East Meadow’s first-ever business beauty contest, a unique one, came to a conclusion at the beginning of the month, announcing its finalists and the ultimate winner.
In May, Friends for a Beautiful East Meadow unveiled a new initiative to transform the community into something greener, cleaner and more glamorous. The advocacy group’s new contest, Most FAB 2026, invited local businesses to refresh, renovate and decorate, with their efforts voted on by community members.
The winner of the contest was A&C Pest Management, and the runners-up were Pietro’s of East Meadow and Longchamp Photography.
James and Mary Anne Skinner, of A&C Pest Management, say they take pride in their business’s family spirit. “We got some really cool people that work for us,” James said. “I do think leadership by example as a community member, as a business owner, as a leader in the community is extremely important.”
Every holiday, Mary Anne decorates the windows of their building with unique accessories, like signs and flags. “We do little things like that to help our culture along,” James said.
“We have a lot of windows, and I like to fill them in,” Mary Anne added. “It's just nice to hear the positive feedback when people are sitting at the light or driving by, and they enjoy seeing each holiday decorated.”
Lauren Maslov is the owner of Pietro’s, an Italian restaurant on East Meadow Avenue. Her business was one of many that took part in the contest, and beautification has been an important part of the history of Pietro’s.
“I bought the business from my dad five years ago,” Maslov said. “[I] reinvented the building to kind of still look the way it used to back in the day, but just with a fresher appearance, and upgraded all of our menu items.
“If you don’t stand out, it’s just people are going to kind of forget about you,” she added. “The building was deteriorating back a few years ago … we just needed to stand out in the neighborhood and just bring a little energy back to East Meadow Avenue.”
Ted Rosenthal co-founded Friends for a Beautiful East Meadow with Taleen Krug and Richie Krug Jr., who have partnered with the Chamber of Commerce to support the contest and encouraged local businesses to take part.
“We’re hoping a number of things will happen,” Rosenthal said. “Number one, that it will catch on — that people will actually take notice, that businesses will take it seriously … When you drive up to a business and they have taken the opportunity to make their business look special, people want to frequent there.”
The organization’s sole focus is improving East Meadow’s appearance and environment. It recently partnered with the East Meadow school district, the Girl Scouts of Nassau County and the East Meadow Baseball and Softball Association in local cleanup efforts on April 26 at the district’s four elementary schools, at the hamlet’s baseball complex, and at the triangle between Roosevelt and Prospect avenues, just south of Hempstead Turnpike.
“The first time, it was a Friends for a Beautiful East Meadow project, and we contacted the Girl Scouts, who were thrilled to be included,” Rosenthal recalled. “This year was almost reverse: Before we even started planning, the Girl Scouts contacted us and said, ‘Let’s do it again.’
“I think it’s fantastic,” he added. “It occurred to them to do it, and now we have people thinking about these types of projects, and hopefully more and more do, so it’s not just what we’re putting out.”
Beautification has multiple benefits, according to Rosenthal. “Our goal is to bring attention to the fact that the more beautiful our areas are, the more people enjoy living here, and the more people enjoy working here, and the more people enjoy shopping here and doing business here,” he said. “East Meadow is a wonderful place to be.”
While the organization may be young, Taleen Krug noted that its growth indicates a bright future.
“As we continue to grow this event year over year, we definitely have been able to add both participation, volunteers and different areas that people would like to clean up,” Krug said. “The more people, whether you’re involved in a community organization or not, or you just have a passion to help, this is the perfect event for you.”
To learn more about contest voting and other community initiatives, visit FABEM.org.
