LITTLE ITALY NEWS JANUARY 2015 EDITION

www.littleitalytroy.org

troylittleitaly@gmail.com

JANUARY MEETING

Submitted by Andrea Daley

1/21/15

The picture below was sent to us by Judy Gerger Brearton whose family owned Johns Tavern
on the point at Hill Street and Ida. Michael Esposito is considering this as one of his pictures for
his new book. As you can see the group of men were having a good time at a clam steam. See
if you have any family or friends in the picture.

Troys Little Italy Revisited Goes to Press

By Mike Esposito
As the countrys leading publisher of history Arcadia has given many people an opportunity to
write about their community, sharing photographs and descriptions. I am pleased that Arcadia
will publish my new book Troys Little Italy Revisited. My compilation will be sent to Arcadia
the last week in January, 2015. Many thanks to all who have assisted me with this second compilation.
We have a story to tell and in the new book, half of the text, photographs and descriptions, are
devoted to what has been happening in the past dozen years since Rocco DeFazio first organized the Friends of Little Italy in 2002 followed several years later by our neighborhood group
Troy Little Italy and the South Central Troy Neighborhood Watch. We hope our story will be
encouraging to other older historic neighborhoods which are in various stages of revitalization
and resurgence. We are inspired by those who went before us.
When the Italian ambassador Sergio Vento addressed the New York State Little Italy Heritage
Tourism Conference held in Troy on July 23, 2004, he reminded us of the power of memory as
a formula for a great project. Much of what we do, much of our planning, is based on those
events and programs that remind us of our past.
Little Italy neighborhoods throughout America continue to stand the test of time and flourish
and inspire a sense of pride and community. Americas cities are on a rebound and the Italian
American community has stood fast in remaining in the vital neighborhoods of the older American cities.
We are grateful for the cooperation and generosity of our business community and residents of
Little Italy. Support has been given by government officials on all levels, our community partners, agencies and organizations, the news media, our adjacent neighborhood associations and
the Troy community at large as we continue our efforts to stabilize the neighborhood, share our
culture and create a heritage tourism destination.
We continue to be a catalyst for change in one of Troys oldest neighborhoods. Many talented
and motivated residents are willing to volunteer for any number of events and activities from
neighborhood cleanups to organizing and coordinating cultural programs.

Free Minor Home Repairs for Qualified Homeowners

Rensselaer County Housing Resources (RCHR), a sister organization of TRIP, is expanding
its Mini-Repair Program into the City of Troy. It has been operating throughout the county
(except in Troy) since 1998.
The Mini-Repair Program provides labor free of charge to income qualified elderly, disabled and/or very low income homeowners for minor home repairs. The homeowner pays for
the cost of materials.
Repairs include, but are not limited to, leaky sinks, foundations, weather stripping, changing
locks, roof leaks, etc.
Work is prioritized by degree of need.
Interested homeowners can call Ryan at 272-8289 x211, email him at ryan@triponline.org

Remembering Mario Cuomo (June 15, 1932-January 1, 2015)

A Commentary by Mike Esposito
The family of New York, the country, the world has been paying their respects to Mario
Cuomo, the son of Italian immigrants who was our three term governor. He was a hero to many.
He had great pride in his ethnic roots. In 1993 Mario Cuomo published several dozen of his
speeches in a compilation called More Than Words issued by St. Martins Press. During the
days that followed his passing, I took comfort in re-reading many of his speeches. In his address
at the National Italian-American Foundation dinner in 1990, Governor Cuomo could be speaking directly to many people who devote their time to Little Italy neighborhoods, Italian community centers, American-Italian cultural centers and museums and many other similar groups. He
tells us: We should use our history as a basis for making sure that Italian-Americans continue
to make a difference in this society, that we involve ourselves in furthering those policies which
embody what the Italian journey into America has been all about opportunity, hope, equality,
compassion, social justice, freedom.

The Neighborhood That Disappeared Tells Its Story

Rocco DeFazio and I were recently invited to join other Little Italy neighborhood supporters
from the Capital District to work the phones during WMHTs recent preview of the documentary The Neighborhood That Disappeared. This was my first visit to WMHTs studio at the
Rensselaer Technology Park definitely a state of the art facility. Everyone was very gracious to us. We were very busy. The community definitely liked what they saw in Mary
Paleys excellent video. We were told before we left that the pledge drive was the stations most
successful. In the days after the first showing we read and heard that almost $45,000 was raised
and to-date the total is now $60,000. Ive seen the video twice and each time I get a lump in my
throat. My family and my neighbors from Troys Havermans Avenue, St. Marys Avenue, and
parts of Fifth Avenue, Liberty and Washington streets lost our homes between 1968 and 1970
to a project that eventually was canceled. It was called the North-South Arterial Project and was
to be a super highway connecting the Menands Bridge with Hoosick Street. It was not the size
of the Albany project which closed 350 businesses, caused 9,000 or so people to relocate and
covered an area of 98 acres in the heart of Albany, particularly what was once Albanys Little
Italy neighborhood. What a loss for both cities!
Submitted by Michael Esposito

Submitted by Andrea Daley

REALIZE TROY: A NEW COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

After half a century, the City of Troy has embarked on an exciting new initiative: the creation
of a new Comprehensive Plan to best position the City for success and prosperity in the
21st century. The Comprehensive Plan will be developed through significant public consultation and will establish a clear community based vision and action plan to guide the citys overall development over the next 20 years addressing both the current and future needs of the community. The Comprehensive Plan will chart a clear roadmap for the future of the city and it will
guide municipal decision-making, investment, development, and land use planning. As part of
the Comprehensive Plan process, a Downtown Economic Development Strategy (DEDS) and a
Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan (LWRP) will also be developed to ensure that these
unique assets can be strengthened to deliver new social, cultural, recreational and economic opportunities to the broad community. All of the plans will be supported by robust implementation strategies with established criteria and metrics to assist in measuring plan success and
achievements over time. The planning process presents an important opportunity to demonstrate
bold leadership and innovation while strengthening the quality of life the city offers and its
competitive advantage as a dynamic and desirable place to live, work, invest and recreate.
AN INCLUSIVE PROCESS
The Comprehensive Plan process will consider a broad range of important topics that are necessary for the creation of a healthy, inclusive and vibrant community. To be successful, the plan
needs to reflect the values and aspirations of Troys citizens. The planning process will create
numerous opportunities for you to make your voice heard as well as listen to the views of your
fellow citizens and neighbors to create a truly locally grown, made in Troy plan. A project
launch will be held in the fall of 2014 providing an introduction to the overall study process,
goals and outcomes and providing an opportunity to gather citizen input on important topics
such as social well-being, economic development, the environment, neighborhoods and housing, and the Downtown and Waterfront. A multiple day City Summit will be held in the spring
of 2015 inviting detailed citizen input on Troys strengths, weaknesses and key opportunities,
followed by focus group sessions on key themed topics. In the spring of 2015, citizens will be
invited to provide comments and feedback on the emerging vision and framework of city wide
strategies, big moves, and place-specific strategies and the final Comprehensive Plan, DEDS
and LWRP are expected to be completed in late fall, 2015. Keep an eye on the events page
(hyperlink) for further details on the events as they are announced.
More information on the project can be found at http://www.realizetroy.com
Submitted by Sam Chiappone

SOUP KITCHEN
THURSDAY 4:40 to 5:30
Italian Community Center
1450 Fifth Avenue, Troy, N.Y

Submitted by Andrea Daley