May 2011 Newsletter

LITTLE ITALY NEWS MAY 2011 EDITION
www.littleitalytroy.org
[email protected]
Save the Date
South Central/Little
Italy in the News
The Advertiser
April 14, 2011. A Taste of
Little Italy will be held on
Friday, April 29th in Troys
Little Italy MarketPlace as
chef from five area restaurants working with Josie DeFazios most popular recipes
gather to raise money in the
first ever BOCES culinary
scholarship named in memory of Josephine and Anthony DeFazio long time
proprietors of DeFazios Import Store in Troy.
The Record
April 16, 2011, p25. RCHS
to put Troys mayors on display by Bob Goepfert. The
first of two exhibits on the
mayors of Troy opened at
the Rensselaer County Historical Society, 57 Second
Street, Troy. Part I looks at
the 32 people who held office throughout the 19th century. Part II set for October
will focus on the 26 mayors
who were in office from
1900 to the present time.
Mike Esposito provided
much of the biographical
material on the mayors.
Stacy Pomeroy Draper curates the exhibit. For exhibit
hours call 244-6850.
April 21, 2001, p7. Proceeds
from stickball tournament to
benefit food pantry by Katie
Nowak. The third annual
stickball tournament which
raised $4,500 the first year

and $8,500 last year is aiming to raise over $10,000 this
year. Billed as We Play for
Food, the family friendly
tournament is becoming a
tradition for the Little Italy
MarketPlace according to its
promoter Rocco DeFazio.
April 28, 2011, p6. Are you
ready for some stickball? By
Cecilia Martinez, photo by J.
S. Carras. Citing the increased demand for food at
the local food pantries,
Daughters of Charity Marian
Hemway and Linda
ORourke of the Roark Center joined other community
leaders, not for profit organizations, tournament organizers and neighbors at a press
conference announcing the
We Play for Food Stickball Tournament. Related
video online at
www.troyrecord.com.
May 2, 2011, p6. Organizer:
stickball tournament epitomizes city living by Cecilia
Martinez, photo by Jeff
Couch. Twelve teams played
throughout the day to raise
funds and food for the
Roarke Center Food Pantry.
Related video online at
www.troyrecord.com.
Times Union Online
April 28, 2011. Photographs
and announcement of We
Play for Food Stickball
Tournament by John Carl
DAnnibale.
Korean Students Interest in Little Italy

A recent email to Rocco DeFazio from a group of Korean students inquiring about
our projects and events further illustrates the power of
the new communication
technology which opens up
even the smallest neighborhoods to the world community. The students are studying other cultures and were
interested in Troys Little
Italy movement based on
reading several issues of our
monthly newsletters on the
internet. We responded to
their basic questions about
our group.
Street Cleaners
If you run into these two
gentleman on the streets ,
say hello or offer them a
drink. They come to us from
the non profit organization
called Pathstone. They are
Ron Kellar and Carl Jackson. They keep our
neighborhood clean.
Tours Highlight South Central Neighborhoods

A Neighborhood Born and Then Reborn, Saturday, May 14, 2011 beginning at 9:30 am (3
hour program). Troys Liberty Street was a major center of abolition and Underground Railroad
activity in the years before the Civil War. A number of the properties recently have been purchased and renovated with an eye to restoring the street to its antebellum glory, while also
bringing them into the 21st century. Join Barbara Urban, RCHS Volunteer for a lecture on
Growing the City and Michael Barrett, Gateway Deputy Director for a walking tour of the
street to examine the various renovations underway or completed in this interesting program
presented jointly by the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway and the Rensselaer County Historical Society. $15 each for lecture and walk, $25 for both. Contact Gateway at 274-5267 or
email them at www.hudsonmohawkgateway.org
Hidden gardens garner attention. Friends of Prospect Park invite one and all to their 12th annual tour of gardens in the Historic Sage, Washington Park and Pottery Districts of South Central Troy. This will be a self-guided tour on Thursday, May 26th from 4 to 7 pm. Parking and
check in is at the Russell Sage parking lot at the corner of First and Division streets. Admission
is $10. More information is available by contacting Nina Pattison [email protected] or
Jane Otto [email protected]
A WORTHY CAUSE
The PEP Teens were formed six years ago in partnership with the Rensselaer County Dept of
Mental Health, The Fifth Ave AME Zion Church and various other organizations under a grant
from SAMHSA to start the inner city, faith based, minority HIV Peer Educator Program. Since
the grant ended in 2008, we have expanded our topics and have been able to continue our prevention efforts through collaborating with other organizations and fundraising.
Some of our the PEP Teens accomplishments include: appearing in TV and radio Public Service Announcements, hosting town hall meetings, coordinating a Rensselaer County Sticker
Shock Campaign, participating in City of Troy Paint the Board Initiative, sponsoring Pre-Prom
events, serving as peer educators for World Aids Day, presenting at Capital District Teen Summits and arranging local HIV/AIDS testing events. We are very proud to say that we have received the NAACP Leadership Award and the NYS Department of Health Commissioner's
Recognition Award.
We are seeking financial support. The cost per student is $399.00, which will cover registration
fees, housing and food for four days. This coming July, we would like to take the PEP Teens to
the conference to sharpen their leadership and presentation skills as well as deepen their prevention knowledge so that we can further develop our program here in our communities.
To donate contact [email protected] or [email protected]
EARTH DAY IN LITTLE ITALY
Joseph House & the Easter Egg

If you shopped in DeFazios store before Easter
you would have seen the beautiful Italian Easter
eggs Rocco had for sale. He decided to raffle one
off for charity, the winner decided she wanted to
donate it to someone who would appreciate it.
She didnt want to eat all that chocolate by herself. Rocco decided to bring it to our new
neighbors at Joseph House on Hill Street.
Rocco received an e-mail saying, I just wanted
to thank you again for such an awesome gift. It
was perfect (Easter in Little Italy) and very
unique. The reports are that the tenants loved the
egg so much that no one saved any for the staff
on Monday.
Grant Approved
The Troy City Council has approved our application for the 2011 Neighborhood Improvement
Grant. We will receive $300 to improve the landscaping at the Liberty triangle.
Last year we received a grant from
the City Council to
do the piece of land
at the corner of Liberty and Fifth Avenue. This is a picture
of the fruits of our
labor, our tulips are
blooming
11th Ward Memorial

Update
Sam Chiappone has anounced that
three additional names were inscribed on the 11th Ward World
War II Memorial. Joe Angley has
placed the name of his father,
G. T. Angley; Judy Gerger Brearton has placed the name of her
father, J. E. Gerger; and Tom
O'Brien has placed the name of his
father, J. T. O'Brien. The
monument, located on Third Street
below Adams, is a place of pride
for neighborhood residents past
and present because it honors men
and women of the 11th ward who
served their country.
Rocco DeFazio presenting the Egg to Joe

Gilchrist, Kitchen Manager and Timica
Cade, Hill Street Case Manager
May Meeting
5/18/2011
Neighborhood Watch 6 pm
Little Italy
7 pm
Join us at the Little Italy meeting
for a discussion about Quality of
Life issues, garbage,
noise, barking dogs and more.
We need your input on these
important issues.
We Played for Foods, Again by Rocco DeFazio and Mike Esposito

Troy Little Italys Third Annual Stickball Tournament, billed as We Play for Food, filled the
shelves and the cash drawer of the Roark Center once again following another successful fundraiser for the downtown food pantry. The new team participating this year was Team Vicarious
Visions led by Scott Moore and Evan Mennillo. They joined the South Troy Hooligans, Team
ARC, Team DeFazio, Mitch Buonaguros Team Siena Basketball, the Wet Six, two teams (boys
and girls) from Troy Highs Italian Club, being cheered on by THS faculty Mary Grace Tompkins and Lisa Alonzi, and YNNs team led by Marisa Jacques and Joe Calderone. Teams played
one game each with the highest scoring team, the Wet Six, repeating their last year victory as
winner of the tournament. There was also a home run competition, won by Jeremy Kronk, who
took home the prized golden stickball bat.
Substantial donations were received from Troy Uniformed Firefighters Association President
Eric Wisher and his fellow union members who collected large donations from the various fire
stations, as well as from Browns Brewing Company, Robert Rabbit Riley and the postal
workers, the Fazioli family of Troy who contributes each year in memory of Don Fazioli, and
John and Kelly Murray and Bill and Rosemary Fagan.
Kaylas Kitchen, a new Hill Street neighborhood eatery served up hamburgers, hot dogs and
more to the crowd of players and watchers. As always, we appreciate the support of Troy mayor
Harry Tutujian, City Council President Clem Campana, and the DPW staff. Vic Christopher,
Matthew and Michael DeFazio, George Regan and Bruce Vanderwater continue to do a great
job organizing and coordinating the tournament play action. Support for the event was also provided by Theresa Setzer, the ever faithful Marion Field and Joe Popson from Troy Little Italy,
and the ARCs Jim Blessing who once again provided a truck to collect and deliver the food
donations.
The event keeps alive a great urban tradition - stickball in the market - and helps many people
in need of food. A special thanks to the individual stickball players, volunteer workers, and all
who attended and donated food. The final tally of food and donations of money are fast approaching our goal of $10,000 for the Roarke Center Food Pantry. Once again the local community rises to the occasion to support a worthy cause.
WE PLAY FOR FOOD

STICKBALL TOURNAMENT PHOTO GALLERY

May 2011 Newsletter

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May 2011 Newsletter

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LITTLE ITALY NEWS MAY 2011 EDITION

Save the Date

raised $4,500 the first year

Korean Students Interest in Little Italy

Tours Highlight South Central Neighborhoods

EARTH DAY IN LITTLE ITALY

Joseph House & the Easter Egg

11th Ward Memorial

Rocco DeFazio presenting the Egg to Joe

We Played for Foods, Again by Rocco DeFazio and Mike Esposito

WE PLAY FOR FOOD

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