East Williston Holds Annual Yard Sale Day

It's the time of year for cleaning out dusty old garages and attics, when people can sell their old junk on their lawn and make a buck or two.  But, in one Long Island village, if you didn't have your yard sale on Saturday, you're out of luck.

Residents of East Williston could never have yard sales unless they were selling their house.  Officials feared it would litter the neighborhood with hand-written signs and bring unwanted traffic to the area.  That changed four years ago, when the village decided to allow yard sales - but only one day a year.  Almost 70 homes participated on Saturday, drawing shoppers from all over Long Island.

Gene Popowytsch is a homeowner in East Williston.  This was his third year hosting a yard sale, and he said turnout has been better than expected. 

"We had people showing up already at 8:30, even though officially we don't start until 9, and I was already selling things well before 9 o'clock," Popowytsch said.

Stacey Rothstein is an avid tag saler from Great Neck, and she said she was thrilled about the deals she found. 

"From this woman here I got a beautiful Ann Klein suit.  She said she wore it once.  I paid $20," Rothstein said.

The village-wide yard sale day is all thanks to Caroline DeBenedittis, who advocated for the rule change.  She organizes the event every year, and hosts a sale of her own.  Her only regret is not being able to go to her neighbor's sales. 

"I've no one to stand guard out here!  Hopefully, later on I will.  When everyone's closing up I'll get really good deals," DeBenedittis said.

Any items that go unsold by the end of the day were picked up by donation trucks from the Lupus Organization.