Antonetta Polsinelli, an immigrant from Italy who ran a greengrocery shop in the 1960s in the Village with her late husband, died on Dec. 1 in a Glen Cove, L.I., hospital at the age of 72.
She suffered from acute Alzheimer’s disease in recent years and died of pneumonia, according to her daughter, Adelaide Polsinelli, a real estate brokerage executive in the Village.
“She was recognized in the neighborhood by her flaming red hair — you could see her a mile away. She never used hair coloring and even in the last few years it barely turned gray,” said her daughter.
Born Antonetta Leva in Abruzzi, Italy, Antonetta Polsinelli came to New York in 1952 where she met her future husband, Emilio Polsinelli, a Village native. They were married in Our Lady of Pompei Church on Carmine St. in 1956. From 1960 to 1972, the couple ran a fruit and vegetable store on Bleecker St. near MacDougal St. Emilio died in 1986.
As a young immigrant, she often worked two jobs — as a superintendent of a MacDougal St. building and a clerk in a bakery — her daughter said. As a young mother, she was active in the Ladies’ Guild at Our Lady of Pompei and volunteered with Caring Community and the Village Nursing Home while working at the greengrocery with her husband.
She continued to live in the Village until four years ago, Adelaide said.
In addition to her daughter, Adelaide, another daughter, Rosanna Cafaro, also survives. The funeral was on Mon., Dec. 6, at Our Lady of Pompei and burial was in Calvary Cemetery in Queens. Perazzo Funeral Home, 199 Bleecker St., was in charge of arrangements.
