our website with Q’s and A’s letting people know what is going on,” she said.

Grand Opening Held at Jericho’s Equestrian Center at Old Mill

Property Purchased Through Environmental Bond Act

Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi announced the formal opening of the 40-acre property, formerly known as the Old Mill Horse Farm and newly named the Equestrian Center at Old Mill, located at 62 Route 106 in Jericho, just north of the Long Island Expressway, on Oct. 7.

The property, which was acquired by Nassau County in October 2008 for $12 million under the $150 million 2006 Environmental Bond Act, incorporates a comprehensive and affordable equestrian center designed for use by the general public.

Oyster Festival Combines Food, Fun and Philanthropy

Oyster Festival weekend, Oct. 17 and 18 (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.) is the place to be for fun, excitement, musical thrills, tall ships, pirate adventures, the carnival and its midway and of course – delicious oysters. Come and enjoy them fried, in stew or just ice cold and glistening on the half shell, waiting to be slurped down with a squirt of lemon and dash of hot sauce.


OB Chamber of Commerce Welcomes Change

Oyster Bay Chamber Holiday Fundraiser Monday, October 26, at Wild Honey

Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce President Alex Gallego announced at the Sept. 28 Business After Hours that this will be his last term as president of the group. “I will not accept the position of president again,” he said after five years in office. Mr. Gallego said he was not worried about the health of the chamber saying, “We’ve had strong leadership over the past five years. You go through periods of expansion and contraction that allow an organization to grow, and to take on new ideas. We want new ideas,” he said. “Tell us what you don’t want us to do. Tell us what you do want us to do so the chamber will always be prepared and ready to work in the future.”

Historic Jakobson-Built Tug Cornell Returns for Annual Oyster Fest

One afternoon 50 years ago, give or take a few weeks, a group of managers and workers from Jakobson Shipyard sailed four brand new tugboats to Manhattan. The tugs were state of the art for their day, boasting among other features a new diesel-electric hybrid power system developed by General Motors. As the tugs bobbed proudly in front of the New York skyline, a GM photographer snapped their picture for posterity.

A GM publicity executive dubbed the tugboat foursome, rather grandly, The Four Aces, and sent the photo out to newspapers, magazines and other media outlets around the world. The tugs were custom-built for Lehigh Valley Railroad, and four Lehigh execs took ownership of the new vessels that day - then ordered two more tugs from delighted Jakobson officials.