MANGIA NO MORE?
By Kari Milchman
Last Thursday, a committee for Community Board Two voted not to have the annual 11-day San Gennaro Festival this September. Residents of Little Italy had gathered to complain about noise and litter during the celebration and to request that its organizers be denied a permit. According to Bob Gormley, C.B. 2 district manager, a major factor in the board’s Street Activities Committee decision was that no one from the San Gennaro festival attended the meeting, despite being sent a letter a week in advance. Slacking off with a nice bolognese and glass of Barolo, probably not too impressive when trying to get a permit. But the group planning the feast claims they weren’t informed that there would be a vote at the March 7 meeting. They’ll have a chance to lobby for the event at an April 17 follow-up meeting. The fate of the feast, which was first held in 1926 to honor the patron saint of Naples, is in the hands of City Hall, which considers the community board’s vote a mere recommendation.