Every town or village has a heart,the center where much of the activity takes place. Usually the heart has been there since its earliest days. In Massapequa Park that  heart is Park Boulevard. It has been in existence since the village was incorporated  in the late 1920's.
It was in the 20's that Park Boulevard was extended and the area really started to blossom. Spend a day on Park Boulevard and the first thing that is noticed is that many of the businesses have been present for decades.
The oldest business is Sam's Hairstylist - now known as Sam's Barber Shop. They can even trace their opening to a specific day more than 58 years ago, December 7th, 1951. The original owner died in 1998, but passed along the history of Park Boulevard to the current owner, "Jack the Barber,"  aka Jack Lak. Back in 1951 the area behind the stores on both sides of Park Boulevard were all wooded. You can see a photograph in Jack's store depicting those days. The woods are long gone now, replaced by parking lots and other businesses.
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DiMonda Bakery has also been around almost a half century - 46 years to be exact. We met Ron Zoeller enjoying some of the bakery's delicacies in their outside seating area. A former 31- year resident of Massapequa, Zoeller makes it a point to stop by Park Boulevard when in the area. He "likes the atmosphere" and that the area has "maintained the small town Americana feel" when other places haven't.
Tim's Florist has 41 years of business under their belt. Owned by Gail Klubnick, the small town nature of Massapequa Park has kept them very close to the community. In the storefront window is a "Hometown Heros" wall. It shows local residents who lost their lives in 9/11 and others who have served bravely in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many of these individuals attended Massapequa High School.
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Many other businesses have an enduring legacy on Park Boulevard. The Park Liquors, Woody's Village Saloon are examples of this commitment to the community and to Park Boulevard. These businesses survive and thrive because on any given day you'll find business owners and customers, business people and students enjoying all that Park Boulevard offers.  Forget the big superstores...stop by Park Boulevard any day or night of the week and you'll see why after all these years it is still the "heart" of Massapequa Park.
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