A statue of Father Louis Gigante is across the street from St. Athanasius, the parish where he served the community for decades and a symbol of his legacy.

Gigante served the parish for 40 years, but he also delved into politics.

He was elected as a Democratic district leader — a powerful position that led to him winning two terms in the City Council.

What You Need To Know

  • Father Louis Gigante served St. Athanasius for 40 years

  • He redeveloped the South Bronx after the arson fires during the 1960s and 1970s

  • Gigante started the Southeast Bronx organization SEBCO

  • He was a storied figure who defended his brother mafia boss, Vincent Gigante, and he even faced sexual assault allegations

It was the late 60s and early 70s when the South Bronx was burning. Poverty, drug use and series of arson fires destroyed the neighborhood.

Gigante is credited with helping to bring it back.

“He was a wonderful benevolent person,” Hunts Point resident, Barbara Eison-White, said. “When I was accepted to buy one of the homes here, it brought me out of the projects.”

Gigante started the Southeast Bronx Community Organization, also known as SEBCO.

“In 1968, he started a community organization called the Southeast Bronx Community Organization in order to try to rebuild the neighborhood,” Lloyd Ultan, a Bronx Borough historian, said.

Ultan said when people look at the nearby buildings in Hunts Point, they can see tangible proof of Gigante’s legacy.

His organization won millions in federal contracts to build affordable housing.

Father G, as he was known, seemed full of contradictions.

He would preach from the pulpit and would carry a baseball bat on the streets.

His name was also synonymous with organized crime.  

Gigante’s brothers were in the mob, including notorious mafia boss, Vincent “Chin” Gigante.

“He’s a guy that keeps very busy and also a bit of a chameleon he can move from thing to another,” Larry McShane, the author of “Chin: The Life and Crimes of Mafia Boss Vincent Gigante,” said.

Gigante refused to testify against his brothers and, as a member of Joseph Colombo’s Italian American Civil Rights League, he wouldn’t even acknowledge the existence of the mob.

He thought he had his own problems, with accusations as well sued civilly in allegations he sexually assaulted two children in the 1970s.

“There was no jury, no verdict, no settlement. He passed away before all that,” McShane said.

Gigante was 90 years old when he passed away last month.  

A controversial and storied figure living on through the homes and the neighborhood he was devoted to restore.

“The neighborhood it is a gem,” Eison-White said.