Support, sponsor, volunteer: Chamber looks to get Larkfield Road back on track

The East Northport Chamber of Commerce has not had an income since September 2019, the date of its last fundraising event. At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chamber waived member fees and had to put all of its major fundraisers on hold: the beloved East Northport Festival, the Chamber’s annual golf outing, and “A Taste of Long Island,” the group’s wine and cheese event.

As the community begins to pick itself up from a host of challenges brought on by the pandemic, the impact Covid-19 has had on local small businesses, especially “Main Street” establishments like restaurants and retail stores, is all too clear.

“You see the condition of Larkfield Road and the empty stores. Just like other Main Streets all across America, it’s been devastating,” said Loriann Pineo, executive director of the East Northport Chamber of Commerce.

Established in 1994, the Chamber’s main focus is to promote and support local businesses and the community, said Loriann. But what happens when the group dedicated to boosting local business is struggling itself?

At the height of the pandemic, when businesses were barely surviving, the Chamber kept business owners aware of any help they might be eligible for, including PPP loans. On its social media pages, the Chamber helped stores advertise and encouraged residents to eat, drink and shop local. But times were tough.

Loriann witnessed repercussions of the pandemic firsthand, losses like neighborhood favorite Fireside Caterers, a longtime business on the corner of Larkfield Road and Jericho Turnpike, forced to close after 30 years in business. Since then, other businesses, such as Brunello’s Pizza and Mascali-Larkfield Pasta, have had to shut down or limit services because they couldn’t properly staff their businesses.

“It was a difficult task for the Chamber, and for the businesses, to stay afloat,” she said. “But it’s getting better.” She hopes that soon East Northport’s resilience – and its residents – will overcome and help rebuild the community.

A cross-section of hardship and hope

East Northport’s downtown business district, the area of Larkfield Road from Bellerose Avenue to Pulaski Road, offers a cross section of businesses that have struggled and those that are bouncing back. It’s a mix of poorly maintained buildings and empty storefronts, right next to newer businesses and older ones investing in makeovers to up their curb appeal.

The space where Flowers by Fred was is vacant, the building itself suffering from low to no maintenance. Neighboring Butter Crust Bakery has not been able to keep its doors open through Covid, shuttering the store more than once before recently closing for good.

Meanwhile just down the road and across the street, Shears of Elegance Salon shows off an elevated look with a remodeled exterior and new stonework. Further south, Hewitt Square is getting a major facelift with new brickwork on the facade of all its shops, and is anticipating the arrival of a new tenant – a brewery/distillery sure to liven up the shopping center.

“That’s what we need, we need an influx of new businesses,” said Loriann.

Chuck Adams, from Adam’s Cyclery, agreed, adding that new owners could complement the community’s more established, longtime businesses.

Adam’s Cyclery ranks with fellow landmark businesses Fred’s Carpet, Beckman’s Florist and Karp’s Hardware as some of the oldest businesses in town. Chuck, the store owner, celebrated his family’s 70 years in business with a store renovation in 2019, just before Covid hit. He counts himself as “very blessed” to be one of the businesses to survive the pandemic, thanks to a bike boom no doubt brought on by social distancing and an uptick in outdoor activities. 2020 was a record year for the store, and sales continue to climb as the demand for bikes is not slowing down.

“It’s going to be interesting to see what happens the next couple of years, how this plays out,” he said. “There are a lot of businesses that are still struggling. I don’t think we’ve seen the full impact of the pandemic yet.”

He remains optimistic though, that East Northport businesses will bounce back. “Obviously there are some empty buildings, no matter what town you go to, there are going to be vacancies. But overall, I think Larkfield Road is thriving.”

Both Chuck and Loriann have known this area their whole lives. Chuck grew up behind his family’s store, and Loriann, an East Northport resident for 55 years, lives and raised three children on the block her husband grew up on.

“It’s a wonderful place to live,” said Loriann. “It, just like anything, needs a little help.”

So how can the Chamber and the community work together and revitalize what’s been lost or floundering?

Pride through participation

Holiday lights, giant baskets of hanging flowers… these are beautification efforts that many community members have come to love, and expect. But those lights and flowers don’t magically appear, said Loriann. They take money and manpower.

The inability to fundraise meant no flower baskets and no holiday lights in 2020, or so far in 2021. “That definitely takes away from the aesthetic,” Loriann said. “We’re working toward bringing those beautification projects back though our fundraising efforts, and hopefully the economy is coming back.”

In the meantime, Loriann suggested business owners “pick a weed, plant a flower,” saying that building and business owners, if capable, can help beautify East Northport’s “Main Street” one shop at a time. “If every building owner just took responsibility for what’s in front of their place of business and how they want to present their business to the community, I think that would make a tremendous difference,” she added.

For $75 a year, East Northport residents can take action and become members of the Chamber, too. Members have access to information on happenings around town, can join committees, get involved with fundraising, “and just be a part of helping build the community back,” said Loriann. “This is our community, we live here, we raise our children here. It’s not just about the businesses, it’s about the community as a whole, really.”

For people unable to become paying members, there are always volunteer opportunities, projects for which people can donate their time and their skills, said Loriann. “We welcome ideas, we welcome change, we need help,” she said. “We need help physically, and we need help financially.”

So, what’s next?

Fortunately, some of the Chamber’s fundraisers are coming back, including its golf outing, scheduled for June 28 at Crab Meadow Golf Course. The “A Taste of Long Island” wine and cheese event is on the calendar for April 2022 and logistics for the next festival are currently being worked out; whether it happens this September or the following, is still uncertain.

Loriann too hopes to apply for a BID (Business Improvement District), a lengthy process the Chamber underwent but ultimately lost in 2017. BIDs are special assessment districts established by groups of local businesses as a revitalization tool for their community, and would be a separate entity from the Chamber. The Huntington BID, for example, was partly responsible for the Huntington Holiday Spectacular in Huntington Village and promotes other events and efforts around town.

In East Northport’s case, a BID would take over the beautification efforts that the Chamber currently handles, leaving the Chamber to focus on its main mission: to support and promote businesses, and help sustain them as they grow.

“We want Larkfield Road, every store to look beautiful, and every store to be filled with a thriving business,” said Loriann. “The community wins, the storeowners wins, everybody wins.”

To find out how you can support the Chamber, or to learn about upcoming events, go to www.eastnorthport.com or follow the Chamber on Facebook: www.facebook.com/eastnorthport.chamber.