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Friday, December 12, 2025
Vol. 2, No. 50
THE GATEWAY TO NASSAU COUNTY SERVING FLORAL PARK, BELLEROSE AND STEWART MANOR
Christmas Tree Lighting A Firetruck, a Pizza Oven, and a Village’s Heart BY RIKKI MASSAND
Floral Park has its very own “top chef” sharing his gifts of creativity, community spirit and a wood-fired oven that turns heads wherever it goes. Village resident Zef Noci has become an energetic, much-loved presence in town with his mobile catering venture, Zef’s Pizza Firetruck. Pizza has long been one of Noci’s passions, and for years he baked pies at home. Five years ago, for his birthday, his family finally got him the pizza oven he’d always wanted. “I started making pizza and what a game-changer for Neopolitan style to be cooked at 900 degrees,” he recalled. What began as a backyard hobby — selling roughly 40 pies every Friday on the west end of Floral Park — quickly evolved as word spread. “I started passing around flyers because I wanted to build some type of clientele and awareness of Zef’s Pizza Firetruck. Word got out and I started getting busier and busier.” Soon, the backyard days were behind him. Today, Zef’s Firetruck is a staple at major community events. At the Belmont Festival, he enjoyed a prime spot on Tulip Avenue near the Floral Park Diner and Jack Duggan’s.
Seizing the Market
The Christmas tree, alight with beautiful colors. On Friday, December 5, the Village of Floral Park Annual Christmas Tree Lighting and Festival took place at Memorial Park. The events was spon-
sored by the Floral Park Junior Woman’s Club and the Floral Park Chamber of Commerce. See page 1
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
Noci said friends and neighbors urged him to turn his talent into a business. “I made some for the entire block and everyone was encouraging me, they said I had to do something with my pizza-making ability. Some people suggested getting a food truck, trailer or a cart. When I talked to a few people who do that, they told me whatever you do Zef, you gotta be memorable. If you are going
to do it and you get to do private parties, you have to make it memorable,” Noci explained. That advice sparked the idea that set his business apart: making pizza onboard a 1985 American LaFrance fire truck, retired from the West Seneca Fire Department near Buffalo. He purchased the dark-red truck from a Connecticut seller who happened to be a fabricator. “He asked what I wanted to do with this truck and I told him, then he offered to do it for me – so he modified and fabricated it, and that’s all she wrote,” Noci said. The truck’s former equipment compartments now store food supplies, toppings and ingredients, complete with a built-in refrigerator. Its front end, grill and cabin resemble a face — a look that draws frequent honks, waves and photo requests. “It looks like characters in the cartoon movie ‘Cars’ – that really appealed to me,” Noci said. “Its headlights look like eyes. I was even thinking of getting a windshield visor that looks like two big eyes…especially for kids’ parties.” This year, he added a second truck to expand the business. It is about 80% outfitted and already in service. In peak season — spring through early fall — both trucks run simultaneously, often serving hundreds at double-booked events. He is also considering entering the original truck in local parades, including Garden City’s Easter Car Parade.
Major media recognition
The firetruck has brought Noci to prestigious parties, charitable events and military ceremonies. On Veterans Day, November 11, he served veterans See page 14
Feeding the birds at Centennial Gdns PAGE 12 Student advisory council first meeting PAGE 4