2024 People of the Year: Kevin Davis and Tom Najdzion
In August, a grand and cherished tradition returned to Polish Town after a five-year hiatus. For decades, the Polish Town Street Fair and Festival has celebrated a community whose roots in Riverhead stretch back to the dawn of the 20th century.
“This is Polish Town, USA,” said Town Councilwoman Joann Waski, who ran a booth selling beer at the fair for years. “It’s kind of like St. Patrick’s Day — everybody’s Polish for the Polish Town Fair. And then after the fair, there’s dancing, and it turns into something even greater, where Polish Hall brings a Polish band in and everybody comes out and does the polka.”
The resumption of the tradition last summer is in large part thanks to the hard work of two community leaders: Polish Town Civic Association president Kevin Davis and Tom Najdzion, president of the Riverhead Polish Independent Club, which runs Polish Hall at the corner of Marcy Avenue and Pulaski Street.
For years, Mr. Davis’ mother, Katherine “Kay” Davis, was president of the civic association and the point person for organizing the Polish Town Fair each summer.
“When she passed away [in 2022], the civic kind of fell apart,” Ms. Waski said. “So Kevin, along with his sister, Karen, and other members of the community came together and put the civic back together … with a whole new board. But several years went by with them not being able to have [the fair], and Polish Hall stepped in and did their thing. Two years ago, [RPIC] expanded it to go down to Pulaski Street, and they slowly started to build it back. Then Tom and Kevin joined together this year and brought it back to what it was, and they did a great job.”
She described Mr. Davis as a true friend to many.
“He’s a wonderful person,” said Ms. Waski, whose sister-in-law, Karen Waski, is Mr. Davis’ sister. “He is always available. Whenever you need something, you know that you can call Kevin and he’ll be right there to help you. His wife is a retired Riverhead police officer and they’re great members of the community.”
In the early 1900s, the 15-block Polish Town neighborhood was settled by Polish immigrant fleeing religious persecution. Mostly agricultural workers, the new Americans were drawn to the North Fork’s verdant landscape and many farms.
Some of the early immigrants came together to form a Polish fraternity, “Towarzystwo Polskie Rzymsko – Katolickie Bratnies Pomocy pod Opieka Sw. Izydora, Patrona Rolnikow,” or “The Polish Roman Catholic Society of Fraternal Assistance under the Patronage of St. Isidore, The Patron of Farmers,” according to Riverhead’s town website. In 1906, they build St. Isidore’s, the oldest Polish Roman Catholic church on Long Island. Across the street, Polish Hall was incorporated in 1907, and then rebuilt in 1925 following a fire.
“The modest homes in Polish Town were made of clapboard, and the shops were one story buildings where Polish was spoken,” according to town historians. “You could shop for clothes, food and anything else you needed without speaking a word of English.”
In 1929, Cemetery Street was renamed Pulaski Street, in honor of General Casimir Pulaski, who died in 1779 fighting for American independence during the Revolutionary War.
Lisa Dabrowski, host of “Polka Time” on WRIV 1390, said Mr. Najdzion puts his heart into everything he does.
“As past-president of the Riverhead Polish Hall’s Ladies Auxiliary and as a former member of its board of directors, I’ve seen, first-hand, the countless hours and the incredible efforts of both Tom and — I do have to say, right alongside him — his wife, Keri, and the positive contributions they’ve made to the community,” said Ms. Dabrowski. “Whether it’s events and fundraisers held at Polish Hall, or his involvement with local veterans’ organizations, himself being a veteran, Tom’s heart is in it. You can see he truly cares and wants to get it right.”
Diane Tucci agreed that community service is a central part of Mr. Najdzion’s life.
“Tom volunteers in a lot of different organizations. So it’s not just Polish Hall, where he’s the president, but he’s also the commander at the VFW in Riverhead. He serves on multiple volunteer committees for the town of Riverhead, which includes the Veterans Advisory Committee and the Anti Bias Task Force,” said Ms. Tucci, who has worked on marketing for Polish Hall. “The idea is to really bring back more Polish heritage and having a thriving, vibrant place for the community to gather. Having that vision for advancing Polish Hall and making sure it survives is so important.”
Among the new initiatives Mr. Najdzion and his wife Keri are spearheading is live music on Saturday nights in the basement bar and bowling alley, which has been rebranded “Ziggy’s Place,” in honor of Zbigniew “Ziggy” Wilinski, the longtime Polish Hall president who passed away in 2021.
“From my point of view, seeing how dedicated he is to Polish Hall, how he spends countless hours there — meeting with people, running events, cleaning up afterwards and always fixing things — he’s definitely stepped into Ziggy’s shoes.”
For all these reasons, Mr. Davis and Mr. Najdzion are The Riverhead News-Review’s 2024 People of the Year.
Previous Winners
2023: John McAuliff
2022: The Rev. Bohdan Hedz
2021: Anthony Harris
2020: Dr. Lawrence Walser
2019: Det. Brian Simonsen
2018: The Students of Mercy High School
2017: Byron Perez
2016: Tijuana Fulford
2015: Steve Beal, Kevin Burgess, Anthony Chiaramonte and J.R. Renten
2014: The Shoreham-Wading River football team
2013: Michael Hubbard
2012: Denise Lucas
2011: Laurie Nigro, Amy Davidson
2010: Linda Hobson
2009: Chris Kempner
2008: Riverhead Blue Waves
2007: Maureen’s Haven
2006: Sister Margaret Smyth
2005: Alan Shields
2004: Phil Cardinale
2003: Vince Tria
2002: Bryan Tressler
2001: Annie Jackson
2000: Judy Young
1999: Members of the First Congregational Church
1998: Eileen Miller
1997: Vinny Villella
1996: Vic Prusinowski
1995: Pat Stark
1994: Sonny Okula, Jim Kane
1993: Jack Van de Wetering
1992: Bobby Goodale
1991: Joe Janoski
1990: Robert Tooker
1989: Jim & Connie Lull
1988: Jesse Goodale
