Veterans Day Ceremony Honors Couple’s Care for WWII Memorial
An emotional ceremony on Veterans Day honored an elderly couple from Brooklyn who dedicated their lives to maintaining a neglected World War I monument in a previously overgrown area of the park.
Theresa “Tish” Cianciotta and her husband, Guido, a World War II veteran, were recognized as the devoted guardians of Memorial Gore, which commemorates 83 local residents who lost their lives during World War I.
According to Philip Caponegro, a local community board member, the couple began their stewardship of the memorial in the 1980s.
“We want to keep their memory alive,” 71-year-old Caponegro told about 24 attendees at the event.
Following the couple’s passing in their 90s in 2021 and 2023, the park—situated at the busy intersection of Bushwick, Metropolitan, and Maspeth streets—fell back into disrepair, becoming overrun with weeds and homeless encampments, as noted by community leaders.
After a 2024 investigation revealed the city’s failure to maintain the monument, resident William Vega, a community commissioner and member of the Friends of Cooper Park group, stepped in to continue the work they had started.
“I love doing it,” Vega shared during the cleanup. “It’s nice just sitting here and watching my neighbors have fun.”
Vega remarked that the local older generation is heavily invested in this work. “Those younger people… my rent is high, and I’m just trying to get by,” he added.
For Vega, the city’s negligence feels deeply personal. He recalled growing up in the San Juan Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, demolished to make way for Lincoln Center.
Originally purchased by the city in 1894 for $2,500, this green space in Brooklyn features a sculpture by the Picirilli brothers, which also appears at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. It’s officially under the management of New York City Parks.
However, due to budget cuts from the Adams administration, this small monument remained neglected for years.
Vega mentioned he has been working on building a “better personal relationship” with the Park Service since taking on the monument’s care and has received help with larger tasks, like fixing the park’s flagpole.
Nevertheless, Friends of Cooper Park still incurs “well over” tens of thousands of dollars in maintenance expenses, he noted.
Volunteer park rangers reported working seven days a week to clean up the area, yet they still frequently encounter syringes and garbage bags being thrown over the fences by passing cars.
The park is generally closed to the public, only open during events like Veterans Day and Memorial Day, but like Vega, the Cianciottas had access to keys for maintaining the cleanup efforts.
Vega plans to open the green space to the public more frequently next spring after successfully conducting a few “requested” public openings earlier this year.
During Tuesday’s event, State Rep. Emily Gallagher, who represents the area, said preserving Memorial Gore demonstrates Williamsburg’s history of community members uniting to “fight for what’s right.”
“Rather than viewing this neighborhood solely through the lens of real estate, we should recognize the community aspect,” Gallagher commented.
“This region has a strong Italian heritage,” she continued. “Many Italian veterans have faced significant prejudice and represent the core of the U.S. military.”
In a statement to the Post, the Parks Department acknowledged the efforts of local volunteers in maintaining Memorial Gore, stating, “Since 2024, Parks has engaged over 1.2 million volunteers across the city to aid in the care of our parks.”
