Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino, Town Councilman Tom Hand, Councilwoman Laura Maier, Councilwoman Vicki Walsh, Town Clerk Rich LaMarca and Receiver of Taxes Jeff Pravato, as well as Nassau County Legislators John Ferretti and Rose Marie Walker, joined with owner Sal Stile of DiMaggio’s Pizzeria in Hicksville to celebrate ‘Rosalind Nyman Joel Day’ in the Town of Oyster Bay.
(Photo courtesy of the Town of Oyster Bay)
The officials joined with local civic and community leaders to honor Billy Joel’s mother ‘Roz’ on what would have been her 100th birthday. In honor of the ‘Piano Mom,’ DiMaggio’s Pizzeria dedicated a pizza pie in her name and led a Billy Joel singalong in her honor.
Roz and Billy Joel were customers at the pizzeria, while Billy Joel grew up in Hicksville. Rosalind, raising Billy as a single mother, performed clerical work and gave her son music lessons as a child. They would frequent the pizzeria after Joel’s music lessons. DiMaggio’s Pizza of New York is located across the street from where the Long Island icon and singer/songwriter was raised. Stile was pleased to dedicate a pie in Roz’s honor, saying that the pizzeria was a staple in Joel’s upbringing and located at the Village Green referenced in Joel’s hit song “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.” DiMaggio’s honored and eternalized their famous family of customers with the dedication of the ‘Roz Pie,’ in honor of Rosalind, who was born on February 15, 1922. She passed away in 2014 at the age of 92.
—Submitted by the Town of Oyster Bay
