Sad News: The Passing Of Vince Favorito, Long Time Carroll Gardener And Neighborhood Historian

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Vincent favorito in 2011, with friend Marianne Young

Vince with Celia Cacae, another long time Carroll Gardener

This morning, I received the sad news that Vince Favorito, a long time Carroll Gardens resident, passed away on Sunday.
Many will remember Vince, who lived in the community for 70 years.  He was a passionate historian of the neighborhood and told delightful anecdotes about growing up in South Brooklyn.  In 2011, he sold his house on Clinton Street and moved to the suburbs with his wife Angela to be closer to their children.
At the time, a group of Carroll Gardens friends organized a small party to wish him well and The Carroll Gardens Coalition For Respectful Development (C.O.R.D.) published the following tribute on their web site:
We wanted to take a little time and introduce some of Vincent's own history and recount some of his contributions to our neighborhood.

On April 12, 1941, Vincent J Favorito was welcomed by his parents, Joseph and Grace at Long Island College Hospital. He was taken home to 168 President Street and was baptized at Sacred Heart & St Stephen's Church. 

Little Vincent attended school at Sacred Heart/St Stephen's from 1946-1958 where he met Sacred Heart/St Stephen classmate and alumna, little Angela Sgro, in the first grade. Vincent then went on to earn a B.S. in Chemistry in 1962 from St John's University Brooklyn campus, which was then located at 96 Schermerhorn Street. That same year he married his classmate and sweetheart, Angela Sgro at their lifelong parish, Sacred Heart/St Stephen's Church. 

On November 4, 1963, Vincent and Angela were blessed with a son, Joseph, followed by son, Stephen on Oct 26, 1966 and then Christopher on July 16, 1974.Angela, a 1966 grad of St John's University School of Education and Vincent resided in an apartment in her family's building at 432 Clinton Street from 1965-1972. In '65, Vincent graduated from St John's University Brooklyn School of Law. 

Vincent worked for many years as a lawyer for JC Penney. For a while he and the family lived out of state and then came back to Brooklyn and lived in Marine Park. Vincent's and Angela's families were still in the neighborhood during those years so their lives were filled with frequent trips to Carroll Gardens. Eventually, Vincent and Angela moved back to 432 Clinton Street. Angela taught at PS 58 for ten years. The couple remained at the Clinton Street address until now. 

Vincent was a very active participant in organizations in Carroll Gardens throughout his life--something that no doubt added to his wealth of information about neighborhood history. His many activities included: 

Member of the Knights of Columbus, Loretto Council, First Place, 4th Degree from 1966 to 1985.Member of the Brooklyn Democratic Club-Congressman Rooney Council, Clinton and Kane Streets from 1960 to 1995. 

Asst. US Attorney, Eastern District NY, US Attorney' s Office, Tillary Street, Brooklyn, NY from 1968 to 1973. 

Founding Member of the Court Street Merchants Association 1975 to 1980.And of course, his tenure on the Executive Committee of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association where he regaled many residents with his books filled with articles, photos and stories about our neighborhood. 

We have learned that a great deal of Vincent's historical documentation has been lost in the pending move. But Vincent has assured us that at least some of the information is preserved on his computer---we look forward to his retrieving as much of this valuable history as possible and hope that he shares this with us for publication right here.

Vince's son Joe asked me to let everyone know about the arrangements.
The wake will be at the FG Guido Funeral Home, 440 Clinton St, corner of Carroll Street on Wednesday from 2-5 and 7-9; details are at http://www.guidofuneralhomes.com

The funeral will be 11:45 AM Thursday at Sacred Heart and St. Stephens Church, corner of Hicks and Summit streets, Brooklyn, NY
Subway and driving directions are here.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in the name of Vincent Favorito to St. Jude's Children's Hospital