Our community spotlight this issue of the Juniper Berry shines on another one of our many neighborhood stars. His name is Robert Marcello Filippi and he owns the Cameo Tile business on Grand Avenue directly across the street from Elmhurst Park.

Cameo Tile has been in our neighborhood since 1976 when Robert Filippi’s father started the business. Over the years Robert has also worked side by side with his brother, who, sadly, passed away. Cameo currently has a large clientele with a customer base from every social level, high end to the locals. In fact one of his clients is David Rockefeller, grandson of John D. Rockefeller. Robert Filippi works equally as hard with all his customers to give them the best product for their money. He is very proud of the fact that over the 35 years Cameo has been in business there has never been a complaint from any customer to any consumer agency.

Gatekeeper of Elmhurst Park
Since Robert lives and works right across the street from the new Elmhurst Park he concluded early on that he would be attentive to conditions in the park and make every effort to keep things under control.

With that thought in mind Robert Filippi has come forward, forming a group called the Friends of Elmhurst Park and he and his friend, Ivan Mossop, have been authorized by the NYC Parks Department to have the responsibility to see to it that Elmhurst Park is emptied and locked at closing time which is 9pm curfew, as it is in most NYC parks, and opened in the morning at 6am. So far they have been successful with that responsibility. They are literally the “Gatekeepers of Elmhurst Park!”

On the personal side Robert Filippi and his wife, Lauren, are expecting their first child in March and, yes, they’re both totally excited about becoming parents for the first time. He lives and has his business in Elmhurst because like so many of us he recognizes the advantage of having the proximity to every key destination and agrees when I said, “our neighborhood is ten minutes from everything important.” Of course, that assumes no traffic! He attended St. Mary’s in Winfield and Grover Cleveland High School.

Robert Filippi personifies philanthropy and is very generous donating time and money to organizations such as the Boy Scouts, the Emerald Society and Maspeth Bible, to name just a few of Robert’s causes.

If you are thinking of any remodeling in your home stop in at Cameo Tile and talk to Robert Filippi and, trust me, you will be impressed with Robert’s knowledge and his desire to make sure you get the best deal in the marketplace.