North Shore Towers Courier n February 2014 3 Love Stories BY VICTOR G. MIMONI Weathermen say that February is the worst month of winter, but a love story can warm the coldest chill. Here are the stories of a few lovebirds among the snowbirds at North Shore Towers. Nelson Avila and Madalyne Klein The old proverb states that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The step that launched the life journey of Nelson Avila and Madelyne Klein was the Tango. Nelson was a son of gaucho, a cowboy of the Argentine pampas. Immersed in the folkloric culture of his country – including the Tango, He was dancing by the age of nine and performed professionally in Buenos Aires when he was 18-yearsold. Touring internationally with a partner as “Nelida y Nelson,” he was already a star when he joined the smash hit “Tango Argentino” in Paris in 1985. Madelyne was a Queens girl who loved to dance. In addition to jazz dance and ballet, she was moved by the beauty of the tango and started taking lessons. In 1988 she began studying the tango and one of her first teachers was Nelson Avila, by then performing on Broadway. “He was patient but demanding,” she recalled, “and soon I got better and better.” While Avila went off to tour the world with the show, student and teacher remained in contact. “I followed his career and we re-met when to see Tango Argentino in London in 1991,” a total of 10 times, as she recalls. True to story and song, dancing led to romance. “We got together in 2004 and two years later we were married,” she notes. The couple expresses their bond in the sensual and passionate moves that distinguish Argentine Tango from every other dance and make it a visual metaphor for both erotic love and a passion for life itself in movies from “Scent of a Woman” to “Assassination Tango.” When not wowing audiences most Sundays at Café Buenos Aires in Huntington, Nelson and Madelyne glide around the towers, a tribute to romance. Mario and Louise Carmiciano Even in a sprawling metropolis, love can draw two people together through adversity. Mario Carmiciano and Louise O’Connell both lost their spouses, before finding love again with each other. Though strangers at the time, Mario and Louise were happily married and raising three children on Staten Island – she had a girl and two boys, he a boy and two girls. Some among the two sets of children were even delivered by the same obstetrician. Louise and her husband moved the family to Merrick in 1989. Ten years later, after a long illness, he passed away. “I was alone for a very long time,” Louise recalled. “My sister-in-law said she’d find me a man and she did – Mario.” “It was a great first date,” Louise continued. “We did a lot of talking and had a beautiful dinner.” The conversation they began on that evening in 2002 revealed the common threads, and led to them tie the knot in 2008. “She had the house in Merrick and I still had the house in Staten Island,” Mario continues the story. Mario and Louise Carmiciano “With the kids grown up, we were looking at townhouses and the like. We were coming out of the Bay Club (in Bayside) and saw these three towers in the distance, so we drove over. The guard directed us to the real estate office and we knew we wanted to move in. This place really has the ‘wow factor.’” So does their story. Sue and Mort Gitter Sue and Mort Gitter When you ask how long Mort and Sue Gitter have been married, his instantaneous reply is, “forever.” It’s only been 52 years, Mort observes. However, “When you’ve been together so long, you don’t remember all the details.” He clearly remembers that they met on a blind date in Manhattan. How did the date go? “Well, we got married… voluntarily,” he quips. Their relationship has withstood the test of time and the demands of being on the Tower’s board for years, with Mort stepping up to the presidency once again – he held the post in 2006. Nelson Avila and Madalyne Klein
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