Philip Foglia facts for kids

Philip F. Foglia (born November 27, 1950 – died April 21, 2020) was an American lawyer and a prosecutor. He was also a community leader and worked to protect the rights and image of Italian-Americans. One of his most important efforts was leading a campaign to build a statue honoring Mother Cabrini, an Italian-American Catholic nun. This happened after the idea for her statue was first turned down by a commission in New York City.

About Philip Foglia

Philip Foglia grew up in Belmont, a neighborhood in The Bronx, New York. Many Italian-American families lived there. His father was a police detective. Philip went to Mount Saint Michael Academy for high school. He then earned his first college degree from Lehman College. Later, he studied law at Pace University School of Law.

Philip Foglia's Career as a Prosecutor

After finishing law school, Philip Foglia became a prosecutor. A prosecutor is a lawyer who works for the government. Their job is to bring legal cases against people accused of crimes.

Foglia worked for the Bronx County District Attorney's office. There, he handled cases involving public corruption. This means he investigated and prosecuted people who used their government jobs for dishonest reasons. In the 1980s, he also worked with the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He was part of a special team that focused on public corruption.

Later, in 1988, Foglia became an Executive Assistant District Attorney in Queens County, New York. He also spent ten years as a special lawyer for the city of Yonkers, New York.

In his private career, he was a partner at a law firm in White Plains for 17 years.

More recently, Foglia worked for the New York State Inspector General's Office. This office investigates waste, fraud, and abuse in government. He uncovered a problem with how bids were handled for a casino at the Aqueduct Racetrack. His report led to the bids being redone.

In 2005, Philip Foglia tried to become an elected politician. He ran for a seat on the New York City Council. However, he was not elected.

Working for Italian-American Rights

Philip Foglia became a very important leader for the Italian-American community in the Bronx and New York City. He started the Italian-American Legal Defense and Higher Education Fund. He was also a founding member of the board for the Italian American Museum in Manhattan.

Foglia worked hard to fight against negative ideas and unfair treatment of Italian-Americans. He also wanted to protect the good image of important Italian historical figures, like Mother Cabrini and Christopher Columbus.

In the 1990s, Foglia filed a lawsuit against City University of New York (CUNY). He claimed that the university was unfair to Italian-Americans when hiring staff. He reached a legal agreement with CUNY. This agreement meant the university had to officially recognize Italian-Americans as a group that needed more representation in their staff.

Defending Christopher Columbus Statues

In 2017, after some protests, the New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio created a special group. This group was asked to look at statues and monuments in the city. Some groups wanted to remove statues of Christopher Columbus. They felt these statues were symbols of hate.

Philip Foglia and other Italian-American leaders strongly defended the Columbus statues. They said the statues were an important symbol of Italian-American heritage. They worked to convince the mayor to keep the monuments. In the end, the commission and Mayor de Blasio decided to keep the Columbus statues.

The Mother Cabrini Statue Campaign

Two years later, Philip Foglia became a strong voice when a proposed statue of Mother Cabrini was left out of a program called "She Built NYC." This program was created to honor famous women in New York City with new statues.

Mother Cabrini was born in Italy and was a nun. She was known for opening schools and hospitals in New York. She is also known as the patron saint of immigrants. In a public survey in 2018, Mother Cabrini received the most votes for a new statue. However, the "She Built NYC" commission, led by New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray, decided not to include her statue. Instead, they chose seven other women.

Italian-American and Catholic leaders were very upset by this decision. Philip Foglia, leading the Italian-American Legal Defense and Higher Education Fund, called the decision an "insult." He sent a letter of protest. He wrote that his group was "dismayed" that the commission ignored Mother Cabrini, who was the clear public choice. A march supporting the Mother Cabrini statue in Brooklyn attracted over 1,000 people.

After several months of disagreement, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stepped in. On October 24, 2019, Governor Cuomo announced that a public statue honoring Mother Cabrini would indeed be built in New York City. He said that Mother Cabrini was a great New Yorker and Italian-American immigrant who did much good. He promised $750,000 to build the statue. He also appointed Philip Foglia to a special commission to oversee the memorial.

In December 2019, Governor Cuomo and the commission, including Foglia, announced that the Mother Cabrini statue would be built in Battery Park in lower Manhattan. It will be located near the Museum of Jewish Heritage, looking out towards the Statue of Liberty.

Later Life and Passing

Philip Foglia lived in the Pelham Gardens neighborhood of the Bronx. He became sick with COVID-19 on March 22, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. He spent 28 days in the hospital on a breathing machine. His health improved for a short time, but then quickly got worse. Philip Foglia passed away from COVID-19 on April 21, 2020, at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. He was 69 years old. He was survived by his wife, Jacqueline, and their two sons, Philip Jr. and Louis.