CITY ISLAND STREET FESTIVAL

Submitted by ub on

The City Island Chamber of Commerce will be hosting another street fair along City Island avenue this weekend. There are absolutely no manufactured, or used articles allowed to be displayed and sold because this is not a flea market.

The chamber has invited small businesses on City Island, as well as local artists to participate. The fair will be held on Sept. 21st and 22nd.

The event runs from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, with set up beginning around 10:00 am each day.

Local officials say they are looking forward to another successful event on City Island this coming weekend.

City Island was first established as an English settlement in 1685. The English crown granted Thomas Pell ownership of the island and parts of Westchester County, which lasted until 1749, when ownership passed to other individuals.

During the 1700s, many of the island’s residents were either oystermen or Hellgate pilots who helped navigate ships down the East River to New York Harbor.

Ideally situated to service schooners traveling between New York and points north and south, the island became an important shipbuilding and yachting center during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The two world wars brought about a conversion from yacht building to the construction of submarine chasers, tugboats, Vosper-style P.T. boats, landing craft, and minesweepers for the United States government.

After World War II, yachting returned, and with it, the building of 12-meter sloops that successfully defended the America’s Cup. Today, the presence of yacht clubs, sailing schools, marinas, sailmakers, fishing and lobster boats, as well as marine supply and repair shops, reflect City Island’s role as a nautical community.