LITTLE ITALY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2011 EDITION

www.littleitalytroy.org

troylittleitaly@gmail.com

International Festival
Save the date Saturday, September 24th, 11 am to 7 pm, Hill Street MarketPlace, for Troy Little Italys 3rdInternational Festival. Returning participants to the festival are Ladies Auxiliary of
the Ancient Order of Hibernians (great Irish soda bread and corned beef and cabbage sandwiches), AGAPE Church (outstanding soul food) plus performances by their amazing gospel
singers as well as a Bouncy Bounce for the kids, the Italian Community Center (delicious sausage & peppers), DeFazios award winning pizza, tasty Churros from the cart of Alice and
Paul Marano of Christ Church Troy, specialties of Caribbean First Choice, the terrific tastes of
Greek food from the new Third Street restaurant, tea and scones from St. Pauls Church and a
few other food vendors we are speaking with. Information booths will include those sponsored
by Troy Little Italy, the American-Italian Heritage Association, Troy Irish Genealogy Society,
Troy Public Library, Franco-American Federation, and the Ukrainian-Russian community.
Kathy Sheehan of RCHS will present a program on the Underground Railroad and the historic
Liberty Street Presbyterian Church and we will display our poster board collection of neighborhood history. The International Festival will also include our Tribute to Nick Brignola, the Internationally Acclaimed Jazz Saxophonist who grew up in Troys Little Italy. A tribute band
featuring friends of Nick will perform between 5 7 pm to close out the festival. Between now
and September 24th you can expect several other additions to the family friendly program as our
terrific volunteers meet with individuals, groups and organizations. Come celebrate with us as
we highlight the diversity that was always a part of the various South Central and South Troy
neighborhoods.
Nick Brignola Tribute Band Announced
Rocco DeFazio has announced that a quartet of friends of Saxophonist Nick Brignola will be
the featured performers at A Tribute to Nick Brignola. The event in honor of the Troy native
and internationally acclaimed baritone saxophonist will be held at the Third Annual International Festival sponsored by Troy Little Italy on Saturday, September 24, 2011 at the Hill Street
MarketPlace. The festival hours are from 11 am to 7 pm. The jazz concert will begin at 5 pm.
Featured musicians in the tribute band will be David Calarco, Chuck DAloia and Otto Gardner
who collectively have a very long history with Nick. Dave performed almost exclusively as
Nicks drummer for twenty five years. Chuck was Nicks guitarist for many years and Otto was
Nicks bassist for more than five years. In fact this exact trio was Nicks working band for the
last five years of his life and played numerous performances together during that time. Saxophonist Brian Patneaude the fourth member of the band is a former student of Nicks who is
forging his own path in music and looks to carry on the jazz tradition of his teacher.
Troy Public Needs Your Help (Again)
The Troy Public Library is appealing to the public as it asks voters to approve a tax levy which
will cost the average homeowner $8 more per year (for a total increase of $135,000). Fully half
of the increase is necessary because Rensselaer County is no longer contributing $72,000 to the
annual library budget. The cut in the county appropriation saves each county resident forty five
cents per year (160,000 residents divided by $72,000). The vote will take place on Tuesday,
September 27, 2011 from 10 am to 8 pm at both the main branch, 100 Second Street and the
Lansingburgh Branch, 27 114th Street. All things considered, the public library is among the
most cost effective institutions available and its services and collections are important resources
for our city and county. Not everything is available on the internet and not everyone has access
to computers. There are numerous resources available at the public library that are true Troy
Treasures including the entire Troy Room Collection, Troy newspapers on microfilm, hand
printed indices not available in computer formats, detailed historic census data and much, much
more.

Flood Water in South Central - Photos Courtesy of Vic Christopher

Posted by Richard Herrick

The Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA) has opened a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) located at the Rensselaer County Department of Social Services Administration Building, 127 Bloomingrove Dr. in the Town of North Greenbush.
The DRC is open 7 days a week from 8 am to 8 pm until further notice.
Residents who have sustained damage to their home, apartment, or property are urged to seek assistance at the DRC this
applies to everyone- home owners or renters.
Anyone can apply for FEMA assistance so apply as soon as you can to see if FEMA can help you.
You don't have to have been flooded out by the river or creek to be eligible to apply.
As I understand it, if for example your basement was flooded and your furnace ruined you may be able get a new one or have
FEMA pay for repairs.
Again apply as soon as you can to see if FEMA can help you .
Agencies represented at the DRC include:
FEMA State Emergency Management Office (SEMO) NYS Office of Family and Children's Services NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance NYS DMV NYS Homes and Community Renewal NYS Insurance Department NYS Department of Health NYS Office of Mental Health U.S. Small Business Administration NYS Department of
Labor Social Security Administration Salvation Army Rensselaer County Department for Aging
Information for that location can be found by calling 518- 833-6130.
Once again residents who sustained damage to their homes, apartments, or property are strongly encouraged to register with
FEMA by calling 1-800-621-3362, online at www.fema.gov or by visiting the DRC where you can also register for FEMA
assistance.

Emergency Shelter at the Italian Community Center1450 Fifth Avenue, Troy N.Y.
The telephone number for the center is 274-0508
Thank you to the members
of the ICC and Lori Kelley
for having the foresight to
set up the Shelter in time for
Irenes wrath.

South Central/Little Italy

News
Times Union, August 8,
2011. Norman Rockwell and
Troy made beautiful art together by Don Rittner on his
TU blog. Excellent article
with many photographs of
Rockwells use of Troy
scenes in his illustrations,
including scenes on Fourth
Street.
The Record, August 11,
2011. Prism Glassworks rehab of Fourth Street building
shatters competition for annual award by Cecilia Martinez. Phil Sundlings business at 225 Fourth Street is
recognized as the 2010 Best
Rehab.
The Record, August 11,
2011. South Troy voters
turnout for city council candidates forum by Cecilia
Martinez, photo by J. S.
Carras. South Troy
Neighborhood Watch joins
with Osgood, Burden Ironworks, Little Italy and Stowe
Farm neighborhood groups
in presenting political forum.
Times Union, August 16,
2011. An award winning
Troy rehab by Chris Churchill on his TU Blog. Before
and after photos of Prism
Glassworks site help tell the
story of why Troy Little Italy awarded the business its
2010 Best Rehab plaque.
The Record, August 26,
2011, p11. Mayor, Council
disagree on who should be
able to purchase Fourth St.

property by Cecilia Martinez. The lot at 229 Fourth

St. is being sought by the
Friends of Washington Park
to use in conjunction with
the former St. Marys
Church which they also purchased.
The Record, August 28,
2011, p14. Business owners
deny reports of agreement by
Cecilia Martinez. Larry Thomas and Denise St. Onge
state that there was no agreement with the Friends of
Washington Park on shared
use of the vacant lot at 229
Fourth Street which is up for
sale by the City of Troy.
The Record, August 28,
2011, p11. Credit reports,
brain health and music by
John Ostwald. The music
portion of Ostwalds popular column concerns the late
saxophonist Nick Brignola
and the Tribute to Brignola
planned for September 24,
2011 at the 3rd annual International Festival to be held
at the Hill Street MarkePlace.
The Record, September 2,
2011. City Council urges
bidders to compromise with
Friends of Washington Park
over contested Fourth Street
property by Cecilia Martinez. Legislation amended to
remove the property at 229
Fourth Street from list being
considered for approval. A
special meeting will be
scheduled to address the
issue.

Irish Mist Specials

The Flynn Brothers provide live

music from 7pm to 10pm on Friday, September 9. Then, from
11pm, NYC Dance Club keeps
things going until 3:30am.
-- Play Karaoke and Trivia starting at 9pm on Saturday, September 10.
Enjoy our breakfast buffet between 9am and 1:30pm on Sunday, September 11. The cost is $8
adults and $4 kids.
A look ahead to next week...
9/14 @ 7:30pm Open Mic with
J.T. Thomson, $3 draft specials
9/15 @ 7pm Half price appetizers, Words With Friends
9/16 @ 7pm Amy Collins
9/16 @ 11pm NYC Dance Club
9/18 @ 9am Breakfast Buffet
Mention this e-mail and receive
a free glass of house wine or
draft beer. Offer expires September 12, 2011 at 11:59pm.

Visit us on

Troy Little Italy

September Meeting
9/21//2011
Neighborhood Watch
6 pm
Little Italy
7 pm
233 Fourth Street

Neighborhood Spotlight
by Mike Esposito
Olivia Bonelli, the daughter of Louis and Jenny Riccardi Bonelli, was born on July 2, 1920, the
eldest of six children including two brothers, Peter and Louis A. and three sisters, Terese, Jane
and Mary. Her father was an accomplished local stone mason. The family were longtime residents of Seventh Avenue adjacent to Prospect Park south of Ferry Street. Like her siblings she
attended St. Anthonys School on Fifth Avenue a few blocks from her home. Olivia was a
member of the parish choir and in school Christmas pageants and church services often sang O
Holy Night. This beautiful hymn was composed in 1847 by Adolphe Adam, a prolific composer most noted for his ballets Giselle and La Corsaire. The lyrics were based on a French
poem by Placide Cappeau and edited by John Sullivan Dwight, a Unitarian minister and author
of Dwights Journal of Music. Olivias familiarity with the hymn would later be a launching
pad for the St. Anthony choir member who had a popular, steady and accomplished vocal career
which spanned the 1940s to the 1970s. Olivia made her debut in a solo recital at a performance
at the Emma Willard School where she was a pupil of Charles Pickering who taught at the prestigious school. In 1944 after Olivia successfully auditioned for the chorus of Radio City Music
Hall she stepped in at the last minute to sing O Holy Night at the Halls famed Christmas
Show Nativity scene. This was in December 1945. The film preceding the holiday special was
The Bells of St. Marys. As a result of the solo Olivia left the chorus to become a soloist for
three years at the prestigious Radio City Music Hall appearing in all of the companys major
stage productions. The Troy native was one of the early pioneers in live televised opera which
opened the venue to millions via the airwaves appearing in an ABC-TV production of LaTrivata in 1959. In 1967 she appeared with the Metropolitan Opera for a special reading of American composer Marvin David Levys opera based on the play Mourning Becomes Electra. Early
in her career she toured with the Starlighters, a USO group that sang for wounded service members in hospitals throughout the country. Her most requested solos on the tour were Gounods
Ave Maria and Victor Herberts Italian Street Song. Peter Bonelli tells us that despite the
grueling schedule she had the rest of her life, the experience of entertaining wounded service
members was the most meaningful experience of her life.
She performed with the New York City Opera and major opera companies across America.
Olivias beautiful, clear expressive soprano voice was heard by thousands of opera fans
throughout America in roles from Mimi in La Boheme to Gilda in Rigoletto to Michaela in Carmen. She returned to Troy for a performance at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall after her
success in New York. In the early 1950s she married George Ortwell, a performing tenor.
Olivia died on December 17, 1990. George Ortwell died in July 2005 a few weeks before his
100th birthday.
Two of her siblings, Louis A. and Mary Bonelli Cordingley still reside in Troy. Her brother Peter, who was in the music field for many years, maintains a website on Olivias life and career
from his residence in Jersey City. I am grateful for his assistance in compiling information on
this article.
Additional information on Olivia Bonelli, including photographs and reviews are available at
the internet site www.oliviabonelli.com. A new short glimpse of Olivia which includes excerpts

from some of her operatic performances is available on YouTube at the following link:
http://youtu.be/j03CxZvBdcc. What a glorious voice!

Olivia and her mother, Jennie Riccardi

Bonelli, prior to homecoming concert at
the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.

Peter Bonelli, stage manager of the 1963

RCA Victor recording of Menottis opera
Amahl and the Night Visitors with performers Kurt Yaghjian and Martha King.

Italian Community Center Festa - September 16, 17, 18

Good Food
Entertainment
Games of Chance
Activities for Children
Bouncy Bounce
Craft vendors