42 NOVEMBER 10 - NOVEMBER 16, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
Borough Hall hosts annual Italian-
American heritage celebration
BY JAIME DEJESUS
JDEJESUS@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
Brooklyn knows how to celebrate
Italian culture.
Brooklyn Borough Hall once
again played host to Italian-American
Heritage Month Celebration.
The event, held on Monday, October
23 and hosted by Borough President
Eric Adams and the Brooklyn
Chamber of Commerce, honored
several Italian-Americans and featured
singers and food from local
Italian restaurants that have made
an impact on the borough.
Marco Polo Restaurant, 345 Court
Street, played an integral role in
organizing the event.
“It went very well,” said Marco
Chirico, co-owner of Marco Polo.
“We had a great turnout and great
representation for Italian-Americans,
especially in Brooklyn and it’s great
to embrace the heritage, follow your
culture over the years and not to lose
your Italian background."
The event was designed to honor
Italian-Americans who have embraced
the culture, highlighting what
they’ve accomplished.
"They came to this country to be
successful, but it’s very tough so we
honor them as they’ve accomplished
so much in America and especially
in Brooklyn,” he added. "We like to
promote what they’ve done and show
younger generations what they’ve
done and showcase the future of
keeping up the culture.”
“Joe Chirico and his son Marco have
really been the architects of this event
for so many years," said Kings County
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photos by Arthur de Gaeta
Democratic Chair Frank Seddio, who
spoke during the event. “We all come
here as immigrants, and whatever part
of Italy your parents come from and
however long it might have been, we
still call ourselves Italian-Americans.
That’s the privilege of being an American
— saying my cultural background
and experience are part of the fabric
that lets us become a good American.”
“These are exciting times for the
Italian-American community,” said
Adams. "You have the opportunity
to reignite the energy with your
young people and stand up and give
a true history of what that statue represents
in Columbus Circle. This is an
opportunity to let people know of a
rich, great history. These honorees
are representatives of what’s great
about this Italian American community.
We need to capture the young
people and let them know about this
rich history, so I’m excited about
holding this event every year.”
"It’s very important to learn about
each culture to understand each
person’s background,” added Chirico.
“That’s what this event brings us. Other
people get to experience Italian
American culture at this event.”
Honored during the event were
the Society of the Citizens of Pozzallo
and organization President
Giovanni Barone; Rossella Rago,
host of “Cooking with Nonna;” and
Thomas Sorrentino, a partner with
PKF O’Connor Davies, LLP.
The Society of the Citizens of Pozzallo was honored.
Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello with other guests
at the event.
Joe Chirico, Denise Arbesu, Peter Meyer and
Andrew Hoan.
Joe Chirico joined the
dancers.
Honoree Rossella Rago, with her Nonna, accepts
her award.
Honoree Thomas Sorrentino accepts his
award.