Tony Danza Is Grand Marshall For Little Italy's 89th San Gennaro Feast And Other Goodies

Little Italy, Manhattan, September 12, 2015 -
The Grand Procession of the feast of San Gennaro, just like the feast itself, is normally a colorful parade with food kiosks, games, floats, marching bands, musical entertainers and the statue of San Gennaro through the streets of Little Italy from September 10 thru the 20th.




This year's event is even more colorful than usual as the Grand Marshall

is Brooklyn-born boxer and actor Tony Danza. Standing on an authentic gondola mounted on a float from Italy with the Italian American Museum in the background, Tony ‘hammed’ it up by using the paddle as a prop for the crowd and their photos.

Tony Danza and the parade was only one event of the series of daily events on Mulberry Street in Lower Manhattan this year.

The Italian American Museum was well represented as Dr. Scelsa, founder of the museum, manned the cart on Mulberry Street with souvenirs for sale to passers by.

'Tre Bella' was one of the many musical acts to appear at the bandstand at the San Gennaro at the Feast in Manhattan's Little Italy. This trio can really belt out some tunes!

As usual, a good time was had by all as everyone got to sample a small part of Italian and Italian American culture.

Photos and text by Joseph M. Calisi (c)2015 All Rights Reserved

Photo captions:
Grand Marshall Tony Danza and his gondola lead the parade. The Italian American Museum is in the background in the top photo

Dr. Scelsa, founder of the Italian American Museum mans the souvenir cart on Mulberry Street

Tre Bella sings their little hearts out to entertain the crowd.

A Ferrara pastry shop employee dips strawberries at the San Gennaro feast in New York's Little Italy.

380th Anniversary Of First Italian Immigrant in NYC Celebrated At IAM

Italian American Museum, Little Italy, Manhattan, June 3, 2015 –

Tony De Nonno, an award-winning TV producer-writer-director, historian and speaker in the Humanities gave a stirring but enlightening journey into the life and times of Pietro Cesare Alberti, the first individual of Italian descent to arrive in New York City. Alberti arrived in old Dutch New York on June 2, 1635. The Italian American Museum (IAM) and Italian Historical Society of America celebrated the installation of the granite headstone commemorating Alberti’s arrival in front of the Museum.

From the beginning to the end of this talk, Tony De Nonno engaged everyone into being active participants, sharing their knowledge, thoughts, insights and ideas about the era, life and of times of Pietro Alberti - the first Italian to live in our beloved city, New York. In fact, Mr. De Nonno said he had been contacted by descendants of Alberti and the family’s name was changed to Bertis.

The marker that is now mounted outside the IAM, once stood in Bowling Green Park in Lower Manhattan after being placed there on June 2, 1958. It was created by the renowned stone carver A. Ottavino, under the guidance, commitment and determination of the Italian Historical Society of America and its visionary founder, John N. La Corte.

"We are pleased to accept this donation of great historical significance,” said Dr. Joseph V. Scelsa, president of the Italian American Museum. “It will ensure that more of our visitors are informed of Peter Alberti’s legacy.”

A new marker has been placed on the northern edge of Battery Park in Manhattan. The name on both markers shows an Anglicized version of his name: Peter Cesar Alberti. It is thought that when the new marker was designed, this version of his name was carried over.

A special highlight of Mr. De Nonno’s presentation was the screening of his acclaimed nationally-broadcast documentary film - John N. La Corte: A Monument to History. The film showed several of his efforts, including how the Verrazano Bridge that links Brooklyn and Staten Island, got its name. (Note: the correct spelling of the bridge should be Verrazzano).

Tony De Nonno’s website [http://www.DeNonnoProductions.com] contains much information about his film and video efforts.

PRAY TO SAN GENNARO – MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD CHURCH IS CLOSING

Little Italy, Manhattan, December 2014 -  All the prayers of the faithful may not help this time as the church of the patron saint of the annual San Gennaro feast in Manhattan ’s Little Italy is closing its doors and will be merged with the original St Patrick’s Old Cathedral at 263 Mulberry Street, several blocks to the north. The move is a byproduct of the regional consolidation being done by the Catholic Church to conserve resources in part by low attendance in churches and low priest availability. The absorption plan was disclosed by the New York Diocese on November 2nd by Cardinal Dolan but only now are the details emerging.

 

Of the 80 parishes in Manhattan , 29 of them are south of 14^th Street – a veritable glut of empty churches on Sundays considering the old constituency just isn’t there anymore. At the turn of the 20th Century, a little less than 2 million lived in this part of Manhattan – a great number were immigrants. The churches were crowded then and the focal point of religious life.

However, the old crowd returns for events but the pews remain empty at other times. This is a church where generations of parishioners were baptized, received first communion and got married. Now all that remains to be had is a funeral mass, this time for the closure of the church.

As you could imagine, the San Gennaro congregation isn’t happy with this development.

The church opened its doors in the 1880s and was a focal point of Italian immigrants taking up residence in the area.

This development is further evidence of the shrinking of Manhattan ’s Little Italy in recent years.

Plaque Honoring the Heroic Police Officer, Lt. Joseph Petrosino Unveiled At Park Bearing His Name

Little Italy, NYC, November 5, 2014 - At Noon today, NYPD and NYC Parks officials dedicated a bronze markers honoring heroic police officer

The Lt. Joseph Petrosino Square which is located at the triangle of Kenmare Sttreet, Lafayette Street and Cleveland Place in Manhattan's Little Italy is where the unveiling took place. The park named in his honor is located just north of the Renaissance Revival edifice at 240 Centre Street, which served as Police Headquarters from 1910 to 1971.

Background on Lt. Detective Petrosino
Lt. Detective Giuseppe (Joseph) Petrosino was born in Salerno, Italy, and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1873. As a boy, he shined shoes outside Police Headquarters on Mulberry Street. At the age of eighteen, he began his career in the public service with the Department of Sanitation (then under the jurisdiction of the Police Department). Fluent in many Italian dialects, Petrosino aided the police by working undercover as an informer in Little Italy.


Petrosino joined the Police Department in 1883 and in 1895 Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt personally promoted him to Sergeant of Detectives. While investigating anarchists in the United States , Petrosino warned President McKinley of
threats against his life; however, the warning was not heeded and the President was assassinated in 1901.

Within ten years, Petrosino was named lieutenant and given command of the new Italian Squad, a unit created to combat the crime organization known as the Black Hand (La Mana Nera). Under his leadership, several thousand arrests were made, and more than 500 offenders were sent to prison. Crimes against Italian-Americans dropped by fifty percent. Petrosino was killed while on assignment to Palermo, Sicily in 1909.

When his body was returned to New York, thousands of mourners formed a funeral procession which marched from Little Italy to Calvary Cemetery in Queens. Lt. Petrosino was the only New York police officer who had died in the line of duty outside the United States.

Lt. Det. Joseph Petrosino. The project was been sponsored by the Columbia Association of the NYPD and the Lt. Joseph Petrosino Association of America, Inc., in collaboration with the Italian American Museum and the New York City Parks' division of Art & Antiquities.

Photo captions for photos taken during the unveiling:
The moment the plaques were unveiled at Petrosino Park.
Photo with all the persons contributing to the plaque unveiling with the artist, descendants of Lt. Det. Petrosino, and officials of the Petrosino Association.