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NEW YORK CITY HONORS SONS OF ITALY
Press
Contact: Kylie Cafiero, (202) 547-2900 kcafiero@osia.org
WASHINGTON, D.C.—June 23, 2004
The
Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA), the
nation's oldest and largest national organization
for men and women of Italian heritage, has
been recognized with a street sign in New York
City's historic Little Italy district. On June
19, almost exactly 99 years since OSIA's founding,
the street-naming celebration took place on
Grand Street with over 500 guests in attendance.
 Order
Sons of Italy Way/Grand Street marks the site
where the organization's founders first met
at 203 Grand Street on June 22, 1905.
Hosting
the ceremony was OSIA National President Joseph
Sciame and New York State President Joseph
J. Di Trapani.
"As we approach our centennial
year it is an honor to host this extraordinary
event in the place where it all began. Now we have a permanent legacy that we
can share with all of New York," says Mr. Di Trapani.
New York City Councilman
Allen Gershon, and the New York City Council's Italian
American Caucus facilitated the street renaming, John Fratta, a member of the
OSIA Lt. Joseph Petrosino Lodge of Little Italy, also was a prime mover. Coordinator
for the day’s events was Lucy Codella, OSIA National/NY state historian.
Representatives
from New York State Governor George Pataki and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
presented proclamations declaring June 19 "Order Sons
of Italy in America Day." NY State Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli and Nassau County
Executive Thomas Suozzi also extended greetings. Actor Tony LoBianco addressed
the crowd.
"The sacrifices our parents and grandparents made to give us greater
opportunities is a clear example of the purity of the love that grounds our families
this day and for the years to come. The Order has been a part of that legacy
all these many years," said Mr. LoBianco.
OSIA state presidents and members from
Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania
and West Virginia came to enjoy the day's
events. The program included a luncheon at SPQR Restaurant on Mulberry Street,
where two lifetime Achievements Awards were presented to Connecticut's Sebastian
Polo and New York's Armand Vella. The luncheon was followed by a mass dedicated
to OSIA and celebrated by OSIA's National Chaplain, Rev. Father Donald B. Licata,
at Old St. Patrick's Cathedral. The day concluded with a concert, performed by
tenor Peter Buchi.
In expressing his appreciation to those present for such "a
grand start" to the
anniversary celebrations, National President Sciame lit a symbolic Flame of Liberty
to honor OSIA members, their immigrant parents and grandparents.
"I hereby declare
this a year of celebration for all OSIA members, lodges and grand lodges, and
enjoin them each to plan and coordinate appropriate events which reflect on the
glorious history of our national organization," he said.
OSIA is the largest and
oldest national organization for men and women of Italian heritage in the United
States. It has more than 600,000 members and supporters and a network of more
than 700 chapters coast to coast. OSIA works at the community, national and international
levels to promote the heritage and culture of an estimated 26 million Italian
Americans, the nation’s fifth largest ethnic group, according
to the U.S. Census Bureau.
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