Philip F. Foglia (November 27, 1950 – April 21, 2020)[1] was an American lawyer, prosecutor, civic activist, politician, and advocate for Italian-American rights issues.
[4] Foglia was hired out of law school as a prosecutor for the office of the Bronx County District Attorney, where he prosecuted public corruption cases.
[2] In addition to his work in the Bronx, Foglia was cross-designated as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York during the 1980s when the office was headed by Rudy Giuliani.
Foglia reached a legal settlement with CUNY, which required the university to officially recognize Italian Americans as an under represented demographic group in its staff hiring decisions.
[2] Cabrini received the most votes for a monument in a 2018 public survey conducted by the "She Built NYC" program, out of 320 historical women who were nominated for a proposed statue.
[6] However, despite the support, the mayor's office and the "She Built NYC" commission, led by New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray, rejected the statue's inclusion in 2020 in favor of monuments to seven other women.
[6][7] Foglia, as head of the Italian-American Legal Defense and Higher Education Fund, called the decision an "insult" to Italian Americans and sent a letter of protest to First Lady McCray in September 2020.
[6] Foglia wrote, "Our organization is dismayed by the decision by 'She Built NYC' to preempt their own selection process and ignore Mother Cabrini, the clear choice of the public and most deserving person for such an honor.
[8] In December 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo and the 19-member commission, including Foglia, announced that the statue honoring Mother Cabrini would be constructed in Battery Park in lower Manhattan.
[7] When completed, Cabrini's monument will be located adjacent to the Museum of Jewish Heritage alongside Battery Park's South Cove, overlooking the Statue of Liberty.