All Hands
On Thursday June 8th I had the honor of attending a mess night supporting "Cooling Long Island Veterans' '
The mission for CFLIV is to deliver meals to homebound veterans.
The location of the event was at Tiro A Segno the oldest Italian restaurant and shooting range in NY
Gunny Monaco ret
Tiro a Segno, a Fixture in the Italian South Village
Located in the heart of the South Village and the South Village Historic District is the oldest continuing South Village Italian organization, Tiro a Segno, today located at 77 MacDougal Street. It has been at this location since 1924 and has served the Italian American community since its founding on August 14, 1888. Tiro a Segno calls itself “the oldest Italian heritage organization in the United States” and today it continues its mission, devoted to the dissemination of knowledge of Italian culture.
Tiro a Segno, which means “fire at the target,” was founded by Italians of the South Village as a rifle club, much in the way German immigrants in the East Village’s Kleindeustchland founded the German-American Shooting Society at 12 St. Mark’s Place. The members of the Italian club which included artists, architects, businessmen, and doctors met for business and social purposes in the South Village and practiced at a clubhouse and shooting range at Fox Hill on Staten Island. During World War I, Tiro a Segno turned over its Staten Island land to the federal government, which eventually built Fox Hills Base Hospital at the site.
In 1924, Tiro A Segno moved to its permanent home at 77 MacDougal Street with a shooting range and bocce court in the basement. Today it is more typical to find visitors enjoying fine wine or cuisine than engaging in target practice. Some reports claim that Giuseppe Garibaldi, who unified Italy, was a member, although that is unlikely since he died in 1882. However, members have included Lee Iacocca, the tenor Enrico Caruso, and Fiorello H. LaGuardia, one of New York City’s most revered Mayors and the first Italian-American to hold that position.
