LITTLE ITALY NEWS APRIL 2009 EDITION

www.littleitalytroy.org

[email protected]

APRIL 2
5,2009
9:00 AM

Y
A
D
H
T
EAR
2009

Our Earth Day celebration and clean up is scheduled for April 25, 2009 starting at 9:00 in the Little
Italy Marketplace. The city will again be providing bags and t-shirts for participants. Once again,
the hardworking DEFY kids will be assisting residents in cleaning up our neighborhood.
How can you help?
1. If you know of an area in our neighborhood that needs attention, please let us know where that is
and we will schedule a group to the location for clean up.
2. If you plan to clean up a particular area yourself and would like bags/t-shirts, please let us know
and we can pick up one big load for our neighborhood. Please let us know an approximate number
of bags and a number of shirts needed and they will be ready for you at 9:00 in the market.
3. If you have a big load that needs to be taken to the Alamo, please let us know and volunteers with
trucks can pick up the items and/or we can call the city for pick up.
4. If you have a truck and are free that morning, we could use several people to pick up items for
disposal.
5. If you would like to donate water, cookies etc. for the DEFY volunteers, that would be greatly appreciated.
If you have any suggestions, ideas or need to contact us, please feel free to call Heather at 4415700. Our neighborhood always looks so much better after Earth Day.
Thanks for your efforts!

Neighborhood Watch Update

The last Neighborhood Watch Meeting
was held on Wednesday, March 18th at
the Freihofers Race Headquarters. We
had a great turnout at our meeting with 26
residents attending!!
Officer McDonald provided crime statistics for the South Troy and Little Italy
area:

Calls for service: 443 in the South

Central Area out of a total 4050 for
the whole city (10.9%)
Arrests: 281 for the entire city, 23 in
the South Central Troy area

As we all know from experience, warmer

weather brings more quality of life issues. Please, please call in any drug related information you can to the anonymous line at 270-5004. If we can all contribute a little to the process, we will see
great benefits in our neighborhood. All
calls are confidential. If you have a
neighbor with garbage violations, please
report to DPW at 270-4579.
If you want to receive regular updates
through email and get crime alerts, please
send an email to [email protected]. If you need to reach
Officer McDonald, his email is
[email protected], phone 2704789.

Social interaction in the hood

The Corner Coffee Club consisted of men of the neighborhood who met for earlymorning coffee at the Santandra and Merola convenience store at Fourth and Adams
streets for many years. The club continued after the store changed owners. It was always a pleasant sight in the early morning hours to see and hear the group gathered for
conversation on everything from sports to politics to neighborhood gossip! Pictured are,
from left to right, Frank Piscitella (who worked part-time at the store), Mohamed Algahtiy (present store owner), Tony Carnevale (local barber and part-time sexton at St.
Marys Church), and Rev. Harry Donaghy (pastor of St. Marys Church). Among the
other faithful members of the club who frequently could be seen at the corner store with
cup in hand were Tom Abbot, Nick DeGeorge, Joe Jopur Esposito, and Pete Simonian. The photograph, courtesy of Tony Carnevale, is one of 180 images from Troys
Little Italy by Mike Esposito which will be available in bookstores in early June, 2009.
Troy CYO Wins First Annual Troy Little Italy Invitational Basketball Tournament
Submitted by: Tony DeFiglio, Tournament Director, Troy CYO Center

The next Neighborhood Watch Meeting

will be on April 15th at 6:00 pm at the
Freihofers Race Headquarters at the corner of 4th and Washington. Everyone is
invited to attend!

Coming Soon!!!!
Troy Little Italys Farmer Market will
open on May 20th, 3 to 6 pm. We hope to
have 20 vendors this year. Look for detailed information in our May issue.

Italian Imported Seeds Are Here

L & S Garden & Produce has informed us
their imported vegetable seeds have
arrived from Italy and are ready for
planting. If youre an avid gardener , stop
in at 470 Pawling Avenue, Troy, New
York and see the new shipment or call
Stephen at 518-273-1481 for more
Information.

Left to Right, Back row: Elijah Burns, Clem Campana, Shawn Marshall, Marcus
Bennett, Tony Defiglio. Front row: Vince Leclair, Terrell Evans, Evan Barker,
Nick Cioffi, Xavier Hassell, Justice Walston, Nick Coli (not shown)

April 25 & 26

WE PLAY FOR FOOD

To benefit Rensselaer County food pantries.
DATE: April 25 & 26
TIME: 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
PLACE: Little Italy Market Place

Siena College Head Coach

Fran McCaffrey and his Siena
Saints Basketball Team will be
available on Saturday afternoon
for photos and autographs.

Enjoy a weekend of stickball and music highlighted with a performance from the areas favorite cover band, The Refrigerators Saturday, April 25th at 5:00 pm.
Bring your friends and family!
How can you participate? Just bring a donation of non-perishable food items to help our local food pantries. They
are facing tough challenges today trying to support an increasing number of families with food for their tables. Your
donation will make a difference.
We hope teams will sign up to play in a stickball tournament in the Little Italy Market Place from early morning to
late afternoon on Saturday. Teams are also asked to make a contribution of non-perishable food items as entry into
the tournament. Music and entertainment will be provided by some of the Capital Districts best-known musicians
and bands.
Local celebrities will be asked to compete in a stickball challenge to see who can raise the most donations.
In these hard times we realize money is tight, so we hope you will take a look in your cupboards and pantries to see
what you can donate. If youre a college student preparing to leave for the summer, please consider donating
non-perishable food items accumulated during the school year.

For more information contact Rocco DeFazio at 271-1111 or [email protected].

Little Italy Real Estate For

Sale

ZITI AND MEATBALL DINNER

The Italian Community Center Charitable Foundation is sponsoring a fundraiser
for Brady Hirsch, a 3 year old Colonie boy living with the effects of Autism every
day. He will be receiving an Autism Service Dog from 4 Paws for Ability, an organization that provides service dogs to individuals with various types of disabilities. Brady is
a student at Cloverpatch, located at the Center for Disability Services in Albany. All
proceeds will be donated directly to 4 Paws for Ability to go towards the family's goal of
raising $13,000.00 for the training of Brady's Dog.
When: Thursday, April 30, 2009
Where: The Italian Community Center, 1450 5th Ave Troy, NY
Time: 11:00am 7:00pm
$10.00 for adults and $8.00 for children
Price includes Ziti with Meatballs, salad, soda, coffee and dessert
Eat in or take out available
For take out call 274-0508 ext. 5

If you would like to donate directly to 4 Paws for Ability, you may do so by
sending a tax deductible donation to 4 Paws for Ability, 253 Dayton Ave, Xenia, Ohio
45385 or on the website at www.4pawsforability.org (Brady is on the Make a Dream
Come True tab) * Please be sure to indicate the donation is for Brady Hirsch in the
memo section of the check or noting his name online. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact Lori or Tom Hirsch at 482-1993

The Challenge is on
Troy Little Italy Bingo has challenged the
CYO Bingo in the upcoming stickball
tournament to be held at the Troy Public
Market on April 25th and 26th. Together
they will conduct a food drive for their
entrance fee. The ages of the volunteers
range from their 20s to the 60s. This
mix should make it an interesting game.
Get a team together , join us, Challenge
Us. Its all in good fun and for a worthy
cause

Centannis 15 Campbell Avenue

Italian Deli & Imports
Daily Specials - All items Homemade
Salads- Sauce- Sausage Meatballs
Hours of operation:
Mon. to Fri. 9 to 7 pm
Sat. 9 to 6 pm
Sun. 10 to 3 pm
Phone: 518-272-2272 Fax: 518-272-0483

1 FAMILY
191 Second St.
892-1326
56 Havermans
724-2478
1033 6th Avenue
724-2478
190 1st Street
272-6400
2 FAMIlY
65 Hill Street
331-4755
314 1st Street
209-4654
121 Adams Street
618-8249
MULTI UNITS
1 Irving Place
852-1365
326 4th Street
266-1406
78 Hill Street
331-4755
COMMERCIAL
37 Ida Street
369-1914

$675,000 Karen
$162,00 James
$84,500 James
$339,900 Anne
$69,900

William

$116,000 Sandra
$119,000 Thomas
$225,500 Richard
$139,000 Marion
$109,900 William
$109,000 Paul

RENTALS
Washington Place, 2 bedroom with office.
No dogs, hardwood floors, free laundry
on premises. Security and references
required. $1,200 heat and hot water
Included. Call 266-1406 or 961-0590
1 bedroom with office Carpet, hook-ups,
no pets, non smoker. $475 plus utilities.
Phil @ 518-376-9724
Commercial Space or 4 Bedroom
1517 5th Avenue, first floor, off street
parking. 1400 sq. ft. $1000.00 monthly
plus utilities. Across from family court
and adjacent to the Congress Ferry Street
Corridor. Call Marion at 518-266-1406 or
[email protected]
Office Space
800 sq. ft., $650 a month, includes - free
internet service. 2 months FREE with a
two year lease
215 4th Street - corner of Liberty/4th.
Call Anthony 441-1803
Advertise your Real Estate Here
To place an ad for an apartment
e-mail [email protected] Please
remember to notify us when your space
is rented.

AT LIBERTY
The Saga of an Italo-American Family
in South Troy
byFrank LaPosta Visco
Part Six: The Play's the Thing
Not surprisingly, Eddie Case easily won
the lead in the Catholic Central High
School senior play in April of 1931, even
though he was about to discover that he
would not graduate that year, and would
be a senior for another year. It didn't seem
to bother him, for two reasons. One, he
would have one more year of seeing
Esther Campobasso every school day; and
two, it would delay his having to look for
work in Troy's factories during the
Depression.
The play was Mark Twain's The Gilded
Age, an adaptation of a novel by Twain
and Charles Dudley Warner. It may seem
an odd choice for a high school production in the middle of the Great Depression, but it spoke to the hope of all
Americans, and especially second generation Italo-Americans like Eddie, who
dreamed the great American dream of
striking it rich.
The attitude was summed up in what
was perhaps the play's most famous line,
delivered by the character Eddie
portrayed, Colonel Sellers, as he promoted his Oriental Optical Eye-water:
"There is millions in it." On further reflection, the play may not have been as
surprising a choice as it first seems. The
actual Gilded Age itself ended in 1893
with a great economic depression.
Sister Mary Annunciata, the hawk-faced
director of the play, wanted incidental
music during some of the more sumptuously-staged scenes, and so she auditioned student pianists. Eddie was nothing
short of ecstatic when Esther Campobasso
was chosen, thinking he'd have many
chances to spend time with her at
rehearsals.
Tete-a-tetes proved to be more difficult
than he imagined, because the good nun
was wise in the ways of teenagers.
Eddie's not so subtle attentions to Esther
weren't difficult to see, and Sister did all
she could to keep her actor's focus on the
play and not on the player. Sister wasn't
entirely successful, however, simply because she was outnumbered.
Esther enjoyed the attentions of Eddie
Case, and, in her own subtle way, encouraged him. Occasionally, during rehearsals, she would flash a rare, toothy smile at
Eddie from her position at the offstage
piano as he walked toward her. Invariably, her attention would cause him to forget a line or miss a cue, and Sister would
bring him back to reality with a quick,
harsh word, and he'd continue, red-faced
but smug.
At one rehearsal, however, Eddie was
more successful in his quest to court the

object of his affection. His fellow student

actors were all too aware of his affection
for Esther. To them, it seemed he had
only two obsessions becoming a movie
star was one; Esther was the other. Because they teased him about her so mercilessly, he enlisted them in a plot to help
him have some time alone with her. They
were happy to help, anticipating the
pleasure of putting one over on their dictatorial director, and in the bargain, hoping to put an end to Eddie's constant prattling about Esther.
The plan was simple enough. One day,
when they were rehearsing a ballroom
scene, before Colonel Seller's entrance,
the cast made a mess of the blocking that
Sister Annunciata had so carefully
planned. As they knew she would, she
stopped the rehearsal, and from her third
row seat in the auditorium, began her
lecture on professionalism, concentration,
obedience and competence. They'd heard
it all before, but to help Eddie, they paid
attention as if it were new information,
even to the point of asking for clarification on some of Sister's finer points. It
was probably the best acting the cast had
ever accomplished, and it was for the
benefit of the smallest audience they'd
ever perform for.
While their performance was in progress
on stage, Eddie simply sat down next to
Esther on the piano bench, and told Esther
he was going to marry her. Her reaction
was a total surprise, to both of them. She
looked him straight in the eye without
smiling, and kissed him. I'll wait, was
all she said. He needed to brace himself.
Unfortunately, forgetting where he was,
Eddie leaned on the lower keys of the
piano and created a dis-chord that stopped
Sister Annunciata in mid-rant.
What's going on up there?, she barked,
and Esther peeked out from the stage
right wing and said, Sorry, Sister. I
slipped.
Copyright 2009 Frank LaPosta Visco
Next: In Part Seven, hell to pay.

Saturday, April 4, 5-8 pm

Christ Church United Methodist
Corner of 5th Ave & State Street in
downtown Troy
Free parking is available in the city garage behind the church
Homemade sauce from Grandma Delia's
recipe courtesy of chef Paul
Garlic bread, salad, homemade dessert,
beverage
Vegan and Take Out option available
$8 for adults, $4 for children up to 6
Sauce and meatballs to take home as
available for $5 per quart
Please call ahead for group takeout (6 or
more dinners) and plan to pick them up
between 4:30 and 5 pm 272-8392
Proceeds benefit Bethany Hospitality
Center, Joseph's House, Unity House,
Troy Area United Ministries and the Troy
YWCA. Co-sponsored by the Robert C.
Parker School
Planning
Meeting
April 15th
Following
our regular
Monthly
meeting
Troy Little Italy will take part in the week
long celebration of the 400th anniversary
of the Hudson River. Our time slot is
Thursday September 24th, 3 pm to 8 pm .
Our theme is the year 1909. We have
been researching phone books and business directories at the Troy Public Library
and found many different ethnic groups
inhabited our area now called South Central. We had the Germans at St. Lawrence's, the French at St. Jeans, the Irish,
the Russian Jews, the Syrians and Italians.
We would like to portray our neighborhood as it was back in 1909. We are asking any individual or any group who
would like to participate to attend our
planning meeting. A few thoughts were
ethnic foods and period costumes. Join
with us and be a part of history.

April Meetings
Cleaning Day Starts April 6th
Our neighborhood will have a new look
soon. Our Street Maintenance person,
Ron Kellar will be out and about. This
program is possible through Pathstone
Senior Community Service Program.

3/15 Neighborhood Watch 6 pm

Troy Little Italy
7 pm
3/16 Weed and Seed
5:30 pm
Rourke Center, 4th and State