Gold Star Mom’s café is honored for offering refuge for veterans

NEW WINDSOR – An Empire Award, the State Senate’s highest honor, was presented on Wednesday to Nina Baldassare for her work in honoring the memory of her son and offering a place of comfort to active duty and veterans of the armed forces.

Senator James Skoufis presented the award to the Gold Star Mother at her Sweet Pea Café in New Windsor. Her son, Marine Corporal Daniel Baldassare was one of 15 marines and one sailor to die when their KC-130 aircraft, en route to California, crashed in Mississippi on July 10, 2018.Daniel, who was 20, was among nine marines assigned to the Marine Corps Reserve unit at Stewart Airport.

His mother opened the café in August of 2018 and it quickly became a haven for military personnel and offered them all a place to find solace.

“Sometimes it’s overwhelming. I feel there is some much need for the veterans. I started journaling, but I think what helped was the people I meet, I make them connect,” she said.

Meeting and chatting with those who stop by is therapeutic for all involved, Ms. Baldassare said.

After her son’s death, the Jersey shore resident found herself coming to the Marine Corps facilities as Stewart regularly finding comfort in the knowledge that her son had been assigned there.

It was then that she decided to move to the Hudson Valley and open the café with her partner John Zippo.