Main Street Merchants Consider A Spring Port Night Out

The Re-Imagining Main Street Committee of Port Washington met with Main Street merchants in an open forum at the to evaluate December's Port Night Out. Next on the agenda is a plan for a similar event in the springtime. Merchants gave their feedback on Port Night Out, and discussed ideas to improve the event and its marketing.

According to Mindy Germain, executive director of Residents for a More Beautiful Port Washington, Port Night Out was held to "create a vibrancy on Main Street."

"How do you turn a few blocks into a destination? We showed all the merchants different things going on around the country and together we brainstormed the idea for Port Night Out," Germain said. Port Night Out was held on two weeknights in December, and responses from both the community and merchants were overwhelmingly positive, she said.

"There was something in the air," said Mariann Dalimonte, Director of Development for Residents for a More Beautiful Port Washington. "Some second-generation residents of Port Washington walked up and down Main Street and were like, 'I've never been in half of these stores.' So that was really nice for them to experience their town."

Germain started out Tuesday's meeting evaluating December's Port Night Out and reading feedback from the merchant survey. The majority of merchants said they were willing to do a similar event, and the committee introduced plans to hold a Port Night Out at other times of the year. One idea was to hold the event when it could tie in with other happenings in Port Washington, including April's Clean Green, June's Harborfest and the inaugural Gold Coast International Film Festival, and October's Pride in Port.

Merchants welcomed the idea of another Port Night Out, especially for one in the spring when the weather is warm and the daylight hours are long.

"I think daylight is a much better time to this kind of stuff," said Joan Smith, owner of . "Not only that, but with the light, you have more time. And in the summer or the spring, I think that makes more sense. You don't have to close the doors because you're freezing."

During the meeting's open forum, merchants offered suggestions to improve the next Port Night Out. They would like to see more Main Street trolley stops located closer to businesses, and put less emphasis on family and children when advertising, as it did not benefit stores that are not child or family-oriented. 

Allan Fishkind, also of Joan Smith's Flowers, suggested an emphasis on retail as opposed to services on Main Street. "I think the people that live in this area would love to have it as a shopping destination rather than have to go out to the Miracle Mile." He added the committee could look into attracting more retailers to set up shop in Port Washington.

A lot of time was spent discussing marketing, and how the committee could advertise better in order to attract "outside" people who do not live in Port Washington. Ideas discussed included a direct-mail marketing campaign, distributing fliers at local schools, and even using social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

"We need to differentiate ourselves from any other village," said Glenn Bradford, owner of . "Up and down Main Street, we have very special retailers. Whatever you want to have on Main Street, it's here." Bradford also introduced the idea of on-site digital media to advertise. Already being used in other communities on the Island such as Roslyn and Syosset, the program would put digital screens in businesses, featuring scrolling advertisements.

By the end of the meeting, it was decided a Spring Fling would take place on the evening of April 30, giving people time to refresh after the morning's Clean Green. Shops also plan to stay open later on May 5, the following Thursday. Both dates fall right before Mother's Day, which the committee hopes will attract people. If the events are successful, the committee said they will consider similar events later on in the year.