A wholesale change for merchants group

From establishing a fall festival to addressing parking problems, the new Woodmere Merchants Association president, Dr. John Santopolo, an endodontist with offices in Woodmere and Merrick, is seeking to continue the good works of former President Sy Glass.

Glass, who lives a block off Broadway in Woodmere, was a member of the organization for 17 years, and though he sold his fur store, Alexandro’s, it remains a viable business on Franklin Place.

Santopolo, who lives in Merrick and whose father, Mark, is a former superintendent of the Hewlett-Woodmere School District, hopes to strengthen the organization by getting all members headed in the same direction. “A lot of stuff can be done in this area if people get whipped up to do it,” he said.

That “stuff” includes Woodmere’s first fall festival, scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 30 and 31, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fair will feature goods from Woodmere merchants and some outside vendors, and will spread out along Broadway from Conklin Avenue to a little past Irving Place. “We are looking to bring a little attention to Woodmere,” Santopolo said.

Merchants also hope to address the parking issues arising from the proposed construction of a 280-bed Woodmere Rehabilitation and Health Care Center. A Town of Hempstead Board of Appeals hearing slated for Nov. 10 will entertain the center’s multiple variance requests, including one seeking to reduce the number of required parking spaces from 225 to 134.

Woodmere merchants are looking to ensure that the area has enough parking for patrons of all the businesses in the area. “We can’t unreasonably stop them from using their land,” Santopolo said. “But we can strenuously insist that it doesn’t negatively impact the parking that is available for the merchants in Woodmere to use.”

The association is expected to hold a special session on Tuesday, Oct. 12, at 6:30 p.m., at the existing center, at 121 Franklin Place, to discuss the plans.

There are two other long-term ideas that the association wants to consider, one of which would make both Broadway and West Broadway one-way streets. The idea, according to Ann Schockett, the organization’s secretary, can be attributed to another association member, Dennis Di Giovianni, who read about the concept in “Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream,” a book by three architects that details how 20th century building practices destroyed the concept of neighborhoods.

“One-way would create more parking spaces and a better flow of traffic,” said Schockett, who added that the streets would be more pedestrian-friendly. More access by walkers and bicyclists is what Santopolo said he is seeking from the plan.

The other idea is to enlist the help of the town, the county and the Long Island Power Authority to create a “green zone” in the Woodmere business section, and make it easier and more affordable for businesses to be environmentally friendly and pare energy costs. “We would have to streamline zoning, but I think it is doable,” Santopolo said.

Most things are doable, according to Glass, a man so involved in his community that a doctor who was responding to an alarm at his office at 6 a.m. one day saw Glass picking litter off the streets.

Glass, who came to Woodmere about 25 years ago from New York City, pushed for the Hewlett Memorial Day parade to extend into Woodmere and was instrumental in pressing for the renovations at the Long Island Rail Road station and the docks at the end of Woodmere Boulevard. “We did it ourselves,” he said. “We didn’t wait for it to happen.”

A dinner honoring Glass — or, as Schockett called him, “the mayor of Woodmere” — is set for Thursday, Nov. 4, at the Woodmere Club.