Port Jervis Chooses Italian Town As ‘Sister City’

By Jeremy Van Duyne

PORT JERVIS — The Port Jervis Common Council met last Tuesday, September 12 due to 9-11 occurring the day before.
At the meeting, Mayor Kelly Decker announced that the City of Port Jervis is set to designate an official “sister city” to its own.
Sister Cities International is a nonprofit organization that specializes in diplomatic efforts and building bridges between communities throughout the world.
Started in 1956 by then President Dwight Eisenhower, the organization offers a program where municipalities in different parts of the world can become “sister cities” with one another.
Decker says that the city has wanted to get involved with the program for a number of years, having been delayed due to seeking another municipality that is similar to their own.
“The program was launched to encourage friendship and understanding between cities located within the United States and other nations through direct contact,” said Decker.
“The program strives to build global cooperation at the municipal level, encourage a culture of understanding and stimulate economic development.”
“The city has been working on a plan to have a sister city for many years,” he said. “Many of the cities that came to us through the sister city program kind of just didn’t match. There were several from South America. A couple from Asia.”
After years of searching, through the efforts of some community activists the city became aware of a town in Italy that was considered a great match given its similarities.
Lapio is a comune, an Italian jurisdiction comparable to a municipality, located in the province of Avellino in Campania administrative region of Italy. It is located in the southern portion of Italy on its Western coast.
Many Italian-American families in the New York area can trace their origins to Avellino..............................................For more information subscribe to our paper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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