East Norwich community organization representatives and business people gathered Wednesday morning, Nov. 17, on the corner of Johnson Court and Oyster Bay Road to watch the completion of East Norwich Civic Association street sign project. People watched as Town of Oyster Bay workers took down traditional street signs and replaced them with large painted signs sponsored by local businesses and community organizations. The 32 signs have been sponsored by 25 local businesses and community organizations.

The street signage project was spearheaded by Sean T. Rainey, East Norwich Civic Association vice president. In August he saw signs put up by the North Syosset Civic Association and thought they were a great idea for the downtown area of East Norwich. "I called Oyster Bay Town Councilman Chris Coschignano's office to find out who was responsible for the project. I brought the idea to the East Norwich Civic Association and Matt and the members were very supportive," said Mr. Rainey. He started the project about four months ago. "I got bids from several sign companies and Signs Etc. of Sea Cliff, was chosen. They gave us a very good price. The difference between those in North Syosset and ours is that we are using gold leaf and sage and they are larger. It is very rich looking," he said.

Another benefit of having the Syosset signs go up first was that William Starke, who was supervising the town workers taking down the old signs and putting up the new ones knew what the height of the signs should be. "We know about traffic and that the garbage and oil trucks need room. Now we know this is the height we need to keep out of harm's way. I think everyone's going to be pretty happy with them," said Mr. Starke. Working with him were Salvatore Cecere and in the bucket - Russ Maggio. The signs hang from painted metal brackets using the same type of bolt the town uses for putting up their street lights. It all looks very secure.

"That we have 26 different businesses participating says a lot. Almost every business bought a sign and some bought several. Laffey Associates and Rothmann's bought several," said Mr. Rainey.

"The signs started going up on Wednesday. I thought it would be good to focus on the downtown areas rather than scatter them throughout the community. We have them at the major roads and cross streets on Oyster Bay Road and Northern Boulevard. Once the signs have gone up and we get decisions from the community on whether they like them or not - people might want to donate funds for interior street signs in the name of their family or in memory of a family member as a way to raise the money for the signs.

"Too bad you can't snap your fingers and have them created. You need the support of the community and businesses to make this happen. A donation is more of a thank you from the businesses than it is advertising." The name of the sponsor is written in script in gold leaf and it is very subtle.

There are two signs at each crossroad intersection. LaPizzetta restaurant's sign will be at Oyster Bay Road and Hawthorne Road along with one from Neil R. Engel, D.M.D. John Napolitano, Esq.'s sign at Johnson Court and Oyster Bay Road will also carry the one sponsored by Michael Peter Hayes Salon.

The signs sponsored by Chas. Rothmann's restaurant are at Muttontown Lane and Northern Boulevard/North Hempstead Turnpike; at Walnut Avenue and Jericho Road (Rte. 106); at Carlton Avenue and Oyster Bay Road; and at Sugar Tom's Lane and Northern Boulevard. Laffey Associates sponsored the signs at Northern Boulevard and Oyster Bay Road and the Split Rock Road Spur.

The Daniel Gale Associates sign is at Muttontown Lane and Northern Boulevard/North Hempstead Turnpike (with Laffey). The Community United Methodist Church of East Norwich sponsored the sign at Vernon Avenue and Jericho/Oyster Bay Road as did Woodstock Spa. Dr. Andrew Hajdu sponsored a sign at Walnut Avenue and Jericho/Oyster Bay Road (with Rothmann's). Dr. Scott Cavagnuolo sponsored the sign at Gilbert Court and Oyster Bay Road with Café Girasole.

The East Norwich Fire Company and Puddleducks shares the sign post at Whitney Avenue and Oyster Bay Road. Prudential Douglas & Ellison Real Estate's sign will be at Carlton Avenue and Oyster Bay Road (with Rothmann's). Saggio Pizza/Pasta Café and Frost Pond Realty will share the signpost at Oyster Bay Road and Griffin Avenue.

The East Norwich Deli and the East Norwich Inn will share the signpost at the intersection of Oyster Bay Road and Surrey Place. The Committee for the Beautification of East Norwich is sponsoring a sign at the corner of Northern Boulevard and Sugar Tom's Lane (with Rothmann's). The East Norwich Civic Association and the Bagel Boss Café will share the signpost at the intersection of Sugar Toms Lane and Oyster Bay Road. Coach Realtors and Angelina's restaurant will share the intersection of Locust Avenue and Jericho/Oyster Bay Road (a new post was needed there and it was installed on Friday).

Murphy & Lynch, P.C. will have their sign at Northern Boulevard and the Split Rock Road along with Laffey Associates. American Land Services will have their sign at the corner of Jericho/Oyster Bay Road and Northern Boulevard along with Laffey Associates.

Blue Ribbon Cleaners and the Little Scholars Day School will share the signpost at Pine Hollow Road and Peerless Drive - the last street in the unincorporated village of East Norwich.

Seeing the names listed above it is easy to understand Mr. Rainey saying, "It's not just one group in the community, it's from local community groups, and businesses themselves. We also have to thank government officials like Councilman Chris Coschignano for helping us by getting the local approvals and getting the town to approve the signs. That can all be difficult at times."

Mr. Rainey also thanked Jamie Van Dyke, Mr. Coschignano's assistant. "We have been talking almost every day over the past two weeks working out details for the town to hang the signs. The final post was put in on Thursday. The town did a great job. I couldn't be more happy with the way they handled the installation of the signs. The last sign is on Peerless, the street that is the separating line between East Norwich and Oyster Bay," he said.

He is familiar with working with governments since he is the deputy director for Nassau County Department of Real Estate Planning and Development.

This is not the first project Mr. Rainey has been involved in to beautify the neighborhood. He said, "I like to work with the residents of our community to beautify the area. We are getting the roads done in the spring. I was the one who walked around getting people to sign the petitions to send to town hall to alert them of the need for the roads to be repaired."

Tom Kearney, an East Norwich Fire Department ex-chief and a member of the Committee for the Beautification was at the event. He is appreciative of the work Mr. Rainey has been doing in the community and said, "Sean did a great job on the entrance to Norwich Green on the corner of Hawthorne Road, at Dr. Engel's office. He keeps it updated with seasonal displays. And the garden at Martling Street is a great improvement over the dead end sidewalk that was there. He's kind of a bold-take-charge kind of guy when he gets a thought in his head."

Mr. Kearney has great hopes for the signs. "When you stop and think about this whole beautification thing you will see that people will take notice and it will spread. Look at the garden areas in Brookville and Muttontown. The Cold Spring Harbor waterfront was looking ratty and then they created a garden area there. The whole thing spreads, people get ideas and one feeds off the other and it's better for everyone," he said.

He added, "The timing was very fortunate. The morning before, we had a car knock down the pole at the Split Rock Road Spur. If they had put the sign up a day earlier, the pole would have been clipped off. I was surprised at how fast they went up. They all look fine, really smart." On a practical note, he said there have been car accidents that do damage to trees and poles; but the important thing is to get the police precinct accident report and have the insurance company repair the damage.

He added another benefit of the sign project was, "It is not costing the community anything."

Mary Ann Kelly, a local resident worked with Sean Rainey in organizing the summer block party for the Norwich Green community said, "We've gotten a great deal of good work from Sean. This is all his idea. He's really run with it and done everything himself."

Bud Rappuhn, a member of the East Norwich Civic Association and the Committee for the Beautification of East Norwich, also attended the unveiling of the signs.

Mr. Rappuhn said East Norwich residents could look forward to seeing the creche appear on Route 106, in the area near the East Norwich Inn and Rothmann's on Nov. 28. He said, "With the coming of the Advent season, the East Norwich Christmas Creche will be in place at its traditional 50-year-old crossroads site by Sunday, Nov. 28."

On Wednesday a large crowd of the East Norwich business people who sponsored the new East Norwich street signs gathered to watch the first ones being installed. Michael Peter Hayes of the MPH Salon had good news. "I'm merging with Woodstock Spa over the next 12 weeks. I'll be moving over to their location in Tower Square. I'm joining Max Bracero and Jonathan Gargiulo," he said. The three partners will call the new venture MPH Spa Fitness.

John Giannuzzi of LaPizzetta has been at his East Norwich location for 18 years. The business serves dinner to a loyal clientele.

Mark Laffey of Laffey Associates East Norwich office attended. They recently opened an office in Locust Valley. Also attending was Valerie Van Cleff of Coach Real Estate, another of the businesses that is sponsoring a sign. Dr. Scott Cavagnuolo and his wife Barbara were there too.

Keith Farrell of the East Norwich Deli was there too. Matthew Reich said their most popular offering are the chicken cutlets. He said they have a hot-bar with entrée items ready to go. Mr. Farrell said they are open from 4:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Ilene Potter of Bagel Boss Café was happy to be taking part in the ceremony, as was Irma Ricci, manager of the East Norwich Inn.

John Napolitano, Esq. and his wife Melinda were watching the events unfold. They have twins, Gianni and Mariela in seventh grade at Oyster Bay High School. She said, "We've been living here for 21 years. We moved here when he got out of law school. We are lucky we have such a good school district. It's really like a private school, it's so small, and it has great teachers."

Ms. Napolitano said she liked the signs. "Things like this are wonderful, they bring the community together." She is a paralegal and is a Pilates trainer. She said she was networking with Dr. Scott Cavagnuolo and his wife Barbara, adding that she might do Pilates training in conjunction with his new chiropratic office.