Brooklyn Borough President

CELEBRAZIONE: MARKOWITZ CELEBRATES ITALIAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

Photograph by Laura Geiser

In photo (form left to right): G. Jack Spatola, Frank Naccarato, Dr. Daniel D. Ricciardi, Fay Milea, Borough President Markowitz, Antonio Troia, Dr. Angelo Gimondo, and Mico Licastro (Member of the Italian Heritage & Culture Committee of New York).

Photo exhibit captures Italian immigration from female perspective

On Tuesday, October 11, Borough President Marty Markowitz celebrated Italian-American Heritage Month in Brooklyn with a special program at Borough Hall. Minister Antonio Bandini, Consul General of Italy in New York and Dr. Angelo Gimondo, Chair of the Italian Heritage and Culture Committee of New York joined hundreds of members of Brooklyn’s Italian community for the celebration.

“Tonight’s event pays tribute to the many achievements and contributions of Brooklyn’s Italian-American community, as well as the many individuals and organizations that help make Brooklyn the proud home to everyone from everywhere — every day,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. “Brooklyn’s renaissance is due in no small part to our Italian-American community, who stood by Brooklyn and believed in Brooklyn through thick and thin. Even those who moved to Staten Island — and made it Brooklyn’s only suburb — are still Brooklyn!”

At this year’s event, the Borough President honored Fay Milea, owner of Bruno Truck Sales; Dr. Daniel D. Ricciardi, chief of the Division of Rheumatology at Long Island College Hospital; and the Federation of Italian-American Organizations of Brooklyn, LTD along with its chairman, G. Jack Spatola and president, Frank Naccarato. Antonio Troia, owner of Troy Electrical Contracting, received an honorable mention for his work on the Beacon project at the 69th Street Pier.

In honor of Italian Heritage Month, Photographer Jessica Chornesky’s exhibit “Something Borrowed, Something New” is currently on display at the Brooklyn Borough Hall Community Room Gallery. “Something Borrowed, Something New” uses photographs and oral histories to explore Italian immigration to the United States from a uniquely female perspective. The photos document and compare Italian women who immigrated to the U.S. after World War II with their female counterparts (primarily sisters and cousins) who stayed in Italy. The images uncover inspirational and at times tragic stories of sisterhood and how lives are influenced by factors including money, power, sex and work.