Pelham Parkway resident Dominick Schiano had a smile that would light up a room. He was a husband, father, grandfather, son and brother. Sadly, he passed away Dec. 28, 2020 at age 72.
Schiano, who served on Community Board 11 for nine years until he retired in November 2020, is survived by his wife Irene of 46 years, children, Lisa Barbieri and Robert, and granddaughters, Gianna and Alexis.
Gale Rosen, who is best friends with Schiano’s widow, knew him for 38 years. Rosen spoke with the Bronx Times about the departed.
“Now that he’s gone, it’ll be hard to find someone who had such an impact,” she said. “He was definitely a one in a million. He had a great sense of humor. Everyone said the same thing, “What a great guy.”
Schiano, a lifelong Bronxite, was raised on E. 205th Street. He worked on Wall Street at Goldman Sachs for over 40 years, but family always came first.
He coached his son’s baseball team and watched his kids become successful adults.
“His pride and joy were his granddaughters Gianna and Alexis who he loved very much and was extremely proud of them too,” Rosen said. “One could say he lived for his family and was their rock.”
According to Rosen, Schiano was a one of a kind type of guy.
In addition to serving on the community board, he started the Bronx neighborhood patrol, where he and residents would patrol Bronx Park East and the surrounding streets.
Schiano was also a long time board member of 2244 Bronx Park East Owners Corp. and when COVID-19 started he distributed protective face masks to his neighbors by knocking on their doors.
“He always had a hand out to help people,” she said. “He wanted to see good things for the neighborhood.”
Schiano loved horseback riding, family vacations, cruises and church. They went on annual trips to the Rocking Horse Ranch, family trips ,the beach, Atlantic City, Mohegan Sun and Resorts World International, where his game of choice was Let it Ride.
He was a devout Catholic who attended Mass every Saturday night at St. Clare of Assisi Church and served as an usher.
Schiano’s death came as a surprise and everyone in their building and community are devastated.
“I would say he was a 12 on the scale of 1 to 10,” Rosen said. “He was a brother-in-law that I didn’t have.”
