PETER’S
BACK!
From the bakery to City Hall
and back again...And again!
That could be the title of Peter
Madonia’s autobiography
if he ever writes one. And he
probably should, because he’s
seen a lot in his career in New
York City government and philanthropy,
and he’s seen a lot at
his family’s 100-year-old bakery
on Arthur Avenue in Belmont.
He’s running it now, and
while there’s a lot of difference
among government, philanthropy
and being in charge
of a family business, there are
quite a few similarities, too.
“People are people,” he said
recently, comparing his different
lives.
“You have to set expectations
for what you want,” he
continued. “These things are
not different whether you are
running a business or whether
you have a bunch of commissioners
in a room: Know what
you don’t know, hire good people
to fi ll in the gaps, give them
the things they need to do their
jobs, and then let them do their
jobs.”
He added: “To me the principles
are the same. When I
hire a team, I look for loyalty,
tirelessness and a sense of humor.
These three components
are key. Everything else can
be taught and learned.”
It was Peter’s grandfather
Mario who founded the place.
Growing up, Madonia’s Bakery
was in Peter’s blood. But so
was public service.
In the 1970s, amid the
wreckage of the city’s fi scal
crises, he joined the administration
of Mayor Edward I.
Koch, where he did two tours.
He was deputy commissioner
for budget and operations at
the Department of Buildings,
and chief of staff to the deputy
mayor for operations.
He was fi rst deputy commissioner
of the New York City
Fire Department when his
brother, Mario, was killed in
a car accident at 38 years old.
Mario had been running the
bakery, and so Peter – feeling
the tug of the storied family
business – hung up his fi re department
duties and returned.
He stayed 12 years. About
halfway through, he brought
in a partner, Charlie LaLima,
an industry veteran and owner
of various bakeries – small and
large – hailing from Brooklyn.
Eventually, having someone
like LaLima who provided the
kind of value as a person and
businessman allowed him to
return to City Hall.
And return he did, during
the days of Michael R.
Bloomberg’s fi rst term. After
helping run the billionaire
businessman’s unlikely mayoral
campaign, Peter Madonia
became his chief of staff.
Among his proudest
Peter Madonia (pictured) and Charlie LaLima currently split up the bakery’s demanding duties. Photo
Photo courtesy of Madonia Bakery
achievements was spearheading
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M 50 ARCH 15-21, 2019 BTR
the administration’s Solid
Waste Management Plan, and
helping to create the new water
fi ltration plant beneath Van
Cortlandt park – a project that
resulted in millions of dollars
for park improvements in The
Bronx.
Then the Rockefeller Foundation
called. Was he interested
in becoming chief operating
offi cer? Leaving City Hall
was tough, but the chance to
work on a global scale was irresistible.
He joined in 2006.
During Peter’s time there, the
foundation had its 100-year anniversary.
And that got him
thinking. His family’s bakery
was also approaching its centennial.
“We did years’ worth of
events around the centennial”
at the Rockefeller Foundation,
he said. “I knew it was nice to
be 100 but this year of celebrating
really showed me what that
means; it’s really what got under
my skin to come back to the
bakery.”
And so, he did.
These days, he and Charlie
LaLima split duties: Peter Madonia
takes care of the business
and marketing, and Charlie
oversees the baking, including
new products. But career, Peter’s
career, and all he learned,
still helps him every day.
“I have lived on both sides of
the fence,” he said. “I know just
how hard it is to run a business
with all the government intervention.
Because of the bakery
I was probably more sensitive
when I was at City Hall to all
the impact our decisions had.”
Then again, in some ways,
running Madonia Bakery is
more challenging.
“I gotta make a payroll every
week. And that is the hardest
things I’ve ever done,” he
said. “This is a diligent work
force and they depend on that
paycheck. I take that quite seriously.”
So, who will take over in the
next generation?
“That’s a really good question,”
he said after a pause.
“Jason LaLima, son of Charlie,
works with us at the Bakery.
And has been for many years.
My daughter is also a guidance
counselor in public school and
loves what she’s doing, but she
also says, ‘Don’t sell the bakery,
Dad.’” He chuckled. “I have
a nephew who makes really
good bread at home with beer.
I’m just waiting for someone to
raise their hand and I’ll know
who it is and when it is.”