More than 1,000 expected for Elmont/Belmont parade

Editor's Note: The parade took place on June 4, prior to the online publication. Photos to come in the June 8 print edition. 

The Elmont community is preparing for its 15th annual Paul Sapienza Elmont/Belmont parade, set for Saturday, June 3 at 10 a.m.
This year, there will be three grand marshals — all of whom are prominent figures leaving their positions in Elmont. Leading the parade will be Kevin Dougherty, Kenneth Rosner and Michael Scott Cushing.
Dougherty is stepping down as principal of Elmont Memorial High School. Rosner will leave his position as superintendent of the Elmont elementary school district and is moving on to East Meadow. Cushing, a longtime resident of Elmont assigned to the Special Legislative Task Force to Combat Antisemitism in Nassau, is relocating.

Claudine Hall, one of the parade founders, said the three men were chosen to serve as grand marshals because of their dedication to and love for the Elmont community.
“We found no better way of honoring their contributions to the community,” Hall said.
Whether it’s organizing food collections to support local veterans or remaining active in the neighborhood schools, Ralph Esposito, chairman of the parade planning committee, said, the three grand marshals have gone “above and beyond” for Elmont, and should be celebrated.
Sponsored by Home Depot, Fidelis and Northwell Health, the parade will make its way roughly a mile and a quarter from the Alva T. Stanforth Sports Complex to the Belmont Park racetrack. Home Depot will decorate the path down Hempstead Turnpike.
More than 20 organizations and community groups will participate with their own banners. The planning committee expects over a thousand marchers.
Each grand marshal will receive a ceremonial key to Elmont designed by Frank Hrbek, who customized the keys to sport each marshal’s favorite color, with a horse stamped with their favorite number.
The New York Racing Association will dedicate one of the Belmont Park races that day to the parade participants. If the horse’s temperament is amenable, the planning committee and grand marshals plan to take a photo with the winner of that race.
“I just love what happens here — remember, we’re very diversified, and we’re a solid community,” Esposito said. “We work with each other, that’s the way it’s always been.”
The late Pat Nicolosi, the late Frank Ragona, Mimi Pierre Johnson and Hall founded the parade 15 years ago when their respective civic associations at the time wanted to do something for the community. Hall said things were happening in Garden City and Stewart Manor, and it was time to get Elmont involved.
“The four of us got together, and it just grew and grew and grew,” Hall said.
Esposito was the first chairman of the Elmont/Belmont Day Parade. The committee renamed the parade for Paul Sapienza, who died in 2020. As the former president of the Elmont Chamber of Commerce and owner of Sapienza Bake Shop, he was known as a very involved community member.
Sapienza’s son Andrew took up his mantle. This year, he came up with an idea to host a line-up party before the parade, at which Sapienza Bake Shop will hand out free cannolis to the marchers. Andrew also secured a clown to perform in the parade and cotton candy for the celebration.
“This goes back many years that Paul was providing them,” said Julie Marchesella, president of the Elmont Chamber of Commerce. “He’s been known for his cannolis — I think he makes the best anywhere and everywhere.”
Hall said being able to have an event such as this parade in Elmont every year “means the world” to her. She said the more spectators who come out, the better.
“I’m looking forward to the next 15 years,” said Hall. “I’m a lifetime member of the community, so this is something that I love.”