Elizabeth Mikulka, 77, worked for Italian committee at Pompei church
Elizabeth Mikulka, a lifelong Villager who worked for the American Committee on Italian Migration when its main office was in Our Lady of Pompei Church in the Village, died Sept. 16 at the Jacob Perlow Hospice of Beth Israel Hospital at the age of 77.
She was diagnosed with cancer two years ago, according to her daughter, Diana Mikulka.
The daughter of Joseph and Rose Marasco, immigrants from Calabria, Italy, Elizabeth was born in the Village and attended P.S. 3 and Washington Irving High School.
For more than 30 years she worked for the American Committee on Italian Migration, a policy and advocacy group founded by the Scalambrini, the Roman Catholic order that organized Our Lady of Pompei parish to minister to Italian immigrants. She was also active in the St. Anne Sodality of the church.
A member of the Morton St. Block Association, Elizabeth Mikulka was a founder of the association’s first organized Block Watchers’ Patrol. Her husband, Frank Mikulka, died in 1996. In addition to her daughter, her son, Francis, survives her.
Perazzo Funeral Home, 199 Bleecker St., was in charge of arrangements. Burial was in Silver Mount Cemetery in Staten Island.
The family suggests contributions in her memory be sent to the Jacob Perlow Hospice, 1775 Broadway, NY, NY 10019.
‘Indian Larry’ dies in motorcycle stunt accident in North Carolina
Larry Desmedt, known as “Indian Larry,” a custom motorcycle builder who used to have a motorcycle shop at Rivington and Attorney Sts. on the Lower East Side, died on Aug. 30 after an accident in Charlotte, N.C. He was performing a stunt for a large audience, riding a motorcycle while standing on the seat, when he fell, striking his head on the ground, and later died at the hospital. He was 55. According to reports, he had not been wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. He was also known for riding through fire.
Indian Larry was featured on a Discovery Channel series in which motorcycle builders design and build bikes from scratch, then have them judged by motorcycle aficionados. He was also a member of the Tattoo Society of New York for 10 years before tattooing was legalized in the city in 1997. He had moved his motorcycle shop to Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
According to Elsa Rensaa, a friend, 1,000 people turned out for his memorial in Brooklyn last weekend. “It was packed,” she said. “There were motorcycles all over the Lower East Side that day. They all had Harley’s of course.”
He is survived by his wife, Bambi, who lives in the East Village.
