Bayville Fire Co. 1 to host the 104th Nassau County Firefighters Parade & Drill
On July 13th & 14th, the Bayville Fire Company will be hosting the 104th Nassau County Firefighters Parade & Drill. The Fire Company is hosting this event in recognition and honor of Ex-Chief Robert Broccolo being elected as President of the Nassau County Firemen's Association. The members are proud to support Ex-Chief Broccolo as he is the third member of the Bayville Fire Company to hold this honor in the 85 years of the Fire Company's existence.
We would like to provide you with a schedule of events and how these festivities may impact our residents over the course of the weekend:
* Friday July 13th - Old Fashioned Drill at Firemen's Field in Oyster Bay.
This event will begin at 6:00 and will test the competing teams skills in ladder and hose events. The night will end with the traditional Bucket Brigade and the Nassau County Old Fashioned Champion will be crowned.
* Saturday July 14th - Motorized Drill at Firemen's Field in Oyster Bay.
This will be a test of skill as motorized racing vehicles will be used for various ladder & hose events. The tournament will end as the teams compete in the traditional Bucket Brigade. The Nassau County Motorized Champion will be crowned during this highly competitive event. The days events are scheduled to begin at 9:30am.
* Saturday July 14th - the 104th Nassau County Firemen's Association Parade.
Fire Departments from across Nassau County will be judged in this spectacular display of apparatus and firefighters. The parade is scheduled to begin at 6:00pm, but you should be aware of some road closures prior to the start of the parade.
At 5:00 - Bayville Avenue will be closed to all traffic other than those participating in the parade. This closure will be in effect from Ludlam Avenue west to Perry Avenue. Traffic will be permitted on Bayville Avenue east of Ludlam with out closures. Bayville Avenue west of Perry Avenue will remain open until 6:00.
The parade will be ending at Ransom Beach where refreshments and souvenirs will be available.
This event has been in the planning stages for over two years and the Fire Company has been working with the Nassau County Police Department and the Village Officials to see to every detail. Various neighborhood associations have been contacted as well to share critical information about the events leading up to the parade as well as during.
We hope to welcome the various fire departments to our beautiful village and that everyone enjoys the day.
The Officers & Members of the Bayville Fire Company
I understand that there will be fire companies from all over Long Island. Where will the spectators park? Who is watching the side streets? Is Nassau County police involved? Who will pay for the clean up afterward? Every Bayville fireman I spoke with said get out of town because it is going to be crazy here!
Bayville Park Blvd Assoc. did not address these issues during the association meeting.
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I have heard similar things. It is my understanding BAyville AVenue will be shut down from the firehouse to the stands. I was wondering how people are going to get home from work or back to their houses if they are out of town. It sounds as if the entire thing is being poorly planed and layed out. One flyer was mailed out weeks ago which really did not explain the magnitude of problems bayville residents will experience. I also heard the last time Bayville hosted this event half the fire trucks could not make it into town because their was not enough room. If someone needs to get out fo town that day does anyone know the emergency root that will be open if any.
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I would like to address both posters issues as best I can. We appreciate your feedback and this reply is intended to help ease your concerns.
1) Fire Departments from within Nassau County will be participating. Our aim is for spectators to park in designated areas within the Village so they don't look to park on private roads. We do not want a repeat of your experience from October. We are procuring more locales every day.
2) we have been preparing for this event very closely with the Nassau PD. They will have 25 additional police officers on hand to deal with the added number of people in town. The Nassau County Auxiliary Police will be on hand to assist as well.
3) the Town of Oyster Bay will be assisting with clean up after the event. We will have trash containers in the areas the FD's will be staging and each block will be picked up once the department steps off.
4) as stated in the original message, Bayville Avenue will be closed between Ludlam Avenue and Perry Avenue at 5:00. Traffic will be allowed from Locust Valley east bound into town up until Perry Avenue until 6:00. The NCPD will allow traffic to go east bound to Bayville Pk Blvd for as long as it can safely be done. There will not be any closures of Bayville Avenue east of Ludlam as long as an emergency doesn't warrant one.
5) we are planning for this event as best we know how and we learned some valuable lessons from the last time. That is why we are marching in the opposite direction we usually march. The route was laid out this way purposely.
We truly understand that this may be an inconvenience for many of our residents. That is why we chose to get the word out via the Bayville Blog, so you could plan appropriately. We also had meetings with various neighborhood associations to share our plans with them as well.
We hope you realize that we are trying to recognize the accomplishment of a well respected member and do it with a safe and honorable event.
I hope this answers your concerns.
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"Our aim is for spectators to park in designated areas within the Village so they don't look to park on private roads."
Is the fire dept only expecting 25 - 30 spectators? There are under 100 designated parkinng spots within the Village.
Please answer my other questions.
1. When are the other fire companies and trucks expected to enter Bayville?
2. Where will the trucks park to line up for the parade?
3. Where will the spectators from out of town be directed to park? Will they be directed to park?
4. Is Random and Steli's beach parking lots open that day?
5. Where are trucks going to park after the parade?
6. Is LV aware of the parade? I am sure that spectators will find their way to Michael F street to park.
7. How were the local business owners contacted? Are they aware that they will only have foot traffic after 5PM?
I appreciate the idea of Bayville Fire Co wanting to recognize the accomplishments of a well respected member but communication is the key. As a member of this community I feel I was only informed by the sign in front of the fire house, the grapevine and now this blog.
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By designated parking we mean areas we are designating such as Steve's Pier. The list isn't finalized, but there are other areas as well. It's safe to say we expect much more than 25 - 30 spectators.
1) We expect the other departments to begin arriving around 5:00.
2) The fire departments will be directed to pre determined staging areas. These areas start on the President Streets and continue west up to and including the Oak Point and Mountain Avenue developments. These neighborhoods have been informed and we do have their support.
3) As stated above we are using private parking areas within the village.
4) We have received permission from the Town of Oyster Bay to use Ransom & Stehli's Beach for the end of the parade. I am not sure when the Town will be closing those facilities to the public traffic.
5) The fire trucks that are staying after the parade will be directed to park in Stehli's Beach. Those that would like to leave afterwards will be able to do so through Locust Valley.
6) The Locust Valley Fire Department is very much aware of the parade. We notified neighboring communities though outlets such as the Churches. As for Michael F Street, the police are fully aware of the desire to have people not infringe on private streets. The FD does not have any jurisdiction on telling people where they can and can't park we will rely on the police and auxiliary for this.
7) Local businesses received letters a couple of months ago detailing the events and road closures. We have their support including many that took ads in our journal to further support the event.
I'm sorry if you feel we haven't communicated properly. If an event of this magnitude comes to Bayville in the future we may have to consider stepping up those efforts.
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Hey I got one,Is the bridge being closed to traffic? and at any time is shore rd being shut down?
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Niether the bridge or Shore Road are planned to be closed.
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I would just like to commend FD Parade for coming on here and reasonably/patiently answering these questions as emotions tend to run a little hot on this blog.
I mostly support the hosting of this event idea as I believe these guys have earned the right to do this (its not like this is an issue every week, its only once in a while). That being said, I am reserving complete judgement until after I see it in action. I am just starting to adjust to the traffic due to the adventure park.
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If I understand the road closures correctly, it will be not be possible to enter or leave Bayville West of Ludlam after 6PM Saturday night. This is not an inconvience, this is a burden.
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Ann, according to the electronic sign at the bridge, Bayville Ave west of Ludlam will be closed from 5-10 pm. Realistically, all those fire trucks aren't just going to magically disappear after the parade, so the tie-ups in town will last a while.
It is an excessive burden on the residents of Bayville, and shows a great deal of hubris on the part of the FD. I feel like they are saying, we want this, it's an "honor", so we will move heaven and earth to make it happen, regardless of how it impacts the rest of the town.
I appreciate that the parade is intended as an honor to a local member, but a truly civic-minded person should have the foresight decline an "honor" that will greatly inconvenience over 2,000 people.
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It is interesting that this is described as an inconvenience. It would be an inconvenience if I had to take a back road to leave town. But there is no way for me to leave or get back to my house tonight. For those of us who might have liked plans other than the parade, I would call that house arrest, not an inconvenience.
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Sands Point: 216 acres, Eisenhower Park: 930 acres (larger than Central Park), Garvies Point: 62 acres, and Mitchel Field: 49 acres. Instead, let's do it in Bayville: 1.4 square miles of land! Please excuse my sarcasm but I am completely dumbfounded.
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Many adults and children had a great time, my family and friends sure did.
We had a party and enjoyed ourselves.
I wish everyone could have had that much fun.
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I attended the parade this evening with my family and neighbors.
As I sat there and watch all the men, women and young adults who donate their time to save our lives in the event of a catastrophe, I was humbled and honored that the parade was in Bayville.
What better Village to celebrate Mr. Broccola's achievements ( a local resident) and all the members of our VOLUNTEER deptartments Island wide. A village full or community love and spirit, a seaside vantage point and a village that embodies the essence of Summer. It was a great choice.
My children loved all the trucks and bands and I marveled at the organization and planning put forth by the Bayville Fire House, NCPD, Bayville AMerican Legion and the county.
You all did a great job and since it only happens here once in a blue moon, I was happy I went.
Thanks for a great night.
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KUDOS to the organizers of the parade....i was very impressed with how smoothly everything went. what a great chance for bayville to "show-off". the weather was beautiful and attendees seemed to enjoy themselves. it was a great excuse to spend the evening with family and friends.
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On behalf of the Officers & Members of the Bayville Fire Company, I would like to thank the community for their support in this event. It truly was Bayville at its best and we received many great comments from our visitors on your hospitality.
Many of our residents came out to support and enjoy the parade and it provided for an enjoyable summer evening.
The Nassau County Fire Service is second to none.
We hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable summer!
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I just want to commend the way the whole event went down. I was half expecting a mess and it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Congrads guys.
Hey confused, you chose a good moniker. Nice job trying to fudge the numbers with your units game. For those that don't know, 1.4 square miles translates into 896 acres, much larger than every other area presented by confused besides Eisenhower Park. Now its not all free real estate in Bayville like it is in a park but cut the fuzzy math hyperbole BS.
As for "burden" I disagree. For 6-7 hours it was difficult to move around Bayville but there was plenty of notice to plan to be outside of Bayville during those hours if that is what you wish. The only thing I would want them to improve is great collusion across town on the designated times. It seems various people had conflicting knowledge of when Bayville Ave would be closed.
Anyways congrats again.
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Thanks for the support Steve. Glad you enjoyed the parade.
As for the conflicting knowledge of time, the information we put out was consistant. We even had the sign at the bridge changed to 10:00 when it was originally posted as closed until 11:00.
The feedback from the event has been great, right down to the fire departments that participated. The parade judges told us it was the best run County Parade in 15 years!
For the record, I think a residual benefit from this whole event is that the village has never looked so good. The crews from Nassau County, T.O.B and the Village of Bayville deserve a great deal of credit on all of their hard work in getting things to look so good.
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It would be nice if the hanging baskets in the business district continue to be watered post parade....they were beautiful last week but are partly dead this week.
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My family had a great time watching the parade. Some of the adults were thinking you have seen one parade you've seen them all. Not this one. There were 20 to 40 engines from Mountain Ave to the turn at St Gertrudes, almost surreal.
I personally felt there was plenty of communication on road closers. All the information I got was posted.
Great job to all those involved.
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It's nice to hear that other residents had such a good experience. I did not. The firemen and their trucks began to line our small side street by 4 PM, and they didn't pull out until 7:50. This left almost 4 hours for the firemen to stand around and clog the streets and do nothing but drink beer. Anyone who drinks beer knows that 4 hours worth of consumed beer has to come back out. Despite the port-a-potties on Bayville Ave., this occurred IN THE STREET. When I took a walk along the Creek at 6 PM, one fireman was stepping up on the road off the beach, buckling his pants as if he had just used our beach as a toilet. The "inconvenience" of being trapped in town for a number of hours was bad enough; being under siege in our own neighborhood was horrible. I think the entire plan was ill-conceived. There are many other places this could have taken place with less disruption to half a village.
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I agree with you Sara. Although my last post I was accused of using "fuzzy math hyperbole BS" I still believe this should have been done somewhere else. What I was trying to say was that the acreage used in the "units game" was of FREE & OPEN land where NOBODY lives. The people who ran the parade got very lucky Saturday due to the fact that nobody had to be rushed out of Bayville to the hospital. This was a huge lawsuit waiting to happen. I feel bad for the working people in Bayville who don't have time to post on this blog that either missed work or had to leave work early to make it home on time to find a fireman urinating on their property. Not everybody has weekends off to relax in Bayville or Yellowstone! BTW, I lost an uncle in 9/11 who was a firefighter from Brooklyn and have nothing but repect for ALL firefighters and any member of a uniformed service.
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Did you know that the best looking Bar in Bayville, is in the Firehouse!!! And does Bayville have such a small water rescue boat but such a large water tanker?
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You would not believe how many people fear publicly criticizing the Bayville Fire Department. This parade was almost an act of terrorism.
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I must commend everyone involved in organizing last weekend's parade. I was very impressed with everything. The firemen and women that lined Mountain Ave were a great group of people. I offered the use of my bathroom to them, so they would not have to use a bush or beach. A little cooperation goes a long way, considering what the Fire Departments do for us.
Congratulation to the organizers and participants. It was a very enjoyable evening.
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Joe Nobody says:
"This parade was almost an act of terrorism"
Joe, please explain your thoughts with us.
Jeff S
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Perhaps I will explain my thoughts to you, Mr. Silver. But please tell me how you define the words "terrorism" and "almost."
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I think that it's safe to assume that most people today (post 9/11)would define terrorism as: "the unlawful use of -- or threatened use of -- force or violence against individuals or property to coerce or intimidate governments or societies, often to achieve political, religious, or ideological objectives."
Almost= pretty close too doing something
JS
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Here are some thoughts for you, Mr. Silver. Did anyone planning this parade for the last two years ONCE consider the possibility of terrorism that day? I have not read anything on this blog regarding this issue until now. What if al-Qaeda decided to launch a terrorist attack in Nassau County because of the parade? Once all the fire trucks had arrived, and the parade began, all they had to do was blow up--or disable--the bridge on Shore Rd. and somehow find a way to block off Bayville Rd. Then, if you really want to get nightmarish, someone could've flown a dust cropper over the area and wiped out everyone in Bayville AND Centre Island at that moment. Just about every fire department in Nassau County would have been debilitated because of the loss of some of their members and equipment. And then, what if al-Qaeda also decided to use that moment to launch other attacks in Nassau County, like blowing up malls, etc.? As I stated before, every fire department in the area would have been debilitated, which would've caused other fire departments in the five boroughs and Suffolk County to send their resources, thus weakening their own forces.
Obviously nothing like this happened, and this scenario may sound farfetched to some people now, but this is the post 9/11 world that we're living in, as you stated in your definition of "terrorism." And I do not believe that firefighters are terrorists by any definition. However, this parade did terrify many people in Bayville before they closed the roads for hours, so many of them just left; the people who did remain can relate their own experiences. I was forced to remain in Bayville because I didn't know about the parade beforehand, and I only found out about it after they closed Bayville Ave. Even though there was plenty of time for me to drive west on Bayville Ave. before the parade began, I was refused. When I told an auxiliary policeman that I didn't have my insulin with me I was virtually ignored. He was a moron. So, I stayed put, and I watched the parade, and I survived, but as I did watch it I thought of all the brave volunteers who were so badly served that day because so many of them were gathered in a limited region that could've very easily have turned into a disaster area.
I don't believe this parade was an act of terrorism, but I do believe it was a terrible idea. It was misconceived, impractical, and dangerous for the entire area. They should have just thrown a beach party for the gentleman being honored that day. More people probably would have gone to that than the people who actually stayed to watch the parade.
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Joe,
The FD sent a letter to every home owner weeks ago. The Village used their autmated phone system on Thursday before the parade to notify the public. A few local stores had signs of closures due to the parade.
I am not sure , but I believe the parade was mentioned in local papers as well.
It was an inconvience for some. But what Cathy said was true. Being neighborly goes a long way. On the way to a last minute food store,I picked up a couple looking for their fire truck and drove them around town lookling for it with them. We had some nice conversation and they found their meeting spot.
I think you missed the whole point of this parade. It does not happen every year, nor did it tie up the VIllage for as long as it proposed to.
IF the President streets have something to complain about for their inconvience, they should take it up with the officers of the PIne Island Assoc. They made the arrangements with the FD.
The FD was clear on where and who would be stageing on their streets.
Stop crying foul, life is too short and it was a fun event for all who went without anger.
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well I guess they should stop the Boston & NYC marathons. stop all sporting events, we might be attached by terrorists.
as far as bayville being closed down for hours. Do you not have a memorial day parade every year? Don't they have a Triatholon in oyster bay and close the road for 5 hours, I think this is the 17th year. If terrorists wanted to crop dust somethng, shea stadium or yankee stadium would have a bigger impact. Knock it off already they had it, it went well the town is cleaner than it was before the parade and no acts of terrorism were seen.
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To the people of Bayville,
As a 30 year volunteer fireman from the south shore. I have to commend the Men and Women of Bayville. Not just the fire department who by the way did a great job in planning the event. The parade was one of the best that I have been to in all my 30 years.
The people and spectators on the side of the road watching us were a complement to the village of Bayville. They made it a festive time. You are the ones that made it worth while coming out to Bayville in the heat and marching on behalf of your department.
As for some of the problems that some people may have encountered (the bathroom issue). You are right that may have happened. Some people cannot control themselves. Not all fireman are like that and some departments carry porta poties.
I have marched in parades where the town put out the blue porta poties in the staging area for the people to use. In the past some of the neighbors have even offered the use of their bathrooms (we don’t ask this of them).
As for terrorism, if we all look at the event as a possible terror hit then we would become a shut in nation. No one goes outside. I for one after 9/11 decided not to stop living my life because that is what they want.
The whole event was fantastic. Just sorry for the inconvenience to some people this may have caused.
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Has someone forbidden the members of the Bayville Fire Company from responding?
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We are not forbidden to respond, we are not willing to get into a debate either. We used this forun to address questions and concerns regarding the event and I think we have done that. We further went on to thank the community as a whole for their hospitality and contribution to the success of the affair. We understand there are those that aren't happy about the days events as well as understand there are those that were thrilled with way things turned out. I'm not sure what warrants an official response?
Is there anything in particular you would want us to respond to?
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Firemen not willing to get into a debate? I never thought I'd live to see the day.
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Not even Lisa McLoughlin got into this one.
Oh, no. Now I've gone too far.
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LOL! Gosh, Irish, if you wanted my opinion that bad, all you had to do was ask.
I had no problem with the parade. There was plenty of advanced notice about the road closing, I got whatever supplies I needed, and had a nice relaxing evening at home, occasionally watching down the block to see them go past. Every bagpipe band sounded exactly the same, but I think it was a nice event honoring our local Mr. Broccola, and don't know what all the brew ha ha is about.
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That was a calm, cool, collected, rather charming response to a recent local controversy. Well done.
Yes...calm, cool and collected....
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The idea that terrorists would strike Bayville, Long Island is as preposterous as the idea of having a parade that shuts down the village of Bayville. There are no "soft targets" here and there is nothing here of the american infrastucture for them to attack....unless they recently moved Wall Street to Mountain Ave and I didn't hear about it.
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You would think the blogmaster would take down or close a FOUR YEAR OLD THREAD!
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Life without love is like a tree without blossom and fruit.
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In the course of my life, I have often had to eat my words, and I must confess that I have always found it a wholesome diet.
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A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.
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Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
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