A funeral mass for family and friends of  Mildred Margiotta  (August 8, 1929 – February 13, 2025) will be held at 10:30 AM, Thursday, Feb. 20th at Church of the Holy Family, 315 East 47th Street. Following the mass,  a graveside service at 12:15 PM will be held at St. Raymond’s Cemetery, 2600 Lafayette Avenue, Bronx, NY 10465. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Calvary Fund Inc. of Calvary Hospital. 

Please scroll to link at bottom for obituary, to share photos and condolences. 

A legacy of community service and advocacy 

“Millie” Margiotta touched many lives through her tireless service to the community, serving  for decades as Vice President of the Turtle Bay Association (TBA) and subsequently joining the board of Friends of Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. Manhattan Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura remembers Millie from bygone days as staffers for Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. Millie also served on the 17th Precinct Community Council and as an auxiliary police officer. 

Champion of park reconstruction and Katharine Hepburn Garden

Millie championed the park’s reconstruction and masterminded the dedication of its garden to Katharine Hepburn, working  with Hepburn’s family attorney,  park architect George Vellonakis, and NYC Parks Department to honor the famous actress as a neighborhood preservationist. The wall plaques and stepping stones engraved with quotes and images of Hepburn films add to the rich legacy she leaves behind along with TBA’s long-standing tradition of erecting a big Christmas tree in Hammarskjold Plaza. 

A park bench plaque will be unveiled when we honor Millie at the Katharine Hepburn Garden Party in May and share memories, partnering with the Turtle Bay Association in cooperation with NYC Parks & Recreation.  

We share a deep sense of loss with her many friends and family, in particular Kathy Wnuk, close neighbor and owner of Salon Amichi who has watched over Millie and kept us informed. 

Read the full obituary, share condolences and photos. https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/new-york-ny/mildred-margiotta-12246144

Friday the 13th, a lunar eclipse, conspiracy? It’s anybody’s guess why the park and street lamps  failed to come on at dusk, cloaking the entire park block in darkness. 

FDHP director Kim Baker reported the total blackout on 9/13  to Parks Manager Shena Kaufman and filed a 311 complaint ticket. Six days later, the park block was still  cloaked in darkness. When  we learned that DOT maintains  all  lamps and that  standard wait time can be a week to 15 days, we sent out an SOS. Many thanks to 17th Precinct Captain Maggie Clamp, Manhattan Parks Chief of Staff Steve Simon, and Patrick Hill, Community Liaison FOR CM Keith Powers, who raised the clarion  call  for immediate attention. 

Now we wait as this UN gateway goes into lockdown and heads of state attend the 79th session of the UNGA.