New York City Mayor Eric Adams holds Italian American Roundtable
Editor’s note: Readers may remember our coverage of the celebration by Mayor Adams of Italian-American Heritage at Gracie Mansion where several individuals including the founder of the Italian American Museum were honored with citations from the mayor.
According to the Mayor’s Office: “The roundtable was convened by the NYC Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit on August 26, 2024, to meet with Italian American leaders from across the city. Topics ranged from greater appreciation for luminaries, such as Enrico Caruso, and creating a landmark where Mr. Caruso resided for a brief time. Other discussions included Italian American contributions to the betterment of the city over time to the challenges of seniors, those with mobility issues, and children with special needs. The mayor was thanked for his recognition of New York City’s Italian American community and for his participation in the Columbus Day Parade. The mayor, his administration, and those present agreed to follow up quickly on many of the issues raised during the discussion.”
Many leaders from the Italian American community gathered together in City Hall at the request of Mayor Adams in order to discuss issues of importance to the Italian and Italian American community of New York. This meeting marked the first time that a New York City Mayor invited leaders from the Italian American community to City Hall.
Italian American Museum Founder and President Dr. Joseph V. Scelsa speaks with NYC Mayor Eric Adams during Italian American roundtable held in City Hall on Monday, August 26th. Image Credit – IAM
Banner Image: Mayor Eric Adams meets with leaders in the Italian community. City Hall. Monday, August 26, 2024. Image Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
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A NEW HOME
IN THE HEART OF LITTLE ITALY
New Exterior
The new Italian American Museum (IAM) will serve as a cultural hub and community nexus for Italian Americans and the Little Italy neighborhood. Through permanent and temporary exhibits, robust educational and cultural programming, and collaborations with the community, the IAM will become the preeminent center for learning about and engaging with Italian as a platform for sharing Italian American voices and celebrating Italian American achievements, the IAM will be interesting to both Italian Americans and non-Italian Americans, bringing Italian American culture and heritage to younger generations and a wide range of new audiences.
The Italian American Museum preserves, promotes, and celebrates the culture and history of Italian Americans, serving as living record of their contributions to America and a bridge between the remarkable past and the evolving future of the community.
By allowing Italian Americans to share their story in their voice, the Italian American Museum will encourage a full appreciation of what it means to be Italian American.
News
Progress Photos
Building Update / Annual Appeal
Dear friends,
We are pleased to report that we have topped off our new building and the new brick facade is being applied. Below please find pictures of the new building and the brick facade.
Topping off the building
Close up of the new brick facade
View of the brick facade on our building
Due to COVID-19 we have postponed all of our fundraising activities for the year including our annual Golf Classic and Ambasciatore Awards dinner. However, we ask that you be as generous as possible during this time of our Annual Appeal since it will be our sole fundraiser for 2021. Please know that we sincerely appreciate your contributions and that funds raised will be used to support the construction for the new building.
We do so look forward to seeing you again at the reopening of the “New” Italian American Museum in Fall 2022. We will be bigger and better than ever before.
Thank you for your continued support of our Italian American Museum.
Andrà tutto bene!
Respectfully,
Uff. Prof. Joseph V. Scelsa
Italian American Museum 19th Annual Golf Classic to be held on Monday, June 6th at North Hills Country Club.
North Hills Country Club
Exhibitions
The New Italian American Museum: Architectural renderings and model for the forthcoming newly designed museum.
OUR STORY
FROM COLUMBUS TO CUOMO
From our beginnings in Little Italy
The IAM is located on Mulberry Street in the heart of what was once the largest Italian community in the United States in the first quarter of the 20th century.
We became aware of the need for our own Museum in 1999, with the launch of the first major exhibition on Italians in America at the New York Historical Society, “The Italians of New York: Five Centuries of Struggle and Achievement”. The exhibit was a great success and we realized that in order to be part of the cultural dialogue in America, we needed our own Museum. So in 2001, we were chartered in New York State as the first Italian Museum in America. In our Museum, we seek to tell our whole story from Columbus to Cuomo and everything in between, our struggles and our accomplishments through hard work, ingenuity and perseverance. It has not always been easy but we have much to be proud of, for our contributions to American society are enormous. Now we will have a secular cathedral for all to see, experience and appreciate where we came from and what we have achieved.
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