File Photo
Last week, the Balloonatic crafted a large set of balloon rosary beads and displayed them for all to see on his Howard Beach lawn.
By Michael V. Cusenza
“I just try to spread joy.”
Those simple, heartfelt words shine through all of Nick “the Balloonatic” Rotondo’s myriad latex creations over the past 30 years. However, it’s his most-recent ingenious innovations that have Howard Beach—and the world—singing his praises.
Last week, Rotondo crafted a large set of balloon rosary beads and displayed them for all to see on his lawn.
“I said: This is for my neighborhood, to come by and say a quick prayer,” the Balloonatic told The Forum on Wednesday.
Forum Photo by Patricia Adams
The Forum, your community newspaper of record, commissioned the one and only Nick “The Balloonatic” Rotondo to deliver its Easter 2020 message.
That gesture has turned into a worldwide phenomenon. Rotondo estimates that the rosary picture has been tagged and shared hundreds of times across all social media platforms. A woman drove all the way from the Bronx to Howard Beach to pick up a set of rosaries that Rotondo had made for her. She tried to pay him, but as Rotondo told The Forum, “I don’t want to take anything these days.”
Well, the grateful customer gently placed her beloved latext rosary beads in the backseat of her Escalade, and two minutes later, returned to Rotondo’s front door.
“With toilet paper and hand sanitizer!” Nick recounted with an infectious laugh.
Rotondo has actually been fashioning crazy hats, animals, and America’s favorite characters out of balloons with lightning speed since he was a little kid in Queens. He recalled one day when he was 7 years old and living in Long Island City. His pet gerbil had just died, so Rotondo’s dad took a bummed-out Nick’s hand and ventured into Manhattan. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus just happened to be in town, playing at Madison Square Garden. A clown had parked himself out in front of the World’s Most Famous Arena, quickly twisting up balloon animals and handing them out, free of charge, to all the children that had gathered around him.
“The rest is history,” Rotondo said with that signature smile.
