Elizabeth Street (38 page)

Elizabeth Street
was researched and written over a ten-year period during late nights and weekends. While it was a labor of love, it was also something that I felt I had to do. Some stories need sunlight, and this was one of them.

Our family’s story, and in particular my grandmother’s kidnapping, came to me in pieces over the years and then in a fuller picture when I finally persuaded my grandmother to tell it to me in detail. However, even then, there were gaps and questions. My research started in the genealogy library of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Countless hours were spent searching through microfilm records to create our family tree. Now, because of the efforts of a hundred thousand volunteers, many of these records are online at www.familysearch.org. I quickly learned that research leads to more research. I first became aware of the 1908 earthquake when I was looking through birth and death records in Scilla’s City Hall. It was chilling to see thousands of names all entered under one date. That led me to unearth my family’s story of survival and how the earthquake impacted New York’s Italian colony. Early on in my research, the Ellis Island passenger ship records became available online. The ship manifests were invaluable, not only for immigration dates but also for a wealth of details that became clues to other information at www.ellisisland.org.

In the New York Public and New York University libraries I read every 1909 newspaper. It was an extraordinary year in New York City’s history. My grandmother once said, “My sister Mary was in a big parade when they had me.” It was a line that had little meaning until I came across the first article of hundreds about the Hudson-Fulton celebration. Nearly every day the same newspapers also contained articles about the Black Hand and Lieutenant Giuseppe Petrosino. For information about Lieutenant Petrosino, I am additionally grateful to the officers at New York City’s Police Museum and to the officers of the 5th Precinct at 19 Elizabeth Street, where Giuseppe Petrosino worked. It was a pleasure to meet Petrosino’s great-grandnephew, Joseph Petrosino, a district attorney, who graciously gave me a copy of an out-of-print book on Lieutenant Petrosino and who became an early supporter of
Elizabeth Street
.

While I read literally hundreds of books, articles, and newspaper stories on the period covered in
Elizabeth Street
, the most valuable information came from my family both here and in Italy. One of the blessings of writing this book was finding my family in Scilla. I am indebted to the Arenas—Cesare, Fortunata, Raffaele, Nunzia, and Christina—and to Rocco Giordano for their warm welcome, delicious meals, and for patiently answering thousands of questions asked in bad Italian. To every family member who participated through storytelling or photos, including my Uncle Joe, I thank you with all my heart and hope that this book will become yours.

When you’ve spent your life writing memos, presentations, and speeches, you need some pretty serious encouragement to write a novel. My friends, particularly my colleagues at Robin Hood, were the best cheerleaders and the most patient listeners. For rolling up their sleeves at some point, I thank: Sharon Guynup, Joan Rafter, and Donatella Sirtori for their detailed edits; John Fuery for helping make sense of the engineering and construction of the Brooklyn Union gas tanks; and Nancy Green, Azania Andrews, Mark Bezos, Stephanie Adler, Debbie Fife, and Molly Laub for their advice and support.

When the book was completed, I was honored to have the assistance and encouragement of a number of literary agents, starting with Mort Janklow and Rebecca Gradinger, who were early champions of the book. David Kuhn and Billy Kingsland were of enormous help in directing my edit of the first manuscript. I will always be grateful for their time and effort.

Elizabeth Street
was available for sale online before being published by AmazonEncore. A number of extremely dear friends helped me promote the book, in particular, the most supportive and generous friend ever—Perri Peltz—and Eric Ruttenberg, Rebecca Prowda, Daniel Lurie, and Jennifer Pitts. The merchants of Little Italy in New York City were quick to embrace
Elizabeth Street
—my gratitude goes out to John Fratta, Mort Berkowitz, Lou DiPalo, and Dr. Joseph Scelsa. Karen Hsu did a brilliant design for the original cover.

At AmazonEncore, it was an absolute pleasure to work with Terry Goodman, Sarah Tomashek, and Jeff Belle. Literally, you would not be reading this version of the book without them. Their belief in
Elizabeth Street
made it possible to bring the story to a wider public, and I will always be grateful. My appreciation also to Melcher Media, my publicist Camille McDuffie, Suzanne Bronski, and Kate Linker.

Thank you to my friend Steve Winter, a
National Geographic
photographer, who took my photo. (I figured if he could capture a charging rhino, he could make a sedentary writer look good.)

While my family was what motivated me to write this book—both to chronicle our family history and to let it go—they were also the source of my inspiration. My mother’s love of literature and the arts influenced me from day one and continues to do so today. (She also became the book’s biggest fan and never missed an opportunity to talk about it.) My father was, above all, my role model and the person who taught me the meaning of family. I miss him every day. And, as I wrote this book, I was inspired by seeing my sister, Annie, fight her own epic battle for her four-year-old daughter’s life and by witnessing my niece Adriana’s perseverance.

My grandmother was so proud that my daughter, Siena, had her name. And I am just so proud of my daughter. She’s a remarkable young woman, wise beyond her years. (Her suggestions for edits, even though she was a child, were the most insightful.) When I decided to include the ransom notes, Siena ended up having a hand in the book. My grandfather burned the actual Black Hand notes sent to my family many years after the crime. However, in studying other such notes and letters, I was struck by how childlike they were, so I asked Siena, then eleven, to create them. Despite the fact that she thought writing ransom notes for her great-grandmother would necessitate therapy one day, and that she objected to misspelling words, she did a great job.

When you write a book in stolen moments, there is always a victim. In this case it was my husband, Joseph Della Fave. I unequivocally could not have written this book without him. He made it possible for me to devote long hours to research and writing. And while his practical help was key, his emotional support was far greater. He always, always believed this was something I should do, even when I did not. He was with me in Italy, and was equally enthusiastic about tracking down clues and finding family. He praised each and every chapter, cried at the right moments, and didn’t make fun of my bad grammar and spelling. It’s his book, too.

Lastly, although my time with my great-grandmother was brief, Giovanna remains my hero. And I am clearly indebted to my grandmother, Angelina Siena Arena, whose experiences and memories fueled this book. Her recollection of events was extraordinary. And while she always maintained “some things you shouldn’t tell,” I truly believe she would have been proud to see her story in print and agree with Maya Angelou who said, “It is agony to keep a story buried inside you.” Angelina Siena Arena died on March 31, 2001, at 96 years old. I was with her on the day she died. I fed her while she once again chastised me about how I wore my hair. Later that night she died in her son’s arms. Her last words were, “I want to go home.” Nanny, you’re home and we love you.

Giovanna’s courage and fortitude enabled subsequent generations to flourish—and me to brag about them.

My older children, Dominick Della Fave and Jaime Della Fave, are immensely talented songwriters and performers. Their band, The Fave, is addictive. You can buy their music on iTunes, and check out their pages on MySpace and Facebook.

My brother, Anthony, and sister-in-law, Carole, are talented vocalists who gave birth to a “phenom.” My nephew Michael Fabiano is on the road to becoming one of the greatest opera singers of all time. He walks in the footsteps of the best Italian tenors. You can see him perform in the world’s famous opera houses and hear him on YouTube.

My nephew Daniel (Michael’s brother) is our entrepreneur. He’s a roller blader who has his own company—producing skating films, managing a team, and selling a line of clothing. To see his stuff and buy cool clothes, go to www.conartistbrand.com.

My brother-in-law, Kevin Zraly, writes the world’s most famous wine book,
Windows on the World Complete Wine Course
, and his Windows on the World wine school has been consistently named the best wine school. Salute! www.kevinzraly.com.

My father taught me that people who are fortunate in life have an obligation to help others. It was a lesson that turned into a career, and I’ve had the privilege of working for some of the best nonprofits. If you want to give back and help the newest immigrants and people living in poverty, please support Robin Hood. See www.robinhood.org. And, to help people living with AIDS, consider participating in the next AIDS Walk in your city. See www.aidswalk.net.