Every year, the police booth on Bridge Street in downtown Glen Cove receives a holiday makeover from the Glen Cove Downtown Business Improvement District. This year, however, the seasonal change includes original artwork from students in Glen Cove High School’s Art Club.
On Nov. 23, the students spent the morning painting the windows of the police booth as the first step in its transformation into a Gingerbread House for the holiday season. Under the direction of club advisor LeeAnn Palazzo, the students painted candy canes, wreaths, snowflakes and gingerbread people on the windows.
“The Art Club is honored to be a part of the window painting project downtown as students strive to earn hours to be inducted into the National Art Honor Society,” Palazzo said. “We look forward to other opportunities to get involved in the community through creating art.”
This project is the first in a new collaboration between the school district and the Glen Cove Downtown Business Improvement District. Patricia Holman, executive director of the Glen Cove Downtown BID, said she plans to utilize the students’ talent in a series of seasonal transformations of the police booth.
“The police booth is a visible building in the center of downtown and is a prime spot for spreading holiday messages all year round,” Holman said. “We decorate the windows every season, and I thought this would be a good way to showcase the talents of the high school students.”
This group of Art Club students are pending membership into the National Art Honor Society, a nationally recognized and prestigious society for Visual Arts students, according to Lawrence Nadel, Coordinator of Fine and Performing Arts at Glen Cove High School.
“Our Glen Cove High School students were given the phenomenal opportunity of working with our Glen Cove community through the Glen Cove Downtown Business Improvement District,” Nadel said. “This winter, our students were asked to put their visual arts skills to the test by decorating the police booth windows in downtown Glen Cove. In addition, students were exposed to new arts materials and resources graciously donated by the BID. Our students will be able to understand cultural dimensions and contributions in the visual arts by brainstorming creative ideas for their own unique Gingerbread House. We are grateful to Ms. LeeAnn Palazzo, their advisor and arts mentor, who supports them in these community-based and artistic endeavors.”
On the day of the project, the weather was mild and sunny. Students said they enjoyed putting their creative skills to use and having the opportunity to put their creative mark on a visible part of downtown. The Art Club students involved in the project were Cindy Galo, Phoebe George, Natalia Monsale, Nyann Petit, Phoebe Pinder, Sofia Sanchez, William Santamaria and Aurora Seery.
“I’m extremely grateful that the art honor society has been given opportunities like this to make art,” said high school junior Phoebe George. “A lot of other schools don’t support the arts like Glen Cove does, and it’s great to get hands-on experience.”
“I am very excited that the BID chose to team up with the talented kids of our school district to get our downtown ready for the holiday season,” said Councilwoman Danielle Fugazy Scagliola, a member of the BID Board of Directors. “It’s a win-win to be able to showcase our kids while making our downtown more attractive. I am confident it will look terrific.”
In addition to the painted windows, the police booth will be decorated with items purchased through the BID’s capital improvements fund, with Joseph M. Basile Electric putting the lights on the booth and securing the decorations. The end result will be a Gingerbread House in the middle of downtown.
