A year after enduring one of the worst fires in recent downtown Roslyn history, the buildings located at 19-21 Main Street are getting closer to opening store space for business. Much of the renovation of the exterior has been completed, while work on the interior space of the buildings goes on. On the site, a supervisor said interior renovation could be finished within a week.

Following the fire, developers came to the village, offering to demolish the building and replacing it with more modern architecture. The building itself dates back to the 1840s, and in the Roslyn tradition of preserving old buildings, village officials turned down all offers that would have destroyed the buildings forever. Instead, village officials, along with local churches, businesses, and Landmark Society members all agreed to help complete a thorough restoration project.

In the immediate months after the fire, representatives from Trinity Episcopal Church, St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, and the Village of Roslyn all spearheaded a charity drive which netted $6,000 to assist with housing for the residential victims of the fire. The Junior League of Roslyn also helped out by donated clothes and shoes and shopping coupons to those same victims.

Both the Village of Roslyn Historic District Board and the Board of Trustees approved a restoration project for the building. In addition, the Roslyn Preservation Corporation donated antique windows to the building in order to begin a historically correct restoration. At the same time, the village gave notice to the building's proprietor to do some necessary cleanup work in the rear area of the structure.

One former tenant who has left Roslyn is Amanda Ahab, former owner of Colour to Dye For. After the fire, Ms. Ahab set up shop at The Haircutters on 1445 Old Northern Blvd. As with the owners of other business establishments, Ms. Ahab was settled in Roslyn, calling it "the perfect place" to open a new business. After working out of space at The Haircutters, Ms. Ahab has moved again, this time to Pristine's, located at 550 Middle Neck Road in Great Neck.

Although Ms. Ahab is pleased with her new surroundings, she is still unhappy about how things proceeded in Roslyn once the July 2000 fire occurred. "Having received no monies to date from insurance [companies] and dealing with [a] landlord/insurance bureaucracy has driven me out of business as well as out of the town of Roslyn," she said.

Ms. Ahab thinks some of her longtime clients may be confused by all the turmoil caused by the loss of her business. So she wants them to know she is settled at Pristine's where she finds the "relaxed...inspirational environment" conducive to her hairdressing style. Pristine's itself opened in January of this year.

Other businesses victimized by the fire have remained in the Roslyn area. Marion Regan, proprietor of Cammy's, relocated to a store across the street from her old business, moving to 6 Main Street. Judy Edelman, owner of Judy at Townsend, moved her operations to Scott Allen Salon, 1081 Willis Ave., Albertson, where she now continues to work. Ms. Edelman and Ms. Ahab were both distraught about having to leave downtown Roslyn. "I can't begin to tell you how much I miss my neighbors," she said in the wake of the blaze. Meanwhile, Ms. Ahab called the opening of Colour to Dye For as "the best thing in my life."

Authorities with the Nassau County Fire Commission blamed a short in the building's electrical wire as the cause of the blaze. The commission further determined that the junction box in the ceiling of the top floor had a short which sent sparks throughout the top level, burning the roof of the building and destroying the entire third floor before spreading to the rest of the building.

The buildings are also known as the "William Valentine Stores," in honor of the man who built and operated the structure. Mr. Valentine was considered to have been "a prosperous and successful merchant in Roslyn." His residence still stands opposite the Bryant Library. Over the years, the buildings have been used as home to a general store, a bicycle shop, a confectionery store, a country sporting goods store, a bakery, an upholstery shop, and for other commercial and residential purposes.