By Matthew Monks
Born in Sicily in 1932, Anzalone's loved ones described him as a strong-willed and hardworking man with three great passions: his family, his restaurant Cassino, which he owned and operated for 48 years on Vernon Boulevard, and Hunters Point – a hamlet of factories and warehouses that in recent years has been pegged as the future of the borough with a multibillion-dollar housing and business complex on the East River dubbed Queens West.Anzalone always saw the neighborhood's potential, said Community Board 2 Chairman Joseph Conley. “Sal was a very, very civic-minded leader in the community,” Conley said. “It was amazing how much time he dedicated to improving the quality of life in Hunters Point and Long Island City.” The father of two joined the community board in 1985 and advocated the creation of the art museum P.S. 1, a Long Island City Business Improvement District, senior housing in Queens West and improvements to John Andrews Park, Conley said. He also founded the Hunters Point Community Development Corporation. “I guess you might call him one of the pillars of Long Island City,” said Tony Mazzarella, owner of the Waterfront Crabhouse at 2-03 Borden Ave., who knew Anzalone for decades. “As the area was growing, Sal's concern was how the area was growing and that everybody played by the rules. Sal was abreast of everything. He'd walk the streets and find out, make sure everything was in good shape.” Andrew Anzalone, Sal's 43-year-old son, described his father as the “the mayor of Long Island City,” who would hold court from a barstool in his restaurant, spouting off opinions on politics, sports and local gossip. Locals would come in and “he would talk with them. Argue with them,” Andrew Anzalone said. “The bar was like the parlor in his home.”Andrew's wife, Rosemary Anzalone, 41, said her father-in-law was a master chef whose dishes were prepared with peppers, zucchinis and tomatoes from his own garden. While he hired a full-time chef during the week in recent years, Sal still worked the kitchen at nights and the weekends. “He had a beautiful voice. He could sing,” Rosemary Anzalone said. “I remember him sitting at the bar singing Frank Sinatra songs.” Anzalone is also survived by his wife Grace, another son Joseph, sisters Nina and Frances and five grandchildren. He was mourned during wakes Tuesday and Wednesday at Quinn Funeral Home in Astoria. A funeral mass was held Thursday at St. Mary's Church in Long Island City. Reach reporter Matthew Monks by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
