Fair Proceeds to Aid Clock Tower

By Joe Scotchie

On Sunday, Oct. 21, the Village of Roslyn and the Chamber of Commerce hosted another successful fall street fair on Old Northern Boulevard.

A view of the street fair crowd with the Robeson-Williams Grist Mill on the left.

According to Frederic Carlton, Chamber of Commerce president, the fair attracted in the vicinity of 9,000 to 10,000 people. Up to 175 vendors lined the Boulevard. Mr. Carlton also praised the Nassau County Police Department and the village's own Department of Public Works for keeping the day's events moving on schedule without any major or minor problems.

For all these years, the main purpose of both the spring and fall fairs has been to attract people from all over the Island to Roslyn, for people to see the beauty of the village and the quaintness of the businesses that line Old Northern Boulevard. Once that happens, people will want to come back to the village.

This remains the case with the street fairs, but the chamber now has another motive for holding such events. Mr. Carlton also said that the proceeds from the fair will go toward constructing permanent lighting for the Roslyn Clock Tower. Mr. Carlton said that the chamber has contacted the architectural firm of Matthew Korn to get their lighting people involved in designing such a structure. "The monument is the center of Roslyn," Mr. Carlton noted. "Now it will be lighted on a permanent basis. Proceeds from all the fairs will be used for this project."

The lighting project is only the latest of several renovation efforts on the clock tower. About six years ago, the clock hands on three of the tower's four sides were fixed back into operating order. Recent restoration has included interior work on the tower's ground level. Over the years, some state funds have been secured to assist with the restoration efforts.

The pledge to use fair proceeds for a lighting structure fulfills a promise Mr. Carlton made last spring, after this year's antiques fair. The chamber president, who earlier had clashed with the village over legal issues concerning the funding of previous street fairs, praised the new spirit that existed between the chamber and the board of trustees. Toward that end, he claimed that the chamber would "jubilantly" look forward to working with the village in funding future beautification projects in Roslyn.