Friends for a Beautiful East Meadow has unveiled a new initiative to transform the community into something greener, cleaner and more glamorous.
As of May 1, FABEM’s new contest, Most FAB 2026, invites local businesses to refresh, renovate and decorate to receive the most votes from community members. The first round of voting ends June 30.
The five businesses that receive the most votes will be the finalists, and the process will be repeated in a two-week competition in early July, when the winner will be crowned the “Most Fab of East Meadow.”
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 among its affiliated businesses.
“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 2-year-old organization has the sole focus of improving East Meadow’s appearance and environment at once.
Lauren Maslov is the owner of Pietro’s of East Meadow, an Italian restaurant on East Meadow Avenue. Her business is one of many taking part in the contest. 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 continued. “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.”
FABEM recently partnered with the East Meadow school district, the Girl Scouts of Nassau County and the East Meadow Baseball and Softball Association.
The cleanups took place at all four district elementary schools on April 26, as well as the baseball complex and 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 said. “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.
