St. John’s School of Law rededicated the Mattone Family Atrium, a multi-purpose room named to honor the family of one of the school’s most illustrious graduates, Joseph M. Mattone.
Mattone was born in Greenpoint; Brooklyn in 1931, just a few years after St. John’s School of Law graduated its first class. Housed in a single building at 96 Schermerhorn Street, the Law School carried out its founding mission of opening the legal profession’s doors to children of immigrants and the working class. Mattone was one of those kids.
When he came to St. John’s in the 1950s, he studied law in the school’s cramped quarters. Despite the professional obstacles they faced – few of the top “white shoe” law firms hired out of St. John’s in those days – they focused on making their mark in the world. For Mattone, the first step on this path was opening his own practice post-graduation.
Fast forward 40 years, and the young man from Brooklyn had prospered and become a major real estate developer based in College Point. He remained a devoted family man and a strong supporter of St. John’s and the Law School, which had also relocated to Queens. He was the first person to give one million dollars to the University and served as a founding member of its Board of Governors.
So, say school officials, it was only fitting that the Law School recognized his generosity by naming the well-appointed room built to be the heart of its community the “Mattone Family Atrium.” And, some 20 years later, it was equally fitting that over 100 St. John’s faculty, administrators, alumni and friends came together on September 7, to honor Joe Mattone at the rededication of the newly-refurbished Atrium. Attendees included the Rev. Donald J. Harrington, President of St. John’s University, the Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Ph.D., D.D, Bishop of Brooklyn, and many members of the close-knit Mattone family.
In his opening remarks, Harrington noted that Mattone has been a “warm, caring and supportive member” of the St. John’s community for over half the university’s lifetime. With his family, now in its third generation at the Law School, he has nurtured the institution’s local programs and global reach through the Rome campus and beyond. He recently received the university’s prestigious Spirit of Service Award and his wife, Mary Ann, will receive it this year.
“We know the Mattone family will always be a very special part of St. John’s,” Harrington concluded.
