Hoboken gives Key to the City to actor Joe Pantoliano and Rich Pèpe

Published: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 7:50 AM     Updated: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 8:33 AM

HOBOKEN – Two native sons of the Mile Square City will be honored next month at the 13th Annual Hoboken Boys & Girls Club fundraiser.

Childhood friends who grew up in Hoboken – Joe Pantoliano, an Emmy-award winning actor, and Rich Pepe, a chef and restaurateur on the West Coast – will be awarded Keys to the City by Mayor Dawn Zimmer for their respective families’ contributions to the city for three generations.

The duo, known as “Pepe and Pants,” have their own spaghetti sauce on the market. They will be cooking up a family-style Italian dinner for dinner guests in collaboration with Leo’s Grandevous, a local restaurant and the event’s sponsor.

Hoboken landmark Carlo’s City Hall Bake Shop, home of the popular TLC show “Cake Boss,” is donating the evening’s dessert, a press release said.

“It struck me that these two gentlemen who were friends growing up in Hoboken and came from pretty difficult circumstances became pretty successful and have dedicated their lives to giving back,” Gary Greenberg, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hudson County, said about featuring Pèpe and Pants in this year’s event. “That’s the message to the kids.”

A $150 sponsorship buys a ticket for one adult and a member of the Boys & Girls Club to attend the dinner. The pairs will meet at the dinner, get acquainted and dine together, Greenberg said.

Part of the proceeds will also benefit Pantoliano’s charity, No Kidding, Me Too!, which aims to remove the stigma attached to mental illness.

The event is scheduled for Dec. 7 at 5:30 p.m. at the Hoboken Boys & Girls Club, 123 Jefferson St.

For more information, contact Gary Greenberg at ggreenberg@bgchc.org or (201) 333-4100, Ext. 302.