REAL ESTATE // FINANCE It ta kes a villa ge... Behind every great dish is a great recipe, and behind that is a great chef, who sources quality ingredients from the right markets, who purchase those products from the right farms that boast the best farmers, and the list goes on and on. For December, we traced the roots of Basil Brick Oven Pizzeria and found one particular family at the beginning of it all. So we sat down with some members of the Giannola family, and asked them to tell their story. This is that tale, and the cast of characters the credit for a helping them along. Something to Bank On A new bank is slated to open within the month at 18-21 Astoria Boulevard. As 30th Ave, Broadway, Ditmars, and even 31st Ave have recently started approaching saturation, the trend has been to move westward in Astoria toward the park and river. The Letlove Inn and The Bonnie are just two recentl examples of this trend, and it seems this is only the beginning—especially with so much new housing scheduled to appear over the next few years. At least that’s the opinion of Vito Giannola, Vice President of Sussex Bank and part of the second generation of American-born Giannolas. “Small community banks connect people and connect businesses,” smiles Tony Labozzetta, the President and CEO of Sussex Bank. “It’s all about relationships and interpersonal interactions.” In response to what Astorians can anticipate from the opening of Sussex, Labozzetta explains the bank as “high-tech, high-touch.” He continues, “for me, holy grail is finding that efficiency while maintaining a personal touch—combining the tools someone may need to bank anywhere, at any time—but you also have to be able to reach out to them so they know they are appreciated.” “Now we are in a position to expand—it’s a whole new model,” smiles Labozzetta. “Now we have technology that isn’t even yet seen in banking today.” Look for a grand opening announcement soon. Sussex Bank 18-21 Astoria Blvd., Astoria, NY 11102 www.sussexbank.com DECEMBER 2014 | BOROMAG.COM | 53 Luca Di Ciero, Costabile Martuscelli, Tony Labozzetta, Tony Giannola, Vito Giannola, Joe Giannola, and Vito Giannola The Community Builder Luca Di Ciero is the Property Manager at NY Space Finders, and one of the most genuinely friendly guys you could ever hope to meet. He also just moved his office from Steinway to right next door to Basil. “We cover a large spectrum of the commercial real estate, we do a lot of business brokering, we do a lot of industrial, retail, investment properties. We also specialize in boutique new construction developments. Just in Astoria alone, we represent 56 properties we have seen built from the ground up and leased. We grew so busy, in fact, that we recently opened a property management company called Real Estate Management Associates, which manages 11 new properties.” Born and raised in Astoria, Di Ciero grew up riding his bike through the neighborhood and has lived here for 33 years. “I think in the last ten years Astoria has really evolved.” He remembers finding Bareburger their first location on 31st Ave and 34th Street. One of his most recent finds was the home of The Bonnie, as well. I love all of the enthusiastic new energy in the neighborhood. And I enjoy bringing good concepts to the neighborhood. I think that’s why I am so close with the Giannola family. We live here, eat here, breathe here, we sleep here. We love it here. www.nyspacefinders.com Vito Giannola & Tony Labozzetta Luca Di Ciero
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