FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2004
Contact: Rocco DeFazio
518-274-8866

Media Advisory/Photo Opportunity
Troy’s Little Italy Announces New Programs and Events
Including: Trip to Italy; Website; Marketplace Updates; Statewide Conference; Reunion

On Wednesday, March 31, 2004 at 11:30 a.m., Rocco DeFazio of DeFazio’s Pizzeria and Imports will gather with representatives from City Hall, the U.S. Senate, and business and neighborhood leaders in Troy to announce new plans and programs for Troy’s Little Italy. The event will take place in the lobby of L&P Media, 255 River Street, downtown Troy, rain or shine.

Speakers will include:

• Ken Mackintosh representing U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's office
• Troy Deputy Mayor James Walsh
• Fred Miller, Executive Director of the Mohawk Valley Heritage Corridor Commission
• John Hedley, Downtown Troy Developer and Business Leader
• John Daniels, President of L&P Media

Announcements will be made about:

• Upcoming events in Troy's Little Italy, including a statewide conference to be hosted here in late summer 2004; a Little Italy Reunion hosted by Gli Amici di Piccola Italia (Friends of Little Italy) on Flag Day, June 13th; and an October 2004 trip to Italy.
• Troy's Little Italy Website launch by L&P Media.
• Buy-A-Brick program for the Marketplace in Little Italy.

Troy’s Little Italy, a brainchild of Rocco DeFazio that is supported by U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, the City of Troy and many area neighborhood groups covers the area stretching north of the Poestenkill Canal and ending just south of the Pottery District (4th Street from Ida to Division in Troy). This area has traditionally been an Italian enclave, and features many successful Italian-American owned businesses today, as well as the Italian Community Center and the CYO.

Little Italy districts in cities across the United States are tourist attractions, great residential neighborhoods, and feature lower crime rates than other city districts, making them pleasant neighborhoods to visit and to call home.

For more information about Troy’s Little Italy, visit the new Website at www.littleitalytroy.com or www.littleitalytroy.org or contact Rocco DeFazio at 518-274-8866.

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Note to Media:
There will be a few parking spaces reserved in front of L&P Media.
There is also parking available behind the building on Front Street.