June 24th, 2016
On Friday June 24th, New Jersey Italian Heritage Commission participated in a dinner meeting with the Hon Vicenzo Amendola Undersecretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The Undersecretary was in New York for official meetings at the United Nations, but made time to visit New Jersey to meet with the Italian American Community.
The evening was organized by the Association of Cavaliere of the Republic of Italy-NJ, members of Comites, and the Italian American Associations of New Jersey and was held at the Venetian in Garfield. The Undersecretary was accompanied by the Consul General of Italy in New York, Min. Plen. Francesco Genuardi and Deputy Consul General, Cons. Roberto Frangione.
The Italian officials responded to numerous questions and devoted significant time to addressing the community’s concerns about accessibility related to the closure of the Vice Consulate of Italy in Newark. Having just experienced a traffic jam in the Lincoln tunnel, the New York delegation acknowledged that the closure of New Jersey’s consulate and the long lines at New York’s had made life more difficult for New Jersey Italians; however, the Undersecretary explained that the Italian Government is working to centralize its operations and provide more services online so Italian citizens, in New Jersey and beyond, will have to travel to the consulate less frequently.
