LITTLE ITALY NEWS JANUARY 2013 EDITION

www.littleitalytroy.org

troylittleitaly@gmail.com

NEIGHBORHOOD LANDLORD TRAINING SESSION

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 12 6 TO 7 P.M.
TAUM 392 SECOND STREET, TROY
The program will be presented by TRIP
-Landlord

training overview

-How to promote landlord training with a neighborhood

-Background on the Troy Neighborhood Action Council
-Update on the Vacant Buildings Project
The program will be facilitated by Hilary Lamishaw
Update from Jason Valente our Community Police Officer

FREE

FREE

FREE

Free Tax returns prepared starting

Saturday January 26, 2013
Italian Community Center
1450 Fifth Avenue, Troy, N.Y.
VITA
Monday 6 to 9
Thursday 12 to 5
Saturday 10 to 2

AARP
Tuesday 9 to 3
Wednesday 9 to 3

For appointments call: Meghan at The

Community Police Dept. 518-270-4689

South Central/Little
Italy in the News
The Record, December 29,
2012. Repairs, renovations
continue at Flavour Caf by
Danielle Sanzone. Update on
the work being done on the
228 Fourth Street caf following a devastating fire a
year ago.
The Record, January 1,
2013. A great event, by
Marion Field and Rocco DeFazio. Pulse of the People
column Thank you to all
who participated and attended the Christmas in Little Italy event on December
2, 2012.

On the net
For those of you who have
access to face book I highly
recommend several fine sites
relating to Troy: Troy NY
Memories, South Troy
Against the World, American Troyalty, and Troy by
Gas Light. Not only is there
interesting conversation but
a constant array of excellent
vintage photos. Also, check
out Troy resident William G.
Carey, Jrs site, Maureen
Stapleton: A Hell of an Actress. Maureen, born and
raised in Troy, will be the
subject of a major exhibit,
Troy is my Hometown:
The life and times of Maureen Stapleton which will
open on Friday, February 1,
2013 at the Rensselaer
County Historical Society,
57 Second Street, Troy.

We Remember . . .
Three longtime residents of
Little Italy, all parishioners of St.
Marys Parish:
Mary E. Furciniti formerly
of Ida Street died at the age
of 94. Mary, daughter of the
late Felice and Bessie Melia
and wife of the late John
Furciniti is survived by her
children Bess (Bill) Cowieson and Gerald (Nancy)
Furciniti, five grandchildren
and seven great grandchildren. Mary retired in 1981
from Standard Manufacturing Company of Troy. She
was an active member of the
parish Altar-Rosary Society
and the Washington Park
Friendly Seniors.
Grace Hoffman, Fourth
Street resident died at the
age of 89. Grace, daughter of
the late Louis and Stella
Pasinella DeLucia and wife
of the late Raymond Hoffman is survived by her five
sons, Paul, Raymond
(Patricia), Joe (Cindy), Bob
(Michele) and Tom (Kelly)
and her daughter, Anne
(Jerry) Cherrier, sixteen
grandchildren and four great
grandchildren and her fifth
great grandchild, due in
May. Grace, a 20 year employee of the City of Troy
(Office of Vital Statistics),
often shared her memories of
growing up in Troy and was
very proud of being a WWII
veteran, serving with the U.
S. Marine Corps. She was a

volunteer with the St.

Marys food pantry and a
Eucharist minister at the parish. Grace was predeceased
by her sister Philomena
Gustin.
Jane M. Countois formerly
of Fourth Street died at the
age of 97. Julia, daughter of
the late Anthony and Angeline Pitaniello and wife of
the late Jack Countois is survived by her son Jack
(Sandy) Countois, three
grandchildren, six great
grandchildren, and her sister
Rita Cioffi. Jane spent many
years as a floor manager and
seamstress at Tiny Town
Togs in Troy and, along with
her husband Jack, was plant
manager of Loveland Togs
in Albany. Jane was a member of the Washington Park
Friendly Seniors and the
Troy Senior Center
We extend our condolences
to the Furciniti, Hoffman
and Countois families at the
loss of these three gracious
women and good neighbors.

January Meeting
1/16
Neighborhood Watch
6 p.m.
Troy Little Italy
6:30 p.m.
233 Fourth Street
Corner of Washington
and Fourth

News of the Neighbors

William Gill and Stephanie
Stoyle who have been Fifth
Avenue residents for several
years recently purchased the
former Harts Garage near
the historic Gasholder
House. The young couple is
in the process of developing
plans for the structure which
has not only garage space
but a carriage house as well.
We wish them all the best
with this exciting venture.
Josh Chiappone and Chuck
Valente recently purchased
homes within a few buildings of each other on Fifth
Avenue south of Washington
Street in Troys Little Italy.
Both young men are from
families with long time connections to the neighborhood. Joshs fraternal grandparents resided on Ida Street
for many years and his parents are now the owners of
three buildings on Ida.
Chucks grandparents, the
Casales and the Valentes,
lived across the street from
each other for many years on
Hill and Fifth. Chuck purchased the former home of
his fraternal grandparents.
Welcome (back) to the
neighborhood!
Neighborhood Watch
Problems can be reported to
Rocco Defazio . Stop in the
store at 264 Fourth Street or
call 518 274-6688
rdefazio@nycap.rr.com

News of the Neighborhood

We now have 5
workers to help keep
our neighborhood
clean. They will be
out and about clearing drains and picking up debris. We
are in the process of
getting safety vests
so you can identify
them.
If you have a
problem area
that needs attention call Joe
Popson 5188677607
or e-mail
Marion at
mvf1406@aol.
com

Student Housing Charming APARTMENT in the heart

of Historic Troy Little Italy. Perfect for 4 students to share. It
sits across from DeFazios Pizza, and is in-between the best
rehab of 2012 and the CYO, Community Youth Organization. It is 1block from Washington Park, 2 walking blocks
from the Red Front restaurant, 5 blocks to downtown Troy, 2
blocks to Patricellis Sub shop, and Laundromat. It is a
hop, skip and a jump from the Market Place where social
events are held throughout the year. Heat, electric, fully furnished kitchen, living area, dining area with conference table
and chairs, partial laundry and house cleaning service, internet, cable, TV, secure rooms with private refrigerators.
$500.00 per student.
251 4th Street, 2nd floor. contact by email at
diyrestoreit@gmail.com or call Andrea 470-7369.

Vegan Bakery, Xs to Os wins

First Place in Bake Off!

Troy, NY (Dec 2012) -Something special was offered at the Victorian Stoll this year by Troy
Little Italy! Anyone could fill their plate with the best desserts in the area and indulge and enjoy the sweets from many bakeries in the area! Everyone would then vote for his or her favorite, and the Triple Chocolate Brownies ran away with being the most favored. Congratulations to Xs to Os.
Xs to Os has been in operation for the last 3 years at 97 Fourth St, Troy, NY. Sarah Preston,
the owner, originally from Ilion, NY, who was in college 10 years ago, became a vegan. With
her Grandmothers influence, as a child, she knew she had a special calling to the world of good
health! Many of her desserts are gluten free which is important to those who have celiac disease. The desserts are made with substitutes for eggs, cream, butter, and milk no animal products. The larger percentage of Sarahs business is catering to the wholesale market her goodies can be found at Honest Weight, Albany; Bombers Burrito Bar, Albany; Uncle Sams Good
Natural Products, Troy; and Lil Buddha Tea Company & Vegan Caf, Albany.

David Graham, Secretary of Troy Little Italy, was proud to present Sarah Preston
with an original buon fresco award for first place in the 2012 Bake Off!

Christmas in Little Italy

Many thanks to the Chiappone family of Ida Street and neighborhood businessman George
Regan for the wonderful display of the former St. Marys Church Nativity set which has found
a new home in our neighborhood at a window of the Friehofers Run for Women Headquarters
at 233 Fourth Street since early December. The crche will be on display until the Feast of the
Epiphany on January 6, 2013. The scene brings back warm memories of St. Marys during
Christmas. We are grateful to the Cuozzo family who displayed the Nativity set for two years in
the store window of their neighborhood grocery at Third and Liberty.
Approximately ninety people attended our Christmas in Little Italy event on Saturday evening,
December 2, 2012. Brother Philip Hira, OFM of St. Anthony of Padua Church blessed the
Ceppo placed at Liberty Square. A Troy police cruiser spotlight temporarily illuminated the
Ceppo during the blessing when its lights failed. Petersburg resident, Donald F. Lindsay, a professional piper, instructor and judge, and Steve Iachetta (on fiddle) played a selection of traditional Christmas carols. After the community tree was lit, Mayor Louis Rosamilia led the attendees in a Christmas carol as Jerry Favata prepared roasted chestnuts. A new event added to our
festivities was the inclusion of la posada, a representation of Joseph and Marys unsuccessful
attempt at finding a place to stay in the hours before the Christ Child was born. Employees of
Joseph House, dressed as Joseph and Mary, stopped at several Hill Street homes and were met
on the front stairs by Mike Esposito, Mayor Rosamilia and Maria Gavazzi posing as inn keepers
as Joseph asked for a place to stay. Dozens of attendees of the Christmas event followed along.
The journey ended, appropriately, at the Joseph House Hill Street Inn where the remainder of
the program was held. Our thanks to Tracy Neitzel and the staff and residents of the Hill Street
Inn for being gracious hosts for the evening. Claire Davis, once again in costume, read the story
of LaBefana to the delight of the youngsters in attendance, followed by a social hour with desserts and refreshments provided by staff and residents of the Hill Street Inn and additional holiday music by Donald and Steve. Thank you to all who attended and to all who made the event
possible.

To view a video of the 2012 bagpiper, please,

click on the link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=G5JJlq3l34M&feature=plcp

La Posada at Siena College

After attending our Christmas in Little Italy the Religious and Art Departments from Siena
college decided to reenact their own version. They did a great job.

The one with the hat on is Rocco

DeFazio the other ones name is Gus

A Sample of Paula's Pics

The above photos were taken by Paula Hebert who resides at Kennedy Towers in
Troy. Paula is retired and decided instead of sitting on a bench or playing bingo
she would take up digital photography instead. You may have seen her taking
photographs on the city streets. She would eventually like to have her own web
Site to market her card. You can see and purchase her cards at the following
businesses in Troy: Market Block Books, Clement Frame and Art, Artcentric,
Shabadashery, and the Art Center Shop during the holidays.
Paula is available for senior birthday/holiday parties and would love to hear from
you. You may contact Paula at PaulasPics4U@gmail.com or272-1369. If you
have purchased any of her cards e-mail her and she will place you on her mailing
list.