By Paul Liotta I Pliotta@siadvance.com

Staten Islander to lead NYC Council’s new Italian Caucus – silive.com

David Carr

David Carr is the Council Member representing the Mid-Island based 50th Councilmanic District. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A new City Council caucus announced Thursday will bring a bit more amore to the five boroughs.

The new bipartisan Italian Caucus will seek to provide a voice for the city’s Italian community while promoting the history, culture and contributions of New Yorkers of Italian descent.

City Councilman David Carr (R-Mid-Island), who is of half Italian heritage through his mother’s family, will lead the new caucus after he and its other members — Councilman Joseph Borelli (R-South Shore), Councilwoman Joanne Ariola (R-Queens), Councilman Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn), Councilman James Gennaro (D-Queens), Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens), and Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (R-Queens) — unanimously elected him last week.

Carr noted that Staten Island is the county with the highest density of Italian-Americans in the United States.

“I was raised by my mother and grandparents to be proud of my Italian roots and to have an appreciation of the culture and heritage of my forbearers,” he said. “Italians have always held a central role in the history and heritage of the city we call home. The blood, sweat and tears poured into this city by Italian immigrants and their descendants can be seen from the street corners in the smallest of neighborhoods to the towers that make up our iconic skyline, and I am proud to chair a caucus that represents Italian-Americans and their impact on the course of NYC’s future.”

All members of the new caucus are of Italian descent, including Holden and Brannan, who quipped that the “secret is out.”

Borelli, who serves as the Council’s Republican leader, joked that he knew what he was most looking forward to about the new caucus.

“I look forward to advancing the values and the amazing culture of our shared Italian heritage. And the food. OK, mostly the food,” he said.