LITTLE ITALY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2007 EDITION

troylittleitaly@gmail.com
NATIONAL NIGHT OUT

It was a hot and steamy night but 75 people showed up to help us celebrate National Night Out against crime. Pictured
above is Mayor Harry Tutunjian with our
chalk sidewalk contest winner Shavaughn
Johnson accepting his first place trophy,
(Shavaughns dream is to be an artist)
and Domino the Great captivating his
audience with his spectacular magic.
SPECIAL THANKS
Our evening would not have been a success without our event chairman Tony
Defiglio. Tonys idea of fun was for the
children to enjoy themselves by having
games, giveaways and prizes. Tony collected over $350, shopped for school supplies, Target Stores (the sponsor of National Night Out) supplied the bags and
each child walked away with a goody bag
and a prize or two. Michael Esposito
passed out books to the children and Andrea Daley supplied the chalk for our contest.
The grownups were treated to Don Russells (The Irish Mist) culinary treats of
Corn Beef and Cabbage and Vegetable
Pasta Prima Alfredo along with our covered dish supper and delicious pizza do-

donated by the Nicholass from Trattoria

Pizza. Water was supplied by George
Regan, soda by Rocco DeFazio and ice
from the South End Tavern. Music was
provided by Rocky and Lillian from
Preferred Sound. Congressman
McNulty, Bingo Green and Fagan Insurance made substantial donations along
with the following people: Carla
McGreevy, Joan Lopez, Fred Cesta, Gary
and Pat Krikorian, Margo family, John
Dolan, Billy, John & Patty Campana,
Mike Loporto, Eileen Herald, John
Brown, Joe & Colleen Panza, Lisa Layman, Colleen Hatman, Joe Merola.
Continued on page 3
PITCH IN AND PICK UP . . .
PLEASE!
Several residents along Fourth Street have
taken the time to make favorable comments about the new trash receptacles on
the street. We hope their availability at
the corners of several blocks are making a
difference. Granted Fourth Street with its
heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic is a
difficult street to keep clean but neighbors
and DPW are trying. People are frequently seen throughout the neighborhood
(not just Fourth) picking up litter dropped
sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally, sometimes carried by the
wind when a trash bag is not properly
secured or an animal scratches through a
bag, or worse when someone actually
pitches litter from a car window! The
DPW crew isnt always able to make its
Friday cleaning schedule for one reason
or another and litter swept into the gutter
a day or two before a scheduled cleanup
ends up everywhere. We are planning to
request additional trash receptacles for
other areas in the neighborhood. All we
can suggest all we can hope for is that
residents keep an eye out on the sidewalks and gutters throughout the
neighborhoods and take it upon themselves to continue to pitch in and pick
up!

SOUTH CENTRAL TROY WATCH

UPDATE
We had our last Neighborhood Watch
meeting on August 15th at the Freihofers
Race Headquarters. Once again we had
an excellent turnout with close to 30 residents in attendance! Officer Chris
McDonald gave his update on active code
violations and arrests. We hope in the
future to be able to email the actual maps
detailing the arrests in the South Troy
area.
We also had a presentation by Margaret
Skelton on the Safe Haven signs that are
in place in the businesses in South Troy to
give scared kids a safe place to go. Margaret has worked really hard on this program and she has been doing it for many
years. Thanks for all of your efforts! It is
a great program that makes our neighborhood safer.
Officer McDonough was also a presenter this month and spoke about his role
as the Animal Control Officer for the City
of Troy. He shared information about
how to handle barking dogs and concerns
about dog fighting. He can best be
reached by calling the non-emergency
number at 270-4411.
As always, please report any incidents
that are of concern to you to either Chris
McDonald at chris.mcdonald@troyny.gov
or by calling the SOS confidential drug
hotline at 270-5004. For emergencies,
call 911. The residents of South Troy are
truly on watch and at every meeting, we
see more and more progress that is directly related to information from the
community.
If you want to receive regular updates
through email and get crime alerts, please
send an email to sctrowatch@gmail.com.
Feel free to let your friends know about
this address. The next Neighborhood
Watch Meeting will be on September
19th at 6:00 at the Freihofers Race Headquarters at the corner of 4th and Washington. We hope to see you there!!

THE PORT HENRY CONNECTION

By Mike Esposito
Port Henry is a quiet Essex County village on the southern shore of Lake Champlain. Its 1822 blast furnace to process
iron ore was one of the first in the
country. Iron ore a major industry of the
region and the railroad that transported
the ore provided the jobs that attracted
European immigrants to the Adirondack
village over one hundred years ago.
Several families from Naples, Italy and its
surrounding cities found employment at
the Witherbee-Sherman Mining Company
(later acquired by Republic Steel) and the
railroad lines.
Among the Italian immigrant families
who moved to Troys Little Italy from
Port Henry in the 1920s were Joseph,
Paul, Emilio, and Dominick Esposito and
their sisters Maria (Tedesco) and Madeline (Iacketta). Their daughters married
into the Bocketti, Carella, Cioffi, DeMaria, Donato, Lanzillo, Merola, Montanino, Padalino, Perrotta, Santandrea,
Valenti, and Vellotti families and others
as well. They became long-time residents
of Third, Fourth, Adams, Hill, Havermans
and other streets in our neighborhood. At
one time there were as many as one hundred first cousins living within a few
blocks of each other! Among the other
Port Henry families to relocate to our
neighborhood were Fred and Laura
Tedesco, the Germanos, the Cestas, and
the Delassios. Members of the families
continued to reside in Little Italy for
many decades. All shared the family values and work ethic written about so often
that seemed common to the immigrant
experience. Many of the women who
worked were employed in Troys garment
industry especially at Tiny Town Togs
located a few blocks from their homes.
Some of the men in the family followed
their fathers as employees at the Republic
Steel foundry in South Troy. Others were
mill workers and laborers, fruit peddlers,
policemen and public servants, bakers,
business owners and truck drivers.
Many years later there is still a strong
sense of identity with the small upstate
village of Port Henry. People have fond
memories of their aunts, uncles and cousins from up north and remember with
pleasure the years of traveling north for
family visits. Some still enjoy Lake
Champlain smelt sent down to Troy by
special couriers. They take great pride
in watching Channel 9 broadcasters Jamie

Kazlow, great granddaughter of Anna

Esposito Salerno and Marisa Jacques,
granddaughter of Antoinette Tedesco
Bocketti. Both Anna and Antoinette were
Port Henry natives. To date none of the
Troy cousins have reported seeing
Champ the mysterious sea creature that
lurks in the deep, cold waters of Lake
Champlain!
As the years pass, there is less traveling
among family members between the upstate village and the city neighborhood
but the phone lines keep buzzing as
family connections continue.
SOUTH CENTRAL/LITTLE ITALY
IN THE NEWS
Recalling a grand old place by Mike
Esposito. The Record, August 12, 2007,
p11. Troy Treasures article regarding
plans for a photo exhibit project of
neighbors from a part of Troys Little
Italy.
five questions. . . The Record, August 8,
2007, p2. South Centrals Little Italy
neighborhood activist Mike Esposito interviewed in five questions column by
Katherine Caggianelli
Eight Troy neighborhoods taking
back the night by Kathryn Caggianelli.
The Record, August 7, 2007, p9. National
Night Out coverage of Troy neighborhood events. Rocco DeFazio of Little
Italy speaking for the Troy Neighborhood
Coalition advises that we strengthen already existing neighborhood groups and
empower others in Troy to start neighborhood associations and neighborhood
watch programs.
Howdy, neighbors, on Night Out, photos by J. S. Carras, The Record, August 9,
2007, p8.
Magician: Domino the Great Nelson
Olivera performs at The MarketPlace in
Troy.
The Historian and daily historian
1949 LaSalle Institute ROTC Band,
photo submitted by Nick Cristiano Sr.,
The Record, Auust 11, 2007, p16
1ST ANNUAL LITTLE ITALY
ANTIQUE CAR SHOW
Columbus day weekend, Saturday 10/6
From 11 am to 4pm @ the Marketplace
between Washington and Liberty in South
Troy For vehicle registration form contact: Rocco DeFazio at 271-1111 or
rdefazio@nycap.rr.com

CINEMA UNDER THE STARS at The

MarketPlace, Friday, September 28, following Troy Night Out, 8:45 pm (in case
of rain, the film will be shown at The
Gasholder House, Fifth & Jefferson).
Robert Rossellinis The Flowers of St.
Francis. In a series of simple and joyous
vignettes, director Rossellini and cowriter Federico Fellini lovingly convey
the universal teachings of the Peoples
Saint: humility, compassion, faith and
sacrifice. Photographed to evoke the medieval paintings of Saint Francis time, and
cast with monks from the Nocera Inferiore Monastery, the film is a timeless and
moving portrait of the search for spiritual
enlightenment.
SATURDAY SALES RETURNS TO
THE BOOKCELLAR
In celebration of the return of our Saturday sales to The BookCellar, The Friends
of the Troy Public Library will sponsor a
Dollar a Bag Book Sale on Saturday,
September 8, 2007 at The BookCellar, in
the Main Library, 100 Second Street,
Troy. Sales hours will be from 10 am 2
pm. Weather permitting, join us also at
the Caf in the Court Yard adjoining The
BookCellar for coffee or a cold drink and
donuts and other baked goods. All regularly priced hardbound and paperback
books, both fiction and non-fiction, will
be on sale for one dollar per bag (we supply the bags)! All other items will be at
their regular prices.
Following the September 8th sale, the
BookCellar will be opened the first Saturday of each month from October to June
(10 am 2 pm). Our weekly book sales
remain the same throughout the year,
each Wednesday (10 am 2 pm). All
proceeds benefit the Library.
The BookCellar was organized in 1990
by The Friends of the Troy Public Library
and is maintained and operated by volunteers. Its mission is to stock clean, gently
used, interesting, moderately priced books
for the community; raise money to support the Librarys public programs and to
fund special gifts; encourage and support
literacy and the joy of reading; and supply
area non-profit organizations and agencies with books when possible. The
BookCellar continues to be a great bargain because next to new books are
sold at low prices.

VICTORIAN STROLL
Plans are in the making for an exciting
venture for the South Central area. Businesses are coming together with many
ideas to make themselves known in this
vicinity. If you have any ideas, or would
like to take part in the planning stages,
Contact andrea@touchupsupport.com
TROY BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB
AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM
The ASP program is opening on September 10th. The hours of operation are from
2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mon. thru Fri.
contact number is 274-3781. There is
busing from School #12, School #14 and
we pick up from the Ark Charter School.
Continued from page 1
R & M grocery, Famous Lunch, THA
Taylor offices, Lucille Salerno, Dan
Ryan, Mike the mailman, Ken Zalewski.
A special thanks to Ray Piscitella of the
CYO for the use of their tables and chairs
and to our set-up and clean up crew, Tony
DeFiglio, Debra Strope, Don Russell,
Marion Field, Agnes Zinc, George and
Bruce from USA Track and Field, Harry
Tutunjian, Joe Mancino, Charlie Staats,
Jean Krueger, Gina Corina. If we forgot
anyone, please accept out apology and
our thanks. Without our volunteers and
donations we would not be able to have
successful events. GREAT JOB!!!!!!!

Joseph Riley
Everyone associated with
Troy Little Italy offers their
condolences to the family
and friends of Joe Riley.
Joes love for Troy and his
special feelings for the old
neighborhood won him the
respect of all who knew him.
Even though he was a young
man, he recognized the importance of memories and
one of his lasting contributions will be his role in organizing the evenings of
memories provided at the
market gang reunions. Joe
will be a part of our collective memory for a long, long
time.
RPI FRESHMEN HELP OUR
NEIGHBORHOOD
Troy Little Italy was the direct beneficiary for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institutes
Policy that involves incoming freshmen
in Troy community life. On August 23rd
two dozen young men from RPI spent the
morning at the MarketPlace and Adams
Street clearing weeds and debris. We
want to thank these young people as well
as RPI for their efforts and we hope that
we will see them back in our neighborhood when they have time to enjoy our
restaurants, shops and services.

Real Estate for Sale or Rent

1 Family
160 2nd St. $295,000 Tom 391-2494
29 Jefferson $79,900 Joseph 286-2903
512 Washington St $135,000
Laurie 690-0510 Ext. 114
47 Adams St. $134.900 Dave 365-4467
2 Family
65 Hill St. $117,900 William 331-4755
322 4th St. $135,000 Mary
640-4535
120 Jefferson $47,500 Brian 452-4298
296 4th St. $149,900 John
588-8389
Multi Units
144 Hill St. $72,000 Bill
577-7798
183 3rd St. $249,000 Patricia 229-5800
120 Adam St. $135,000 Jay 272-1313
177 4th St. $189,900 Barbara 424-5291
Commercial
275 4th St $149,900 Dan
669-6876
8 Franklin Place $139,900 Jim 588-6755
Rentals
Near Italian Community Center. 1st fl,
2 bedroom, Fenced in yard, updated
kitchen, laundry. $695 plus utilities.
Call Kristen 448-5014
1BR Store front apartment. Great for a
small business and/or apartment. Would
be willing to make renovations for a business, Available immediately!
236 4th St., Spacious 2BR,DR, HW
floors, access to fenced yard, gas heat.
Recently rehabbed. Couples, Grad Students and Pets welcome. $750 + utilities.
Must supply references. Available 8/1
Call Judy 339-4391
213-215 4th St. Under Construction
1st floor-Retail/Office Space-build to
suit-900 Sq Ft. $900 per month
Apartment Rental-2 Bedrooms-New
Apartments-Air Conditioning-WIFI$700 a month .
Contact Anthony Cavotta 441-1803

Clean, modern 2-bedroom in Little Italy,

across from DeFazio's. Private entrance,
patio area, parking, washer/dryer, dishwasher, owners live upstairs. Ideal for
single person or working, couple. New
laminate floors, closets/storage, gas cooking stove, ceiling fans. No smoking , no
pets.$650 per month, security and references. contact Joely at joely@troyyoga.com for more info.
$725 / 3br FREE TV with year lease.
New paint, carpet, hrwd floors. $20 fee or
credit check and application. No smoking
Call 206-240-6912

MORE RENTALS
Washington Park, spacious 3 bedroom
Heat and hot water included $1500.
238 Fourth Street, (2) 2 bedrooms under
renovation and looking for an October
move in date. $650 plus utilities.
WE NEED YOUR HELP
The Little Italy Community has made
great progress by working with the City
of Troy, Community Police and Code
Enforcement in ridding our area of
disruptive tenants. Now is the time for
residents to do their part by helping us
bring new civic minded tenants to our
neighborhood. Tell your relatives, your
friends or anyone you know you would
like to have living next door about the
vacancies we have available. Each month
at our meetings we see new faces of people who care about quality of life issues.
What a great opportunity to be a part of
Troy Little Italys resurgence.
LITTLY ITALY BOOTH
Were back! Once again we ask that you
bring us your pictures to add to our collection of Little Italys past. Stop by to
sign up to receive our newsletter, info on
our neighborhood watch and view a slide
show from last years Festa.
Mike Esposito is doing a project on
Havermans Avenue and adjoining streets.
He is especially interested in street scape
scenes and other information you may
have available.
APPROACH ARTS PROJECT
2007 is the 100th anniversary of the Approach Staircase, which was built by the
Troy Chamber of Commerce as a link
between the city and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. To celebrate the staircase, a
number of events are planned, all of
which are free of charge.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Seeking work to celebrate the Approach
as it was, as it is and as it could be in
writing, music or dance performance and
visual art for a show at the Fulton Street
Gallery and presentation at the staircase.
Create work on your own or come to
workshop for teenagers through adults
listed below. Collaborations are encouraged. Contact Amy Halloran at 2745138, ahall@capital.net or John Connors,
347-612-3370 for more information.
CELEBRATIONSunday 10/16
1 pm to 4 pm.

SEPTEMBER MEETINGS
Neighborhood Watch 6 PM

233 FOURTH STREET

Troy Little Italy
7 PM