Phil Liscio named West Haven’s Italian of the Year

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 12, 2021 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi and the West Haven Italian Heritage Committee will honor the city’s “primo italiano” at the 22nd Italian Heritage Celebration.

Westies Care founder and President Phil Liscio, who has strong ties to the city’s Italian American community and is well known for feeding the less fortunate, will receive West Haven’s Italian American of the Year award at noon Friday at City Hall, 355 Main St.

The award is bestowed annually on an Italian resident or couple who personifies service in the city’s close-knit Italian American community. Last year’s ceremony was postponed because of the coronavirus.

Accompanied by Italian music and guided by Rossi, members of the committee and the West Haven Italian American Civic Association will escort Liscio to the steps of City Hall for his special recognition. An Italian-flavored lunch will follow.

“With humility I am honored to be named West Haven’s Italian American of the Year and to be added to a list of such notable Westies as Francine and Mario Coppola, Aniello Cappetta and Grace Hendricks,” said Liscio, the grandson of immigrant grandparents from the town of Monteleone di Puglia in the province of Foggia, Italy.

Liscio, 65, will pay homage to his Italian lineage with scores of friends and loved ones, along with an array of dignitaries and descendants of folks from the old country clad in red, white and green.

“I was raised in a household where diversity, equality and assisting those in need crystalize the hallmark of our ancestors who created this great country through immigration,” Liscio said.

Liscio’s paternal grandparents, Fidel Liscio and the former Josephine Geraci, left their home in southeastern Italy and came to America for “a better life,” arriving on New York’s Ellis Island in September 1902 and eventually settling in New Haven.

His grandfather served in the U.S. Army in World War I and worked as an automotive painter. His grandmother was a homemaker and a restaurateur who operated Kimberly Pizza on New Haven’s Kimberly Avenue for more than 20 years.

In the intrepid spirit of Italians who charted a course for millions of immigrants who followed their crossing to America, Liscio and his grandparents are a testament to the diversity and promise of the United States.

“Phil has a long history of public service in West Haven,” Rossi said. “He has touched so many lives through his volunteer efforts.”

Liscio collects food for the pastor’s pantry at the First Congregational Church of West Haven, 1 Church St., and the pantry at the West Haven Emergency Assistance Task Force, 674 Washington Ave. The pantries provide food for residents in need.

“West Haven can always count on Phil,” Rossi said. “Even through the pandemic, when people were challenged by hunger and shortages, he was providing meals to anyone in need. It is my great pleasure to recognize Phil in this way.”

For three months starting in May 2020, Liscio and Westies Care teamed up with the city and the First Congregational, Our Lady of Victory and Vertical churches to deliver 13,000 meals to needy residents and front-line health care workers during the height of COVID-19. The meals — 20 pizzas per day on weekdays and five trays of ziti and Italian bread per day on weekends — were donated by Lorenzo’s Restaurant of West Haven.

Each week since August 2020, Liscio has delivered 15 pizzas from Lorenzo’s to veterans sheltered at New Haven’s Columbus House. The pizzas are made possible by Our Lady of Victory.

In observance of Italian American Heritage Month, West Haven recognizes the unique and vibrant culture of Americans of Italian descent and celebrates the story of generations of Italian sons and daughters who came to the U.S. seeking hope and opportunity to reach for the American dream.

At the ceremony, Rossi will present Liscio, West Haven’s top “paisano” of 2021, with an embroidered “Italian American of the Year” jacket and a mayoral citation for his civic-minded good works.

He will also receive an Italian flag from Paul M. Frosolone, the president of the Italian American Civic Association, and Roberta Daniels DeFonce, a past president of the association’s Ladies Auxiliary.

The cultural event will include remarks by mayoral Executive Assistant Louis P. Esposito Jr., the master of ceremonies, and an Italian blessing by the Rev. E. Carl Howard, the senior minister of the First Congregational Church.

Before remarks by Rossi, Liz Levy will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the Italian national anthem, “II Canto degli Italiani.”

Liscio was born in Buffalo, New York, on Feb. 2, 1956, to Leopold “Paul” Liscio and the former Geraldine “Gerry” Grover.

His father, a World War II veteran who served in the Army Corps of Engineers, joined the Panza Construction & Woodworking Co. at age 14 and worked for Sabino “Sabby” Panza maintaining rides at Savin Rock Park. His mother raised 11 children and was a skilled baker and cook.

Liscio, who mostly grew up in Milford, graduated in 1975 from Milford High School, where he was a three-sport athlete.

He attended Westchester Community College in New York and was a member of the club football team that won a national championship in 1975. The team was inducted into the college’s Hall of Fame in 2014.

Liscio, a resident of West Haven since 1991, is perhaps best known for his lifework with Westies Care Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charity. The Westies Care Community Service Award, presented yearly at the Westies Care dinner and awards ceremony, recognizes young people and adults who exemplify the organization’s “core values of service, community and education.”

Liscio founded Westies Care in 2009 in memory of his son, Daniel L. Liscio. To honor his undying spirit, the Liscio family established a scholarship program and organized community outreach projects in Daniel Liscio’s name.

Westies Care’s charitable contributions have included raising money for the West Haven Breast Cancer Awareness Program, WHEAT and the Friends of Fisher House CT.

Westies Care and their sponsors have awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships to high school seniors from West Haven who have continued their education.

Liscio is a longtime member of the West Haven Rotary Club and sits on the board of directors.

His volunteerism in West Haven has included coaching girls basketball and softball and serving as PTA president of Mackrille Elementary, Bailey Middle and West Haven High schools.

Liscio is employed by Yale University as a security guard and the First Congregational Church as facilities manager. He also volunteers as the church’s community outreach chairman.

A proud ambassador of his rich Italian heritage, Liscio received the 2012 Community Service Award from the West Shore Lodge 2832 Order Sons & Daughters of Italy in America.

He is also a former recipient of the Rotary Club’s Presidents Award and the West Haven PTA Council’s Founders Day Unsung Hero award for service to Bailey School.

Liscio and his wife of 30 years, the former Janet Husmer, live on Bluff Avenue near West Shore’s Sea Bluff Beach. They have two daughters: Courtney Liscio, of Somerville, Massachusetts, and Lauren Liscio, of Brooklyn, New York.

Liscio’s name will join the 21 previous Columbus Day recipients on a plaque in City Hall.

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Phase 1 of shoreline restoration project underway

Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center celebrates city opening

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 7, 2021 — The Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center held a ribbon-cutting Wednesday to celebrate the grand opening of its 9,500-square-foot care site at 410 Campbell Ave.

The late-morning ceremony, outside the center’s main entrance, featured public officials and representatives of health and social services organizations, as well as community members.

The event included remarks by CEO Michael R. Taylor; Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz; state Sen. James J. Maroney, D-Milford; state Rep. Charles J. Ferraro, R-West Haven; and Mayor Nancy R. Rossi.

“Our new West Haven facility demonstrates our continued commitment to the city of West Haven, to the thousands of West Haven-area residents who we’ve served over the years, and to the thousands more who we now have the capacity to serve,” Taylor said.

Bysiewicz said, “This facility means that more people have access to great health care.”
Rossi added: “I’m so excited that we have a state-of-the-art health care facility in West Haven. It is an honor to have you.”

According to Taylor, the new practice location triples CS-HHC’s capacity to improve community access to the health center’s integrated primary medical, medical specialty and behavioral health services.

“We are absolutely delighted to expand our fully integrated services at this critical time in our West Haven location,” said Dr. Ece Tek, the chief medical officer of mental health and addiction services, noting the growing need for mental health services in general. “We will continue to build on serving people in this community with an eye on improving access to mental health care.”

After cutting the ribbon with a pair of oversize scissors, Taylor led officials on a tour of the renovated building, formerly the Beecher & Bennett-Taylor Funeral Home.

Other West Haven attendees included City Council members Bridgette J. Hoskie, D-1, Robbin Watt Hamilton, D-5, Treneé McGee, D-7, and Barry Lee Cohen, R-10.

Hoskie, who represents the district that includes the center, said: “(CS-HHC’s) experience and history of being a vital part of fighting this pandemic will benefit our city and residents greatly. The fact that one of their goals is to fight health disparities while providing services to all makes their expanded presence a great asset for West Haven.”

Council Chairman Ronald M. Quagliani, who could not attend, extended his best wishes.

“I offer my congratulations on CS-HCC’s new state-of-the-art facility that will further support and advocate for so many of our residents,” said Quagliani, D-at large.

Brazilian market, Sabi, marks opening on Campbell Ave.

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 5, 2021 — (Pictured): Sabi Meat Market owner Sergio Dos Anjos is joined by Mayor Nancy R. Rossi on Oct. 5 to celebrate the Brazilian market’s grand opening at 391 Campbell Ave.

Sabi, housed in a building of small businesses on Campbell Avenue between Brown and Court streets, features a butcher shop and specializes in food items from Brazil, said Dos Anjos, a native of Sabinópolis, Brazil, who has lived in West Haven for the past 18 years.

The new market offers such tender Brazilian meats as picanha — a savory prime cut of top sirloin cooked with the fat for juiciness and flavor — as well as pork and chicken sausages and flank, skirt and tenderloin steaks.

Rossi said Sabi is “the go-to place” for home-style and hard-to-find Brazilian foods and snacks.

The market also offers prepackaged and convenience food products from Brazil.

(City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Centennial book signing set for Oct. 20 at City Hall

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 4, 2021 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi and author Dan Shine will sign copies of West Haven’s newly published centennial book, “City of West Haven: Village to Town,” on Oct. 20.

The book signing will take place from 5:30-7 p.m. in the first-floor foyer of City Hall, 355 Main St.

The $20 historical book, printed in partnership with GHP Media of West Haven and released on Sept. 24, chronicles the stories and photos that shaped West Haven’s past 100 years.

“It is the city’s, the committee’s and Mr. Shine’s hope that the reader will find the following stories to be enlightening, entertaining and moving, in accordance with the content of each,” said Rossi, the honorary chairwoman of the City of West Haven Centennial Celebration Committee.

The 116-page book was commissioned by the committee to commemorate West Haven’s 1921 birth and its incorporation by the General Assembly as Connecticut’s youngest town.

Rossi and Shine will sign more books from 5:30-7 p.m. Nov. 17 at the city’s Main Library, 300 Elm St.

The book is also available for purchase in the Department of Human Resources at City Hall or by calling Commissioner Beth A. Sabo at 203-937-3558.

Rossi praised Sabo, the committee’s chairwoman, for overseeing the book and West Haven Public Library Assistant Director Catherine Bushman for laying out the contents, including the black-and-white and full-color photos.

The information was sourced from the “Historian’s Corner” series written by Shine, one of the foremost authorities on West Haven history. The cover was photographed by James Holt and designed by Toni Perry, who also provided the finished layout.

The book’s articles are dedicated to Shine’s father, Daniel R. “Bob” Shine, who died in 2004.

Bysiewicz, Rossi tour Hispanic-owned businesses in city

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 4, 2021 — In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and Mayor Nancy R. Rossi toured three Hispanic-owned businesses in West Haven on Oct. 1.

Bysiewicz and Rossi, who was joined by Executive Assistant Louis P. Esposito Jr. and City Clerk Patricia C. Horvath, visited the West Haven Animal Clinic at 959 Campbell Ave., Budget Transmission Center at 950 Boston Post Road and La Catrina Restaurant and Cantina at 240 Captain Thomas Blvd.

With the small businesses in full swing, the state and city leaders talked shop with Animal Clinic owner Dr. Ralph L. Padilla, Budget Transmission owner Sammy Rivera, who also owns Budget Car Wash at 936 Boston Post Road, and La Catrina co-owners Nicolas Altamirano Escobedo and Karen Sanchez Benitez.

Bysiewicz and Rossi received an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of each business and chatted with the owners about surviving the coronavirus pandemic, the importance of small businesses in Connecticut, and how they are driving economic growth statewide, including in West Haven.

Padilla, who has practiced veterinary medicine since 1981 and owned the clinic since 1985, said he takes pride in his Puerto Rican heritage and profession by giving back as much as he has received.

With his Puerto Rican flag-draped office door in view, Padilla paused with Eleanor, a Rottweiler dog; Gizmo, a Persian cat; and Buddy, a cockatoo parrot.

Rossi said Padilla’s pro bono services at the West Haven Animal Shelter include dealing with the prevention and treatment of diseases and injuries in animals, both domestic and wild.

The New York City-born Padilla, who traces his paternal lineage to Naranjito, Puerto Rico, was the first recipient of West Haven’s Hispanic American of the Year award at the inaugural Hispanic Heritage Celebration in 2018.

Rossi and the West Haven Hispanic Heritage Committee bestow the award annually on a Hispanic resident who personifies service in the city’s thriving Hispanic American community.

Rivera, the 2021 Hispanic American of the Year, became the award’s third recipient on Sept. 24. Last year’s ceremony was postponed because of COVID-19.

On Route 1 in Allingtown, Rivera showed Bysiewicz and Rossi his bustling automotive repair shop, established in 2005. As they greeted each of his nine full-time employees, Rivera pointed out that his burgeoning business enterprise includes his 4-year-old touchless car wash next door, a 24-hour operation with four employees.

Rivera was born in Cayey, a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico, and moved to New Haven’s Fair Haven neighborhood with his mother and brother in 1981 at age 4. He moved to West Haven when he purchased Budget Transmission in 2005.

The public-spirited Rivera, who grew up “very poor,” said he appreciates those who helped his business career and believes in paying it forward.

“The American dream is having a lot of employees and taking care of them — and them taking care of me and taking care of my customers,” Rivera said.

Rossi said Rivera’s good works include donating toys amid the pandemic to the Three Kings Day celebration in January and supporting the hurricane relief effort in Puerto Rico.

Bysiewicz and Rossi made their last stop at La Catrina, where the owners opened the visit by thanking Rossi for cutting the ribbon at the Mexican restaurant’s grand opening on Feb. 24.

Altamirano Escobedo said La Catrina serves the taste of Mexico, specializing in such authentic dishes as tacos, burritos, tortas, quesadillas and enchiladas made from his mother’s time-honored recipes, along with savory fish, chicken, steak and pork entrees. The fusion of traditional Mexican cuisine is complemented by creative concoctions of citrusy-flavored margaritas and other zesty cocktails.

Altamirano Escobedo and Sanchez Benitez, who hail from Puebla, Mexico, and now live together in Hamden, chose the West Haven location, housed in the Savin Rock Plaza near the beach, because they “love the city.”

Accentuated by bright hues of the owners’ native Mexico, the remodeled restaurant and bar, open for lunch and dinner daily, is decorated with Spanish furnishings, knickknacks and murals.

The striking theme of La Catrina is “Dia de los Muertos,” or “Day of the Dead,” the popular Mexican holiday that commemorates loved ones who have died.

“La Catrina,” a female skeleton donning a dress hat with feathers, is the referential image of death in Mexico and the symbol of Dia de los Muertos, observed Nov. 1-2.

As a tribute to the culture and people of Mexico, the restaurant’s festive and spacious dining room and barroom are enlivened by vivid pink and yellow stucco walls that showcase Day of the Dead-themed murals with skeleton faces painted by West Haven artist Cruz Manuel.

Like Padilla and Rivera, the owners of La Catrina are committed to supporting their vibrant community and carrying on the proud traditions of Mexico.

West Haven’s diversity is its strength, said Rossi, adding that the owners of all four businesses are a testament to the promise and greatness of America.

In observance of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs through Oct. 15, West Haven recognizes the important legacy of Hispanic Americans and the inspiring contributions they have made to the culture and history of the United States.

Hispanics have had a profound and positive influence on the civic and cultural life of America, enhancing and shaping the national character with centuries-old traditions that reflect the multiethnic and multicultural customs of their community.

Hispanic Heritage Month, which traces its roots to 1968, begins each year on Sept. 15, the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico and Chile also celebrate their independence days during that period.