Happy 40th Anniversary to NOIAW
As a psychotherapist, my curiosity about the effects of ethnicity on personality development was heightened by my early work with patients. There was little in the literature about Italian American ethnic identity and mental health before the late 1970s. While looking for answers–and missing the big family I left behind in Brooklyn some 20 years e...
Mount Carmel Society Feast in Rosebank cancelled, but here’s how you can donate to keep the tradition alive
This year would have marked the 117th anniversary of the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Society, the age-old festa Italiano in Rosebank founded by a group of Italian immigrant laborers in 1903 that served as a tribute to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year the celebration — dubbed one of Staten Island’s best kep...
Oppose Any Attempts to Remove The White Plains, NY Columbus Statue
NOT JUST STONE: WHITE PLAINS COLUMBUS STATUE MUST REMAIN! The Antonio Meucci Lodge #213, Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America (OSIA) of White Plains and many Westchester Italian American groups oppose any attempts to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus in White Plains, NY. The statue in Tibbets Brook Park at Lake Street and North Broa...
Resurrecting the Arena di Verona
Wed, 07/15/2020 - 5:00pm. How to Bring Back to Life the Largest Opera Theater in the World. Stefano Albertini (NYU) in conversation with Cecilia Gasdìa (General Manager and Artistic Director, Arena di Verona). The episode will be broadcast live on Casa's Facebook Page and website. In ITALIAN with ENGLISH subtitles. Casa Italiana Director Stefano Al...
Foundation in for Italian American Museum + condos at 155 Mulberry Street
Long before the first case of COVID-19 was reported, Little Italy was iconic for the sidewalk cafes and restaurants dotting Mulberry Street, the destination's central thoroughfare. But now that indoor dining in New York City has been indefinitely suspended, its outdoor dining scene has been taken to a whole new level, with in-street dining taking s...
Camille Vitaliano dies. Mom of an assemblyman-turned-federal-judge, she was his ‘margin of victory'
Camille R.Vitaliano, whose love and kindness blessed an adoring family, passed away peacefully Friday, July 3, at Carmel Richmond Nursing Home. She was 99 and would have celebrated her 100th birthday in December. The mother of U.S. District Court Judge Eric N. Vitaliano, Camille’s love and quiet counsel guided Eric throughout his public career. She...
Christopher Columbus statue in Buffalo removed
The Christopher Columbus statue in Buffalo's Columbus Park was removed Friday morning on orders from Mayor Byron Brown and agreement of the Buffalo Common Council. It followed a request by the Federation of Italian-American Societies of Western New York to have the statue taken down so it is not a distraction to the social justice movement currentl...
Long Island Real Estate Legend Frank Castagna Dies
Frank Castagna, philanthropist and influential Long Island real estate developer, died Tuesday from a year-long fight with cancer. He was 91. Born in 1928 and raised in Sheepshead Bay, Castagna earned a degree in civil engineering from Pennsylvania Military Academy before applying those skills at his father’s construction firm, which was soon renam...
New York’s San Gennaro Feast Canceled Amid Resurgent Pandemic
The 94th Annual San Gennaro Feast was officially canceled on Thursday evening, as COVID-19 cases spike across the country. The 11-day feast, which draws hundreds of thousands of people to Mulberry Street every year, was founded in 1926 and has only been canceled twice—after 9/11, and now, amid a resurgent pandemic. However, the Solemn High Mass and...
Fate of Columbus debated in Astoria
The surge of online petitions and marches to remove Columbus monuments across New York City has come to Astoria Boulevard. Over a hundred people, including state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), marched from Astoria Park to the neighborhood’s Columbus monument on June 17 to demand that it be removed as a way of reckoning with his legacy of murder...
Letter from New York: For these Italians in the U.S., the threat of COVID-19 struck twice
Being an Italian in the United States over the past several weeks has meant living the nightmare of the pandemic twice. The first time was in February and March, as I heard the stories coming from parents and friends in Italy, once the global epicenter of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. The virus has killed almost 35,000 people...
Vincent’s Of Warwick Has Deep Italian Roots
Somewhere around the early 1950s, in a small town in Sicily, a hard-working teenager by the name of Vincent Minuta became a barber’s apprentice. In 1956, not speaking a word of English, 15-year-old Vincent moved to the United States with his family. By 17, the skilled hairstylist with natural talent was the youngest licensed barber in New York. Now...