LITTLE ITALY NEWS OCTOBER 2013 EDITION

www.littleitalytroy.org

troylittleitaly@gmail.com

Celebrating Columbus Day

Join us on Saturday, October 12 (Columbus Day) for the unveiling of the commemorative
bronze plaque dedicated to Sr. Carmelite Germinario DC at her former home, 63 Hill Street
(between Washington and Adams streets). The brief ceremony will begin at 11 am followed by
light refreshments at the Little Italy Visitors Center, 39 Hill Street (across from the bocce
courts). The Sr. Carmelite Remembrance Exhibit showing photo highlights of Sisters life will
be on display at the Visitors Center.
We are pleased that the American Italian Heritage Association will display Sr. Carmelites Remembrance Exhibit beginning Friday, November 1st to Friday, November 15th at their museum, 1227 Central Avenue, Albany NY. The museum hours are Monday, Thursday, and Friday, 11 am - 3 pm, and Saturday and Sunday, noon 4 pm. The Remembrance exhibit is one of
several events planned for October and November as the Association begins its 37th Anniversary of their Italian Heritage and Culture month celebration
The AIHA museum will also display a photo exhibit of Romanesque and Italianate style architecture of the Capital District. Troy will be well represented in the display with photos of a
dozen buildings located in our downtown area. The founder of the association, Prof./Cav. Philip
J. DiNovo, extends his thanks to Claire Porcello Davis and Mike Esposito for their assistance in
selecting and writing photo descriptions for the dozen Troy sites used in the exhibit. We highly
recommend a visit to the AIHA. Photos, artifacts and memorabilia on exhibit show the influence of Italy in the area. There are 10 exhibit rooms, a Hall of History, and a gift shop. They are
one of only a handful of Italian American Museums in the United States. On Monday, October
14th, the Association will hold its Columbus Day Celebration beginning at 11 am, followed by
a reception. On Monday, October 21st the Association will sponsor an important fundraiser,
Festivale Italiano, at the Hall of Springs in Saratoga. Details are available from the events
Chair, Sylvia Vicarone at (518) 664-2361.

South Central
Little Italy News
Albany Times Union:
September 27, 2013. Renovation keeps 1840 spirit, by
Kenneth Crowe II. Major
renovation on Washington
Place residence completes
the historic row house complex on Troys Washington
Park.
The Record:
September 22, 2013. Second
annual conference focuses
on building sustaining communities, by Francine Grinnell. New York Statewide
Neighborhood Revitalization
Conference attracts
neighborhood advocates,
government officials, business people and others to
discuss ways to keep our upstate communities vital.
September 25, 2013. Workshops, awards ceremony
mark Youth Court Month,
by Francine Grinnell. Youth
courts have been in existence
for more than 35 years. The
courts use positive peer pressure to insure that young
people who commit even
minor offenses give back to
the community and avoid
further engagement with the
justice system.
August 12 & 13, 2013. Troy
group works to solve vacant
buildings problems, by Andrew Beam. A two part series reporting on the Vacant
Properties Workgroup
formed identify vacant properties and come up with concrete solutions to the problem.

Quality of Life Subcommittee News

The first meeting of a newly formed South Central Neighborhood Watch subcommittee on Quality of Life issues met
September 21, 2013. A week later, nine members of the subcommittee walked through the neighborhood for the purpose
of getting an updated view of the housing stock. Public safety,
the housing stock and the overall aesthetics of the neighborhood are always priority issues. Other concerns are noise,
speeding, litter and trash. The group will have specific suggestions and work toward remediation with city authorities and
others who can help us improve the quality of life in the
neighborhood.. We ask that you continue to speak up and
speak out about issues that concern you and report violations
whether criminal or civil to the proper authorities. Depending
on the issue, the following numbers should be called:
Emergencies
Non-emergency
Animal Control
Code Enforcement
Officer Collington
Public Works
Confidential Tip Line

911
270-4411
270-1935
270-4404
588-1617
270-4579
270-5004

Crime Mapping Web Site

The city has a web site that you can obtain alerts for the area
you live in. Log on to http://www.raidsonline.com/?address=Troy,NY
Neighborhood Watch
Report all problems to our web site at:

neighborhoodwatchsc2@gmail.com

September Meeting
10/16
Neighborhood Watch
6 p.m.
Troy Little Italy
6:30 p.m.
233 Fourth Street Corner of Washington and
Fourth

For Rent:
South Central Troy at Ida Street.
Family owned and maintained, 3
BR, full bath, eat-in kitchen,
stove, refrigerator, washer, new
heating stove, hardwood floors.
Close to Russell Sage College.
$550 per month plus utilities (rent
does include water).
For more information contact
acheerier@nycap.rr.com

For Rent
Little Italy 3 bedroom with walk in closet,
2nd floor, hardwood and carpeting, hook up
for washer, pets allowed on owners
approval., small yard $650.00 tenant pays for
utilities, security deposit required. Recently
remodeled and will be ready by 11/1.
For more information contact 518 225-0380.

Here is Frank
the author of
these great
articles at the
city limits of
his familys
home town in
Italy.

How Do You Say Roots in Italian?

Part four of a personal search from Troy to Frosolone.
By Frank LaPosta Visco
As for accommodations and meals in the present day city of Pompei, we were lucky to have had
recommendations from a friend of Richs, who had recently spent several weeks there, working
on a documentary on the villa at Oplontis. We were also told of two fine restaurants in Pompei
that we wisely sought out not cheap, but worth the 50 or 60 euros at each sitting La Situla
and Presidente.
Invariably, when we showed up at any Italian restaurant for dinner at seven, we were greeted by
the sight of the staff having dinner. Italians who dine out dont begin their evening meal until
eight. So, by the time we were finished with our three or four courses, the restaurant would be
filled with patrons who were at the beginning of either their antipasti or primi.

The Amleto Hotels amenities were outstanding what they term a rich breakfast was spread
out every morning rolls and breads for toasting, yogurt, cereals, fresh fruit, juices and filled
pastries, all self-service, and a tended coffee bar included in the reasonable off-season room
rates. The first night, we shared a room with separate beds, but my snoring proved intolerable,
and so for the next two nights, the clerks graciously offered us two individual rooms for not
much more than the price of the double and even at that lowered rate, one of us got to stay in
the original room, which, by the way, had a refrigerator, mini-bar and heated towel rack.
In the lobby was a computer and printer with free access to the internet, which came in handy
for keeping in touch with friends and family back home, as well as printing out maps for our
foray into the Apennines to the east to visit Frosolone on our last vacation day. Our desk clerks
even arranged for a car rental company to deliver our car to the hotel, and the company accepted a facsimile of Richs drivers license, since his had been stolen within minutes of our
arrival in Rome. Hes normally a very cautious traveler all he did was lose that necessary focus on security for a brief time on the Roma metrebus, but thats all it takes.
So, we left the hotel at nine a.m. on Friday for what was supposed to be a two and a half hour
drive out of Pompei and up into the mountains to Frosolone. It took us just about twice that
long. Im tempted to claim that our getting lost was the fault of the maps, but I have to take the
blame and admit that Im a terrible navigator. Rich generously offered to do all the driving, and
when we got lost on the wrong mountain with some of the most breathtaking and heart-stopping
turns, I was as glad he was driving as I was sorry I was riding in that little Fiat on those wet
roads.
Incidentally, as small as the car was, it took 40 euros (about $52 US) to fill the tank, which was
practically bone dry when it was delivered. But gas mileage in European cars averages 43 miles
per gallon, and even with our extra couple of hours of driving, we returned the car with about a
half a tankful of diesel fuel and asked for and received credit for it, making the actual rental
fee for one day 65 instead of 85 euros. (The 2013 exchange rate is about the same now as it was
during our trip.)
After stopping several times and trying to tell people it was Frosolone and not Frosinone we
were looking for, we finally arrived at a sign that pointed the way to our destination. When we
first spotted the town in the distance, we were coming up around a bend through some somber
clouds so the sight of the sun shining on the stone houses with red roofs surrounded by rolling
fields and rutted farm roads was a welcome medieval landscape.
Next: So this is Frosolone. So where is everybody?

Another successful conference

By Rocco DeFazio and Mike Esposito
The organizing committee for the NYS Neighborhood Revitalization Conference would like to
thank all those who participated in the second annual program held recently at Russell Sage
College in Troy.
Rocco DeFazio, Kathleen Ryan Cassidy, Anasha Cummings, Rick Hartt and Dorcas and Ken
Rose, are members of the conference planning committee. They were assisted by Troy Rehabilitation & Improvement Programs Executive Director, Patrick Madden and Director of Community Affairs, Hilary Lamishaw, and members of T-NAC, the Troy Neighborhood Action
Council. Dr. Susan Schrimshaw, President, Sage Colleges and her staff provided a cordial setting for the conference. During the registration process which was handled by Dorcas and Ken
Rose, Gary Nelson and Anasha Cummings, a demonstration on community do-it-yourself murals was provided by Barbara Nelson.
Keynote speaker Vincent DeSantis, a thought leader in urban revitalization, city court judge,
activist and author of the highly regarded book, Toward Civic Integrity: Re-establishing the Micropolis emphasized the import roles played by people on many levels who work toward sustaining our communities. Mayor Lou Rosamilia and Assembly member John McDonald provided insightful opening remarks.
Moderators and their workshops included:
TAP, Inc. associate Michael Lopez (saving of iconic houses of worship); HVCCs Dr. Peter R.
Sawyer (Building Civic Capacity and cooperation in public problem solving); Abby Lubin
(Troy Community Composting project as a model of civic engagement); Mohawk Harvest manager Chris Curro and Board Member Crystal Stewart (food co-op and its key in building economic activity in the community); Marilyn Mores, U.S. Attorneys Office, Northern District (an
overview of youth courts); Laban Coblentz (use of advanced technology for sustainable growth
and the creation of a different kind of business incubator); Nexus Community Project Manager,
Anasha Cummings (managing and developing community projects); and WMHTs Community
Engagement Coordinator Jenn Baumstein (placing the community at the center of the stations
work).
Interest in last years workshop on youth courts prompted Troy Community Police to meet regularly with law enforcement, probation, the county unified court services and neighborhood
groups. Colleen Goldston and Patrolman Aaron Collington provided Chief John Tedesco with
monthly reports. Marilyn Mores, an advocate for teen courts from the U. S. Attorneys Office, who spoke on the topic at both conferences, received funding for a project, and in a matter
of weeks, Troy will have a youth court in place. In response to interest expressed by attendees
at this years conference to continue the dialogue, planning committee members will arrange
for several specialists on neighborhood revitalization to speak in Troy beginning next spring.
For more information and updates visit the conference website http://nyneighborhoods.org