Nora Grace-Flood Photo
Tony Rizzo on site on Orange Street in Tuesday's heat.
As Tony Rizzo sought shade to supervise workers laying the foundation for yet more new downtown apartments, he was reminded of the brick oven heat that serves as the inception of another New Haven production: Wood fired, thin crust pizza.
Rizzo, the president, CEO and founder of Westchester, N.Y.-based New Home Solutions, and his sweaty team of, as he put it, “Tonys, Vinnys, and Joeys” battled the heat on Orange Street Tuesday, extracting and testing soil on site to prepare for construction of the seven-story apartment building at 269, 275, and 283 Orange St.
The long-awaited work is on a lot where a crew had already relocated a restored historic building, the “Pinto House,” as part of a deal to build the new apartments in densifying downtown New Haven.
Rizzo discussed his company’s work relocating and restoring the historic Pinto House in order to make way for those housing units during the “Word on the Street” segment of WNHH FM’s “LoveBabz LoveTalk” program.
The Harrison, N.Y., native also shared his recent impressions of the city where he will be working for another year and a half — and, as the member of an Italian family and largely Italian-American construction crew, his take on the best pizza New Haven has to offer.
Back in April, Rizzo and his employees completed the complicated job of moving the historic Pinto House (built in 1810) just a few feet to the left of its previous position. Read more about that process here, which is part of bigger building plans scheduled to take place on the street over the next year.
Now Rizzo’s crew is digging deep into what was once an old parking lot beside the Pinto House — using two excavators and one loader — to make room for the concrete that will hold up a new apartment building. He said he hopes that portion of the development will be completed by mid-August.
Next up, Rizzo will instruct his employees to reattach the original stones that months ago lined the Pinto House’s sandstone foundation.
Rizzo said the Pinto House owners invested $400,000 in relocating the build.
New Home Solutions team work on site Tuesday.
Just across the street from where that work was happening, a newly installed mural reading “Love You New Haven” resonated with Rizzo, who said he has come to understand New Haven as a “young, vibrant town” with pizza second only to Rome. At least, that’s what he has picked up on after months of making the hour-long drive from Harrison to New Haven five days a week. (He plans to find a place to stay two days a week moving forward to cut down on gas and time, following a four-car crash that left his vehicle totaled while he was traveling I‑95.)
Though Rizzo’s company is based out of state, he noted that he has focused on hiring local subcontractors — all of the glass used in the project, he shared, was purchased from New Haven Glass & Mirror Co.
Since taking on several jobs in the area, Rizzo, who is 65, said he has discovered a newfound “affection” for Connecticut.
He specifically enjoys New Haven’s Italian food scene, frequently dining at Portofino’s Restaurant & Bar, and Wooster Street’s Italian gems.
He said he was drawn to Wooster Square’s “familiar Italian smells” and has assessed each of the area’s local pizza meccas: Sally’s Apizza, Modern Apizza, and Frank Pepe Pizzeria.
Rizzo argued that Sally’s is “unique,” Modern makes a standard pizza similar to “any good New York pie,” and that he finds Frank Pepe’s less hot than the others — with the exception of their exceptional clam covered pie.
Since starting his own company 21 years ago, Rizzo has worked primarily out of New York. His first memory of visiting New Haven, he said, was when his younger sister Cecilia, who had down syndrome, came to Yale New Haven Hospital for heart surgery. “The people in New Haven saved her,” he stated.
While he’s a fan of Sally’s, Rizzo said, there’s one thing about New Haven he’s less fanatic about: The noise ordinances.
Ideally Rizzo’s team would love to start their days early in the morning to minimize hours spent in the summer heat. But the area’s noise ordinance doesn’t allow for construction starting before 7 a.m.
“We would love to start at six because it’s cooler and then the guys can leave at 2:30 instead of 3:30,” Rizzo said.
As he and his team confront ongoing heatwaves, Rizzo said he makes sure the site is always stocked with ample amounts of water to ensure employees remain hydrated.
Rather than taking a dip at Lighthouse Point or finding other ways to cool down after the work week ends, Rizzo shared a different method for winding down on Friday nights: Returning home and piling sauce and mozzarella, which he pronounces “Mozarelle!”, onto a homemade crust and lighting up his at-home, brick oven. In New England fashion, he added, he might try throwing some lobster meat on this week’s pie.
Click on the video to watch the full interview with Tony Rizzo on the "Word on the Street" segment of WNHH FM's "LoveBabz LoveTalk."