‘So Cute’: Lion Bench Named ‘Lionardo’ Makes Long Island Debut

PATCHOGUE, NY — If you are driving south on Bay Avenue in Patchogue, you won’t be able to miss him — big and yellow, but with an orange mane, and his warm grin is just adorable.

“Lionardo Parks DiCaprio,”Patchogue Village’s only resident lion, has found a new home on the porch outside of the Parks and Recreation Department’s headquarters, not to mention a new job as its ambassador greeting visitors.

Parks and Recreation Director Maria Giustizia likens her department to a group of zoo keepers as the bench’s new caretakers.

“It's the perfect park bench to put at a recreation center because we have so many hundreds of thousands of families that come here all throughout the year,” she said. “While they're waiting outside, they'll be able to say, ‘Hi.’”

The bench also dovetails perfectly with the installation of a new bi-lingual library with a bench outside, said Giustizia, adding that children will be able to pick out a book and then sit on the benches.

“Lionardo” basically greets people from the street.

Lori Belmonte, president of the Patchogue Lioness Lions Club, the group that donated the bench to the village, had been unsure where the happy lion was placed until she decide to take a drive by the other night.

“Oh my god, he really sticks out,” she said. “You could really see him from the street.”

Belmonte said that when she took up her post she wanted to have the club focus on projects that would benefit children, and they began their research. A club member had seen a similar bench at another location and the group reached out to the company that supplies them and other items, setting the plan in motion.

It took nearly two years to arrange due to the pandemic, and the $5,000 bench was paid for with a fundraising drive and grants from the state, Bermuda Lions Fund, and the Brandeau-Murphy Youth Foundation, Belmonte said.

But what first attracted the club to the welcoming two-seat child pleaser?

“He’s just so cute,” Belmonte said.

Giustizia said Lionardo was carefully lifted out of a truck by two staffers from the Department of Public Works and they decided to place him on the porch.

The two workers, Michael Williams and Brian Sackler, as well as Maria and her assistant, Lauren Monte, were going back and forth for a while talking about how the lion definitely needed a name if he was going to stay there.

“Everybody’s going to want to know what his name is,” Giustizia said.

They went through a couple of different names, including “Leo the Lion,” before Williams came up with “Lionardo DiCaprio.”

“I said, ‘Well, why not? Why not and add Parks?,” Giustizia said, adding, “So Parks is his middle name. They thought that was cool because parks represents us, and he's here with us.”

“Lionardo” had found his forever home at the building.

“We're very happy to have him here,” she said, adding that staffers felt it would be the best place due to the elements “and just to make sure that we keep them safe.”

But that’s not all.

“Lionardo” could one day have a little friend nearby.

The Lioness Lions Club is considering a similar lion-shaped water fountain at the location, Belmonte said.

“It’s a possibility,” she said.

In the meantime, Giustizia is looking forward to “Lionardo’s” new life with her department and she had this advice for anyone whose curiosity is piqued by their new mascot.

“Come visit us and say, ‘Hi,’” she said.

Editor’s note: Anyone wishing to join the Patchogue Lioness Lions Club can contact Lori Belmonte at 631-860-3566.