NYC’s failure to protect Columbus Circle for the public
Rich, poor or middle class, if you live in Manhattan, you depend on public parks for recreation. One sign that Gotham is failing at yet another task of keeping people with resources in the city: Columbus Circle Park has been barricaded to visitors for three hot months, and city officials can’t agree on who’s to blame. For New Yorkers who stuck it o...
Italian American Crime Fighter Michael Fiaschetti 1882-1960
A native of central Italy (about 50 miles east of Rome), Fiaschetti arrived in the U.S. about 1895. The son of a bandleader, Fiaschetti was raised in a musical home in North Adams, Massachusetts. As a child, he saw music as his destiny. But, as a 14-year-old in 1900, he was intrigued by a poster promising a $500 reward for information on an Italian...
‘Staff Error’ Led to Padlock on Bronx Home to Contested Columbus Statue, Says Parks Dept.
The city Department of Parks and Recreation says that “staff error” led to the repeated padlocking of a green space in the Little Italy section of The Bronx where petition-signers are demanding the city remove a statue of Christopher Columbus. That statue has been assigned a police guard, the Norwood News reported earlier this month, with a two-per...
Savoy Foundation Grants $130,000 to New York Foundling’s Summer Camp Program During COVID Crisis
During the COVID Crisis, The American Foundation of Savoy Orders (Savoy Foundation), in keeping with its “Chivalry for Children’s Causes™” mission, granted $130,000, raised through its 2019 “Ballo di Savoia” Gala in New York for The New York Foundling’s Summer Camp Program for foster care children. The Savoy Foundation contribution will fund $50,00...
Progress Update: Centro Culturale Italiano
Former Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello, who sits on the the board of North Buffalo’s (coming soon) Centro Culturale Italiano (CCI), has compiled an update on a number of recent advancements pertaining to the project. Not only have there been a number of significant donations to the cause, but work has been steadily progressing at the culturally sign...
An American hero: Proud 94-year-old WWII veteran officially sworn in as a U.S. citizen
He had to wait more than 80 years for it, but proud World War II veteran Isidore (Teddy) Bertone -- just weeks shy of his 95th birthday -- got the gift of his lifetime Tuesday: He was officially sworn in as a citizen of the United States. The brief formal ceremony, which took place in the backyard of his daughter’s home in Richmond, moved Bertone -...
La scomparsa di George Pavia, influente avvocato di New York con l’Italia nel cuore
A 92 anni è scomparso George M. Pavia, uno dei più importanti avvocati di New York, fondatore e Senior Partner dello storico studio legale che porta il suo nome. Pavia è venuto a mancare mercoledì scorso nella sua casa di Manhattan. Con Pavia & Harcourt LLP, per più di 70 anni, George Pavia ha rappresentato aziende ed imprenditori italiani di spicc...
Queens woman celebrates 100th birthday at the beach
Getting old is usually no day at the beach - but don't tell that to Vincentia D'Amato Becker, who goes by 'Toots.' She celebrated her 100th birthday on Saturday on the sand with her family near her home in Rockaway, Queens. Becker has five children, 14 grandchildren and so far, three great-grandkids. Her family began the day by showing up on her do...
The Real Boys of Summer
The year was 1963… It is August. At approximately 8:30 a.m., a great rush took place out the doors of my neighborhood in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It’s midsummer and another day has begun. One by one we met, whether it was in front of my house (the only attached house with a 1/2 as part of the address) or another friend’s house. The group would numbe...
Christopher Caputo installed as president of Columbian Lawyers Association
The Columbian Lawyers Association of Brooklyn couldn’t host its annual dinner-dance this past June, so instead it honored its outgoing president and installed a new one during a Zoom meeting on Thursday night in appropriate 2020 fashion. “I want this to have a real El Caribe feel to it,” said Steven Bamundo, a past president and the association’s c...
Columbus Citizens Foundation, organizer of New York City’s Columbus Day Parade for over 75 years, announces plans for a virtual Columbus Day celebration for 2020
Marian Pardo, president of Columbus Citizens Foundation (CCF), has formally announced that this year’s Columbus Day Parade will be a virtual event celebrating all things Italian and will air on ABC Channel 7 (12:30 – 2:00 p.m. EDT). Viewers can also stream the special live at abc7ny.com, abc7NY App and abc7NY connected TV apps on Amazon Fire TV, An...
Ralph Fasanella
I love teaching from self-taught, folk, or “outsider” artists. They offer a glimpse into what it means to come from very different backgrounds relative to artists who go the traditional route. These artists are often excluded from the canon: BIPOC, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, and others who perhaps did not have, or did not want, ac...