Allan Appel Photo
David Weinreb, Lt. Mark O’Neill, and local kids Jael Baerga, Emmanuel Cortina, and Keniel Baerga.
Fair Haven’s new District Manager Sgt. Michael Fumiatti inherited a symbolic tool from his predecessor Lt. David Zannelli, and began scooping away raspberry blue ices to all the kids lined up with their plates already full of dogs, chips, and burgers.
Other kids got a look-see inside the police department’s SWAT vehicle.
Seventh-grader Roseann Baerga got a hug and a smile from her Board of Ed-provided dental hygienist. Her brother Jael said he loves living in Fair Haven, where people speak both Spanish and English, the teachers are nice, and the cops are cool.
Sgt. Fumiatti perfecting his scoop.
That was the festive scene Thursday late afternoon as hundreds gathered on the grassy field behind the Columbus Family Academy School on Grand at Blatchley for the 12th — or maybe the 13th; not even the old-timers were sure — Fair Haven Community picnic, sponsored by the Fair Haven Community Management Team (FHCMT).
Longtime volunteers like Robert Roberts and George Carranzo had fired up the grills and were lining up the dogs and burgers, contributed by C‑Town and Super Marqueta, in three sizzling rows of a dozen each.
FHCMT Co-chair Michelle Lee Rodriguez said, “Our goal is to make the community happy — a day of happiness at the end of summer.”
And so they did.
As kids arrived on their bikes or the little ones in strollers, community groups like the Fair Haven Community Health Center (FHCHC) and the Mary Wade Home set up their booths.
Carranzoand Roberts tending to the main course.
FHCHC Outreach Educator Carmen Camacho distributed washed out yogurt cups that had been filled with rich soil, along with a packet of marigold seeds to each family. The gift was occasioned by the month’s theme from the National Health Center Association: Be rooted in your community, she explained.
Nearby, Courtney Green and Annette Nasiadka of Fair Haven Dental were showing the kids the teeth of a stuffed toy snake named Sammy.
A private group, Fair Haven Dental is contracted by the Board of Ed to provide cleaning, sealants, and other dental services to kids at the Fair Haven School, John Martinez, and the Clinton Avenue School.
Who knew a serpent could have such handsome choppers?
Student Roseann Baerga, with Fair Haven Dental’s Green (at right) and Nasiadka, and Sammy the Snake.
When East Shore District Manager Lt. Jason Rentkowicz and Lt. John Healy drove the police SWAT vehicle into the parking lot adjacent to the field, all the kids — well, mainly the boys — abandoned the dental table and tore over for a tour of the inside of the vehicle.
Meanwhile, older folks listened to the Latino beats provided by the DJ, Brian Sams, and enjoyed their early evening dinner at chairs and tables set up beneath two large tents that had been set up in the middle of the field.
Among the stalwart community activists and volunteers and members of the FHCMT who organized the event this year, as in years past, were Elm City Montessori School teacher David Weinreb, the Department of Public Works’ Robert Roberts, Maryann Moran, Sally Esposito, Susan Regan, Grand Apizza’s George Carranzo, LCI Specialist Lori Lopez, Cindy Calvert, and Police Commissioner Kevin Diaz.
New Haven should strive to keep officer Fumiatti, he is a fantastic, caring member of the force!