$1
Friday, October 24, 2025
Vol. 2, No. 43
THE GATEWAY TO NASSAU COUNTY SERVING FLORAL PARK, BELLEROSE AND STEWART MANOR
Wheels of Compassion at the Belmont Racetrack
Rich Burgess, Floral Park Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald, and Jim Zabatta check out one of the bikes. SUBMITTED BY THE ROTARY CLUB OF FLORAL PARK - BELLEROSE At Belmont Racetrack, there’s a team of quiet heroes: the caretakers who make sure the horses are well-fed, groomed, and ready for race day. Most people never see
them, but they cover a ton of ground every day just to keep things running. So we thought, why not help make that a little easier? The Rotary Club of Floral Park-Bellerose has started collecting old bikes, giving them a second life, and putting them in the hands of these
hardworking folks. It’s a small gesture, but one we hope shows just how much the community appreciates everything they do.
A guided tour behind the scenes
On October 9th, members of the Rotary Club of Floral See page 14
The Floral Park Villager Published every Friday by Litmor Publishing Corp. Telephone 516-931-0012 Postmaster: Send Address Change to: The Floral Park Villager, 821 Franklin Ave., Suite 208 Garden City, N.Y. 11530 • Meg Norris, Publisher
Rivers Café brews five years of friendship BY RIKKI MASSAND Dalila Abigail Rivera is celebrating five years since opening her cozy Floral Park café during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic — and five years of the warm embrace that the village and Nassau County have given her in return. Her business, Rivers Café USA, at 304 Jericho Turnpike, carries packaged coffee from Brazil, Honduras, and El Salvador. Rivera, the friendly face behind the counter, personally prepares an array of specialty drinks — from iced coffees and espressos to tea lattes. The brand began with two signature blends, Original and Yellow Honey, and has since expanded. Today’s shelves feature a “Traditional Blend” Medium-Dark Roast with notes of brown sugar, milk chocolate, and orange. Rivera moved to the United States as a young teen “to a land of strangers.” Now, with her husband and business partner Gilberto Lopez, she owns and operates the thriving café. Every day, she commutes from her home in Mastic Beach to Floral Park — often staying late after closing time. “We got married in 2019 and decided to start a business, and opening up during the pandemic in July of 2020 was tremendously challenging. Back then everything was supposed to be closed, so we had a hard time
with about a 10-month delay for opening. This is our first business so we didn’t even know what we were doing, but the thing is I wanted to have a small place. Everywhere in Suffolk, all the storefronts near my home, were very big locations, and I preferred something with a customer-oriented vibe where I can promote my father’s coffee blends from El Salvador,” Rivera noted.
Community Roots and Green Growth
Inside Rivers Café, the walls are adorned with art and a thriving Monstera plant named Monty that stretches happily toward the ceiling. Rivera hopes her business continues to grow as strongly as Monty’s roots. “I believe If I had opened my business literally anywhere else, the success would not have worked in the way it has. This community has something special, and people feel closer. I’m from El Salvador where we know and help out our neighbors, we cook and share food with each other. This place brings me back to memories of my childhood where people used to truly be your neighbor – there’s harmony in living with and surrounded by your neighbors, and if something happens to someone they all come together,” she commentSee page 12
Last 'Weedout' of the year Nov. 1st PAGE 3 Come walk with 'Mary's Team' PAGE 4