18th Avenue Feast Organizers Face Hurdles For 2013 Event
The 18th Avenue Feast has had trouble getting off the ground in recent years, and it appears permit problems risk preventing the festival from happening again – although no final decisions have yet been made. Reports indicate that the city has rejected street closure permits from Santa Rosalia Society, the feast’s organizers, over failure to provide certain tax documents.
In the latest hiccup, the city is claiming that the social club failed to include critical tax documents in their request for street closure permits. The Santa Rosalia Society says that a clerk in the city offices must have lost them.
This isn’t the first time in recent years that the feast, which has run for more than 30 years, has had trouble swinging into action. In 2011, the feast was canceled due to permit problems and last minute organizing difficulties.
The paper’s report might have kicked up a bit of hubbub among those afraid the feast won’t go forward, but Councilman Vincent Gentile sought to temper people’s worst fears, writing on his Facebook page, “Don’t believe the hype! Bensonhurst’s annual Festa di Santa Rosalia a.k.a. the ’18th Avenue Festival’ has NOT been canceled.”
Of course, it looks like it could go either way at the moment. With
declining enthusiasm for the event, the ever-shrinking Italian population in Bensonhurst, and paperwork problems facing the Santa Rosalia Society, the past few years have proved to be a bit of a crap shoot when determining the festival’s fate.As of right now, the status of the feast remains in question. We’ll let you know as soon as it becomes certain.
