Ten Things You Don’t Know About President Domenick Napoletano
5.31.2024
You may think you know Domenick Napoletano. Here are ten little-known facts about this first-generation American and the son of Italian immigrants.
1, He was the first in his family to graduate elementary school.
2. This native son of Brooklyn grew up not far from the Brooklyn waterfront where his father worked as a longshoreman. He didn’t learn to swim as a child and never really took to the water.
3. He learned to play the accordion when he was 8 years old. His father bought him the instrument in 1961 and he still cherishes it. “It cost my dad back then $450, that was a lot of money back then,” he said. “It has beautiful mother of pearl keyboard and it has my name inscribed on it.” When asked what tune he can play, he answers “Lady of Spain.”
4. As a lifelong Roman Catholic, he speaks with a sense of pride and commitment about his church family. He remembers serving Mass as an altar boy when mass was spoken in Latin. “It’s part of my life because I make it a part of my life. Am I a perfect Catholic? Absolutely not, but I try.”
5. He still gets together with old friends from the neighborhood and with friends from law school. Recently he checked in with a longtime friend and law school buddy, former Gov. David Paterson. During law school, Napoletano would read from their criminal procedure law book assignment to his visually impaired friend.
7. Napoletano remembers his visits to the Metropolitan Opera House fondly. He particularly likes when LaBoheme is on stage. He even named his cat Mimi after a character in the production.
8. When not listening to opera, Napoletano’s playlist includes music from the sixties such as the Temptations and Sam Cooke.
9. When asked about concerts he’s attended, he jokes about losing some of his hearing for a short time after attending a Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concert at the Meadowlands in the 1990s.
10. His wife, Fran, is also a lawyer. They have two children, Alexis and Nicholas, and two grandchildren, 6-year-old Sofia and 2-year-old Everett.
