10
QUEENS WEEKLY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2019
Popular pizzeria in Ridgewood celebrates 60 years
BY MAX PARROTT
Corato Pizza
celebrated 60 years of
business on Aug. 29 at its
satellite location, Corato
Pizza II, on Myrtle
Avenue in Ridgewood.
Local lawmakers
such as Assemblywoman
Catherine Nolan,
Assemblyman Mike
Miller, state Senator
Joseph Addabbo and
Councilman Robert
Holden came to honor
the establishment, share
their memories and grab
a slice.
“Sixty years ago if
you wanted pizza in New
York City, you’d buy it at
a bakery. My mom was a
busy mom — there were
three of us. So when
Corato’s opened that
was a big day for us,”
said Nolan. “It was such
a successful business
because it was delicious,
convenient and again
women were beginning
to go to work.”
In 1959, Sal Leo and
Richard Ferrucci came
to America to open the
restaurant and named
after the town in Italy
where the emigrated
from, bringing home
recipes with them. Corato
Pizza II was opened in
1988, and bought a decade
later by Marco Cerbone,
who now co-owns it with
his son, Marco Jr.
Through the
restaurant’s lifespan,
the ethnic makeup of
Ridgewood has gone
through some radical
changes. Nolan noted
that when the original
Corato’s opened it was
still primarily a German-
American neighborhood,
so the addition of
authentic Italian fare
was then considered
a novelty.
Cerbone said the
satellite restaurant
is a relic of the 1980s
when Italians moved
to the neighborhood in
greater numbers. He
had emigrated to the
U.S. in 1974 and started
working at the original
restaurant at the age of
14. He and his son Marco
Jr. have come up with
some of their own recipes
like his famous pasta
boscaiola, a creamy dish
with mushrooms, bacon
and tomatoes.
“It was always in
my blood to be a cook
and own my business,”
Cerbone said.
He added that the
owners of the original
restaurant have always
treated him like family.
While running the
business has been a
challenge and sacrifice
at times, Cerbone said
that he received support
from the city in the
early 2000s through a
storefront improvement
program to fix up their
signage and bring more
customers in.
“They own the building
and are merchants. So
they’re doubly invested,”
said Ted Renz, Executive
Director of the Myrtle
Avenue Business
Improvement District
that runs from Wyckoff
Avenue to Fresh Pond
Road. Renz estimates
that the restaurant is one
of the oldest in the BID.
Reach reporter Max
Parrott by email at
mparrott@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260-2507.
New school in Bayside gives children jumpstart in coding
BY JENNA BAGCAL
A Silicon Valley-based
coding school is expanding
its reach to Bayside
this fall.
In early September,
theCoderSchool franchise
owner Noreen Kazi will
open up a new location at
36-35 Bell Blvd., Suite 104.
The school is one of three
New York locations Kazi
operates, including ones
in Syosset and Roslyn on
Long Island.
The Long Island resident
spent over 20 years creating
educational curriculums
and running programs
focused on developing the
next generation of leaders.
“I’m thrilled to build
on the success of our two
existing locations,” said
Kazi. “Learning how to
program computers is an
incredibly valuable skill,
and one that’s demand
is steadily increasing
exponentially in every
industry. Through
theCoderSchool’s projectbased
approach we strive
to improve kids’ logic,
ideation and creative
thinking skills while
preparing them for a
successful future.”
Hansel Lynn founded
theCoderSchool in 2014
in Silicon Valley and
incubated the program
with the help of his best
friend Wayne Teng. The
pair aimed to “show the
next generation of kids
how inspiring and exciting
technology can be.”
Lynn and Teng wanted
to provide children ages
7 to 18 with a welcoming
environment wherein
they could develop their
computer programming
skills. Students learn
several coding languages
including HTML, CSS,
Python and Javascript.
T h e C o d e r S c h o o l
philosophy of teaching
relies less on software
and “one-size-fits-all
curriculums.” Instead,
Code Coaches use a two-onone
teaching approach in
which experienced coders
act as mentors to small
groups of students.
“As we continue to
expand our presence
throughout the country,
it’s critical to find the
right franchise partners
who are truly passionate
about setting kids up
with a positive, lifelong
relationship with
technology and coding,”
added Lynn. “This is why
we couldn’t be more excited
about our continuing
partnership with Noreen
and Nisha. They have
shown how passionate they
are about our mission, and
we are confident the new
communities will see just
how fun learning to code
can be.”
Nisha Bhalla will
continue her partnership
with Kazi as the senior
advisor for the Bayside
school. The Harvard
Business School graduate
has extensive experience
launching and scaling
new products at Fortune
500 companies and
healthcare startups.
Bhalla is also the senior
advisor for the Syosset and
Roslyn locations.
“I couldn’t be more
excited to continue to
partner and work with
Noreen,” Bhalla said.
“We’ve built a great
partnership over the years
in Syosset and Roslyn,
and it’s been incredibly
rewarding to watch our
vision continue to grow.
We’ve received such a
positive response from
the communities we are
already in and hope to
bring the same positivity
towards learning about
technology in our three
new communities.”
For more information,
visit thecoderschool.com.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by email at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone at (718)
260-2583.
Marco Cerbone Jr. takes a customer’s order at the satellite location of Corato Pizza.
Photos: Max Parrott/QNS
A new theCoderSchool location is set to open up in Bayside this September
Photos courtesy of theCoderSchool
/thecoderschool.com
/qns.com
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