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CELEBRAZIONE:
BOROUGH PRESIDENT CELEBRATES ITALIAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH IN BROOKLYN

Photographs by Kathryn Kirk

In photo from left to right: Honorees Ralph Del Priore, Angelina Pontone and Gerald Bertuna receive citations from Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

Italian Sculpture Exhibition Opens at Borough Hall

On Friday, October 29, 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, Father Enzo Fortunato of the Convent of Assisi, Italy, and Dr. Angelo Gimondo, Chair of the Italian Heritage and Culture Committee of New York, Inc., also attended the celebration. Borough President Markowitz honored a number of Italian-American Brooklynites for their extraordinary work and contributions to the Brooklyn community.

“Neighborhoods like Bensonhurst, Carroll Gardens, Gravesend, Greenpoint, Coney Island, Dyker Heights and Williamsburg continue to put our borough on the map as the proud home of one of the largest Italian-American communities in all of North America,” said Borough President Markowitz. “Staten Island might think they’re the new Little Italy — but I have good news for you — Brooklyn is Italia grosso! Like the special ingredients that make every pasta sauce distinctive, Italian-Americans are the spice of life that make Brooklyn unique.”

This year’s honorees included Gerald Bertuna, Angelina Pontone, and the Landscape Gardeners Association.

Gerald Bertuna, a native of Vizzini, Italy, came to America as a boy in 1956. Since then, Bertuna has become one of the top bridal photographers in all of Brooklyn. Bertuna has also been an active community advocate, with the New York Professional Photographers Association as well as on Community Board 11 in Bensonhurst. He is also President Emeritus of the Ben Bay Kiwanis Club.

Angelina Pontone has long been a dedicated advocate serving her community and providing loving support to her enormous family. Angelina and her late husband Thomas founded the prestigious South Brooklyn Casket Company way back in 1931 — now known as Milso Industries — and she is the matriarch of a family that includes 8 children, 21 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren.

Since 1968, the Brooklyn Landscape Gardeners Association has been not just an advocate for our borough’s landscape professionals — many of whom are new to America — it has also helped plant the seeds of hundreds of new businesses, and then nurtured them as they have grown. The President of the Brooklyn Landscape Gardeners Association, Mr. Ralph Del Priore, accepted the honor on behalf of the Association.

Noted Italian sculptor Silvio Amelio’s exhibition “Il Parnaso” (“Mythology and Reality”) also opened Friday night and will be on display at Borough Hall through November 10, 2004. The sculpture series joins Amelio’s magnificent sculpture of “La Musa Di Brooklyn,” which was unveiled at Borough Hall in October of 2003.

Joe Chirico and the Brooklyn Restaurant Association, along with Aunt Suzie’s Restaurant, Henry’s End, Marco Polo Ristorante, Mio Restaurant, and Pearl Room, generously provided dinner for this event. Other sponsors included: Mona Lisa Bakery, Monteleone Pastry Shop, Royal Crown Pastry Shop, Villabate Pastry Shop, Moka D’Oro Cafe, Palm Bay Imports, Brown Forman, Bolla Wines, Prestige Wine Co., and Batasiolo.