Taminent Club honors three

THE QUEENS COURIER/Photos by Victor G. Mimoni Participants in the ceremonies at the 78th annual Taminent Club dinner dance were (from left) State Assemblymember Michael Gianaris; honoree Dr. Bhupendra Patel and his wife Indira; Wendy D’Amico and her husband, honoree Leonard D’Amico; Maria Pinto and her husband, honoree Domenico Pinto; event co-chair Athena Onorato and her husband, State Senator George Onorato; and City Councilmember Peter Vallone.
Honoree Leonard D’Amico (third from left, back row) is surrounded by his loving family, including his mother Gloria (in white dress, center right) and wife Wendy (to left of Gloria in black dress).

The Taminent Regular Democratic Club held its 78th annual dinner dance recently at Riccardo’s by the Bridge in Astoria, honoring three distinguished guests for their outstanding service to the community, Leonard D’Amico, Dr. Bhupendra Patel, and Domenico Pinto.

D’Amico, a native of Queens, has made a career of developing high-quality, affordable housing, especially for seniors, in cooperation with charitable groups. He is the son of Queens County Commissioner of Jurors Gloria D’Amico, although as City Councilmember Peter Vallone observed, “Tonight, Gloria is ‘Lenny’s mom.’”

Patel is Chief of Medicine at Mount Sinai Queens, an assistant professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Manhattan and the founder of the Nargis Dutt Memorial Foundation. His foundation has given more than $1 million in medical equipment to cancer institutes in his native India.

Pinto, a native of Italy, is president of the Ferrari Driving School. His school has helped innumerable immigrants become licensed drivers and find a way to make their living. He also established a program to provide driving lessons for parolees, or people completing a substance abuse program or prison term.