At left, Patti Smith, who knew Lucy Cecere as a dear friend from the neighborhood, spoke before the unveiling. Below, friends of Cecere’s admired the new plaque.
Friends, including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and rock star Patti Smith, dedicated a commemorative plaque to senior advocate Lucy Cecere last month in the basement of Our Lady of Pompeii Church, at Carmine and Bleecker Sts. Cecere, a tireless advocate for her beloved Greenwich Village community, where she was born, died at age 87 at home on MacDougal St. on March 19, 2011. The Caring Community, a group Cecere helped found 40 years ago, uses the church’s basement hall for its senior day programs. Cecere remained a member of the organization’s board of directors for her whole life. She also was part of the group that fought to keep open the Village Nursing Home, which in 1977 became part of VillageCare. Several years ago, Greenwich House took over Caring Community, which was struggling financially, and now runs three Caring Community centers, the Pompeii one, plus the one on Washington Square North and one in Independence Plaza in Tribeca.
