Serving Williston Park, East Williston, Mineola, Albertson and Searingtown
$1.50
Friday, April 7, 2023
Vol. 72, No. 14
GUIDE TO THE WILLISTONS, MINEOLA PAGES S1-S36
COUNTY POLICE UNVEIL PLAN TO COMBAT CRIME
BLANK SLATE MEDIA WINS 6 STATE AWARDS
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Co-owner of Taglio’s wins pizza contest Food Network awards Rob Cervoni $10K for Mineola eatery’s tasty pies BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y Rob Cervoni, co-owner of Long Island’s first Roman-style pizzeria Taglio at 85 Mineola Blvd. in Mineola, won $10,000 during a pizza-centric episode of Food Network’s “Chopped” last week. Cervoni, a Great Neck native who now lives in Franklin Square, beat out three other pizza chefs for the episode’s top prize on the March 28 episode. He said he plans to use the winnings to create a scholarship fund for future pizza makers, or pizzaiolos. “There’s been a massive boom in business. We had on Friday night a three-hour wait for pizza,” Cervoni said. “The entire community of Long Island has really come out, shown their support and welcomed me with open arms.” Pizza al taglio, or pizza “by the cut,” has been gaining popularity across the nation, characterized by the dough’s airiness and its staple technique of being cut with scissors instead of sliced with a pizza cutter. The pizza’s airy dough can be attributed to its high hydration and at least a 72-hour fermentation process. A 2006 Great Neck South High School alum, Cervoni previously ran a
16 Handles frozen yogurt franchise for eight years before deciding to open up Taglio in 2018 after multiple trips to Rome and his grandfather’s hometown of Boville Ernica in the province of Frosinone. “I didn’t want to be like everybody else on Long Island,” Cervoni said about beginning his pizza venture. “I traveled through Italy and got inspiration from Roman-style pizza and I decided that’s what I’m going to do.” The fluffy pizza is cut with scissors to apply equal pressure on the top and bottom of the slice so as to not flatten the dough. The longer fermentation makes Roman-style pizza easier to digest than its Neopolitan counterpart. Gabriele Bonci brought the pizza style to the United States, opening his first location, Bonci, in Chicago. With his winnings, Cervoni said he is going to fund the training of young pizza makers interested in bringing Roman-style pizza to their areas. “When I go to different expositions, I meet young and hungry pizza makers that are super passionate,” Cervoni said. “This is to help them if they can’t get the proper training and equipment and I will put them in contact with a mentor to teach them like I had.” Continued on Page 40
PHOTO BY KAREN RUBIN/NEWS-PHOTOS-FEATURES.COM
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers his ‘Florida Blueprint’ at the Cradle of Aviation Museum on Saturday. See story on page 12.
Demand for D’Esposito to back expelling Santos BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z Residents of New York’s 3rd Congressional District called on Republican U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito to co-sponsor legislation to expel U.S.
Rep. George Santos from office in a letter sent to the congressman Friday. Concerned Citizens of NY-03, a nonpartisan, ad hoc group of Santos constituents, implored D’Esposito to co-sponsor a resolution introduced by
House Democrats in February calling for the embattled congressman’s resignation. The group cited D’Esposito’s previous criticism of his fellow Republican congressman in the letter. Continued on Page 41
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