Latest news with #JamieGigantiello
New York Post
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Meet the heaving, huffing ‘lifters' who hoist the 4-ton Giglio at Brooklyn's wild bacchanal: 'By the time the day is over, you're just dead'
Everybody loves a par-ayyy-de. An Italian Brooklyn tradition for over a century, Williamsburg's Our Lady of Mount Carmel Feast draws hundreds of thousands to an annual bacchanal of sausage, peppers and spectacle, courtesy of the festival's main character — the gigantic Giglio, a four-ton, 72-foot statue 'danced' through sweltering streets by a team of 120 men known as 'lifters.' 'Few places on Earth still have anything like this — people come from all over to see it, and we're getting bigger and bigger every year,' Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, a longtime organizer of the high-in-the-sky happening, told The Post of the event — which kicks off for nearly two weeks on Wednesday, July 9, for its 138th edition. 19 'Lifters' hoist the statue during the 2004 event. Matthew McDermott 19 The Giglio towers over the large crowd gathered below for the 2009 festival. 19 'Few places on earth still have anything like this — people come from all over to see it, and we're getting bigger and bigger every year,' Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello (pictured) told The Post. KEVIN C DOWNS The dancing of the colossal Giglio, taking place several times over the course of the festival, began in Williamsburg in 1887 — continuing a 1,500-year-old tradition brought to America by Italian immigrants from Nola in the Campania region that honors Saint Paolino. As legend has it, aside from renouncing his riches, Paolino once exchanged places with a young prisoner in the first century — and the masses have been going to great lengths to honor him ever since, often flaunting his trademark lilies. ['Giglio' — pronounced jeel-e-o — is the Italian word for 'lily.'] 19 Joey Aragona stands near the statue of St. Paulinus of Nola at the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Stefano Giovannini Paying tribute to a saint isn't all fun and galamad, however. 'By the time the day is over, you're just dead — your body is just exhausted,' fifth-generation 'lifter' Joey Aragona, 32, told The Post of the heavy task of carrying the statue around in sometimes punishing July heat. 'It's both a joy and a penance' 19 Willy Grillo shows how the 'boat' is lifted outside of Shrine Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in preparation for the event. Stefano Giovannini Not that there's anything wrong with that, he hastened to add — calling the procession 'a very proud thing to be a part of.' In fact, Aragona has been on the team since childhood — continuing a tradition started by his great-great-grandfather. 'I started lifting the Kid's Giglio when I was 4 years old,' he said, referencing a much smaller tower created for the young participants — who then subsequently work up the ranks to become festival 'capos' and 'lieutenants' as future adults. 19 A 'lifter' strains to carry the Giglio during the 100th-anniversary celebration in 2003. Helayne Seidman 19 Musicians serenade as 'lifters' do their thing. Freelance 19 Some 'lifters' start carrying from a young age. LightRocket via Getty Images As a band plays, helping lift the massive tower is both a huge honor — and a major challenge. 'Basically, it's both a joy and a penance,' said Pat Fevola, who has been a 'lifter' since 1976. He's so devoted to the tradition, he got inked with a tattoo of the Giglio on his left forearm. 'All of the lifters become family,' he told The Post of the intense experience, which includes devotional masses. 'That's why we call it Christmas in July.' 19 'Basically, it's both a joy and a penance,' said Pat Fevola, who has been a 'lifter' since 1976. Stefano Giovannini 19 Fevola is so dedicated, he even got a tattoo of the tower along with the words 'Always Under.' Stefano Giovannini 19 The ornate Giglio is shown under construction before this year's festival. Stefano Giovannini Formerly made of wood, the Giglio has been composed of aluminum since 1966. It takes approximately 300 hours to build a new one each year. Construction typically begins back in October. The Gig gig is big 19 The Giglio towers over the festival crowd in this file photo. Freelance 19 Members of a brass and reed band are seated at the base of the massive statue in 1987. Getty Images The feast proudly marches on, despite recent seismic shifts in the neighborhood's longtime Italian influence. Last year, nearby Frost Restaurant (open since 1959) shuttered. Just last month, Napoli Bakery (founded in 1981) also closed its doors — both part of a woeful city-wide trend of beloved Italian-American businesses packing up and leaving NYC. 'There was a time there when interest in the feast was winding down,' admitted Monsignor Gigantiello of the effects of gentrification on the neighborhood. 19 Hoisting the Giglio is a tremendous group effort. Helayne Seidman 19 Attendants prepare to move the Giglio in 2021 after a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Corbis via Getty Images Now, however, thanks to social media, he explained, the event is drawing 'record-breaking crowds' — with an average attendance of approximately 100,000 festival-goers per year. That makes it the second-largest Italian feast in New York — behind Little Italy's long-running San Gennaro Feast, which pulls in a million or more visitors at a pop. 'It used to be that we put up posters and sent out mailers to addresses of the parishioners to invite people,' Gigantiello said. 'Today, people from all over are hearing about it online and want to come and see what it's like.' 'I always say I'll get in trouble, but I think we're the best one because it's still a neighborhood feast,' the proud Father boasted. East Harlem also has a Giglio event of their own. Founded in 1908, that one happens in August, albeit over a single weekend Over in Massapequa, they're also preparing for a much smaller Giglio Feast at the end of July. The Williamsburg street festival even serves as a homecoming for the neighborhood's former residents. 'The tradition has lasted so long … due to it being the central point of our Italian community for over a century,' festival lieutenant John Perrone told The Post. 'Many of us return from other areas — Queens, Long Island, New Jersey — to continue the tradition on our native streets,' he said. Aside from the people, even the streets that line the festival have transformed over time. Gone are the quaint two-story homes, with luxe apartment towers now popping up like lilies in their place. 'It has become much more challenging with all of the new construction, with new people moving into the neighborhood who don't like the noise and the interruption in front of their door,' Gigantiello confided. Aside from the throngs of crowds and music, the festival also features carnival games and rides. 'But we try to be good neighbors. Rather than fighting with them, we try to engage with them,' Gigantiello said. 19 Preparations begin outside the church as a helper carries a statue of St. Paulinus of Nola. Stefano Giovannini 19 Fevola has a collection of Giglio T-shirts. Stefano Giovannini 19 A band serenades the crowd as 'lifters' move through the street in 1987. Getty Images 'When a building goes up, I'll talk to developers and landlords and explain to them we've been doing this for 100 years.' Said lifter Fevola: 'People might complain, but it's like moving next to a firehouse and you get mad when the sirens go off at night.' Ciao down 19 The event is a huge celebration every year. Helayne Seidman Longtime feast vendors who have been serving the festival for generations include Dee Best Zeppole, which has been fried up and doused with powdered sugar by the local Donatelli family since 1923. There's also Lucy's Sausage and Peppers, another longtime NYC festival mainstay. This year, entertainment will be provided by the likes of 'America's Got Talent' finalist Sal 'The Voice' Valentinetti and Bruce Springsteen cover band Promised Land. Parlaying its recent success and storied history, this year Gigantiello and his team published a book through the church reflecting on the tradition: 'Mt. Carmel Brooklyn: The Heart and Soul of America's Feast.' Featuring a treasure trove of archival photos, the volume will naturally be available during the festival. As for the confab's future, Gigantiello pledges: 'The feast is secure as long as the Parish is there.'
New York Post
14-06-2025
- New York Post
FDNY chaplain's signature forged on letter backing Queens pot dispensary
They'll burn for this one! The owners of a legal Queens marijuana dispensary are under fire for allegedly trying to dupe government officials to back their expansion efforts — by claiming the FDNY's top religious leader is high on the plan. A recently circulated letter supporting Astoria-based Terp Bros' application to open a second dispensary in Ozone Park that was 'purportedly authored and signed' by FDNY Chaplain Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello, 'appears to be a forgery,' warned FDNY Deputy Commissioner of General Counsel Don Nguyen in a June 5 letter to Queens Community Board 10. Advertisement The FDNY has 'no position' in general on applications to run cannabis dispensaries in the Big Apple, he added in the letter, obtained by The Post. 3 FDNY Chaplain Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello told The Post he wasn't aware of the letter. Stefano Giovannini The bogus letter addressed to 'legislators, Community Boards and the NYS Office of Cannabis Management' claimed Gigantiello is pushing Terp Bros' plan because 'safe use of Hemp and other Cannabis plants is long overdue.' Advertisement 'We must help those like Terp Bros gain the opportunity to continue working with the community in providing them with a safe, legal way to purchase cannabis and cannabis-related products,' the faux holy man wrote. Terp Bros' co-owners Jeremy Rivera and Alessandro Cottone opened their pot shop at 3610 Ditmars Blvd. in October 2023. In April, Time Out magazine ranked it New York's ninth best weed dispensary out the state's 405 licensed cannabis shops. The letter tries to portray Rivera — an ex-con who spent 11 years in jail for criminal possession of controlled substances and robbery — as a sympathetic figure. 3 Jeremy Rivera and Alessandro Cottone opened their Astoria pot shop in October 2023 and earlier this year, Time Out magazine ranked it New York's ninth best weed dispensary out the state's 405 licensed cannabis shops. Kyle Stevens/Shutterstock Advertisement He, 'his family, and many others like him have paid a great price caused by wrongful and failed policy targeting minorities and the failed war on drugs as it pertains to hemp and other cannabis,' it reads. Gigantiello insisted to The Post he didn't write or authorize the letter — and never even heard of the weed joint until learning of the letter. 'I had no idea. Someone shouldn't be using using my name in any form,' added the monsignor, who made headlines two years after being relieved of his administrative duties for allowing pop star Sabrina Carpenter to film a racy music video inside Our Lady of Mt. Carmel-Annunciation Parish in Williamsburg. 3 Owners of the popular shop didn't respond to messages seeking comment. Helayne Seidman Advertisement The board rejected the pot shop's application in January — and said it didn't get the letter until only a few weeks ago. Board members showed the letter to NYC Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola (R-Queens), who alerted the Fire Department. 'It's very telling that someone would fake a letter from a monsignor because they couldn't deal with the results of a community board vote,' Ariola said. 'If they didn't like the way the board voted, I get it, but forging a letter from an FDNY chaplain is the absolute worst way to try and change their opinion.' The state's Office of Cannabis Management will ultimately decide whether to approve the plan. Messages left for Terp Bros' owners were not returned.
