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Janae Pierre: Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC, I'm Janae Pierre. Happy Thanksgiving. This is our one and only episode today, but before you carve that turkey, here's your news headlines from Michael Hill.

Michael Hill: Immigrants rights groups in New York are pushing for stronger protections against deportation in anticipation of Donald Trump's second term. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

Arun Venugopal: Activists and civil liberties groups say elected officials can take immediate action to protect immigrants. Donna Lieberman is the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. She wants state legislators to pass the New York for All Act and the Dignity Not Detention Act, which would prevent local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE officers and forbid local governments from jailing large numbers of immigrants on behalf of ICE.

Donna Lieberman: These are not radical proposals.

Arun Venugopal: She also says the city needs legal representation on steroids for immigrants who can't afford their own lawyers. A spokesperson for the mayor said he's committed to upholding the city's sanctuary laws, but left the door open on consequences for violent felons.

Michael Hill: Despite the rain, more than 700 clowns are marching in the 98th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The weather did dampen the show a bit. Crowds seem smaller. Spectators who have braved the rain say it's worth the trek for a better view, Manhattanite Tyler Shaw.

Speaker: The rain only enhances it. Nothing but joy, happiness, and just the holiday cheer.

Michael Hill: Performances include 11 marching bands from around the country. The lineup has seven new giant balloons like Spiderman and the Elf on the Shelf. One-third of this year's 22 floats are new like the Bronx Zoo with its wildlife theme. Yes, it's raining near 49 in chilly. Rain till early afternoon, a high of 51, gusty as well. Then tomorrow, sunny and mid-40s, freezing at night. Saturday, high temperature in the low 40s, and then Sunday, here comes the cool down.

Janae Pierre: A third-generation chef at a century-old restaurant on Coney Island is keeping his family's recipes alive. After the break, we visit Gargiulo's Restaurant for a sweet and tasty treat. Stay close.

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Janae Pierre: This holiday season, many New Yorkers are considering what they'll bring to family dinner or Friendsgiving. For some, cannolis are a big hit, an even bigger hit if they come from the iconic Coney Island spot Gargiulo's Restaurant. It's been serving up classic Italian dishes for over 100 years. We don't mean to start beef in the restaurant industry, but a chef there is known in some circles as the cannoli King. Gargiulo's Restaurant keeps it in the family, passing down secret recipes just as old as the restaurant itself.

I recently spent a day in the kitchen with the restaurant's third-generation chef. Along Mermaid Avenue in Brooklyn, you notice all these signs with arrows pointing you to Gargiulo's Restaurant on West 15th Street. Hard to miss, really. The building stands out with its tan stucco, wall sconces, and very own parking lot. That's where I meet Chef Matthew Cutolo. He's just 29 years old, but he's been in the kitchen since he was a little kid.

Chef Matthew Cutolo: There's pictures of me two, three years old on the kitchen stool at the table, getting my hands into pizza dough. That was one of the first things I learned. Pizza dough and bread.

Janae Pierre: For a while, his family owned a pizzeria called Da Luigi, but later closed it to pursue another business venture. Now it's all a full circle moment for the Italian American chef who helps his family run front and back of house operations at Gargiulo's restaurant. There's no shortage of history in this place. It was opened by the Gargiulo family in 1907,

Chef Matthew Cutolo: In 1965, my family, the Russo family, purchased the restaurant. At the time, the Gargiulo family, they kind of wanted to get out of the business, but they wanted to sell it to an old-school Italian family.

Janae Pierre: Today, he's carrying on that tradition. Cutolo works seven days a week at the restaurant. The day I visit, the restaurant is closed, but Cutolo is preparing 1,500 mini cannolis using literally a century-old recipe. He says Italians, especially the older generation, can be sticklers when it comes to teaching or giving out recipes. For months, he shadowed his older cousin until his cannoli tasted just like his. That cousin, who goes by the name Mike the Bake, is a legend in Cutolo's family, known for his cheesecakes and cannolis. He died late last year, but Cutolo's preserving his recipes and his unique approach.

Chef Matthew Cutolo: Everything's by eye. Mike the Bake taught me feel and look. That's how he cooked and that's how he taught me.

Janae Pierre: In the kitchen, Cutolo has already prepared the filling for the cannolis, but I watch closely as he mixes ingredients to make the dough for the cannoli shells. What's this?

Chef Matthew Cutolo: This is--

Janae Pierre: Butter? Lard. Even better, lard. You're going to throw this in the mixer here?

Chef Matthew Cutolo: Yes.

Janae Pierre: Sugar, of course. No measurements.

Chef Matthew Cutolo: No measurements.

Janae Pierre: Just eyeing it.

Chef Matthew Cutolo: We're going to get everything in and start mixing.

Janae Pierre: Flour, sugar, lard, eggs, and something else that I can't quite make out. What's that?

Chef Matthew Cutolo: Like I said, secret recipe. I can't give you everything.

Janae Pierre: As we wait for the dough to mix, Cutolo shares more about his family. They immigrated to the US From Sorrento, a little coastal town in Naples, Italy. That's where his family's cannoli recipe started. He points out that it's a bit different from the original that started in Sicily. When I ask why, he reminds me of the spice tray and all the ingredients that were easily accessible in southern Italy, like cinnamon and cocoa powder. We cut the history lesson short so we can get back to the dough.

Chef Matthew Cutolo: This is the fun part. This is where we do all the shaping here.

Janae Pierre: What is this machine?

Chef Matthew Cutolo: This is really a pasta rolling machine to make fresh pasta, but it's utilized for cannoli dough, too.

Janae Pierre: I didn't even notice you started heating your oil over here.

Chef Matthew Cutolo: Yes, I've got that going. First, I'll get a bunch of them made kind of shape, set them on the side, let the dough rest a little bit, and then by the time the oil comes up to temperature, I'll be ready to fry.

Janae Pierre: All right. While Cutolo is cutting out cannoli shells, I take a walk around the restaurant. There's old photos on the walls of men and women dressed to the nines in the very same dining room I'm walking through. Cutolo says the floors, wall sconces, and chandeliers are all still the same, clearly bringing a different meaning to the theme old-world Italian restaurant. Back in the kitchen, as Cutolo drops the cannoli shells in the fryer, he tells me old-world Italian means much more than that. He says customers rely on Gargiulo's restaurant for classic Neapolitan cuisine that no one really offers.

Chef Matthew Cutolo: One of them is Penne Pasqualina, which is zucchini, tomato, onion, prosciutto in a light cream sauce. That's been a signature of ours forever. Close to 40 years now, maybe even over 40 years. Then the other one would be calamari oregana. It's calamari, not fried in flour, let's say, but it's baked in the oven with garlic, oil, and breadcrumbs. Super high temperature, and the calamari gets so tender, so crispy. It's really, really great.

Janae Pierre: You can see Cutolo light up when he talks about these dishes. For him, it brings back fond memories of cooking with his grandfather and other family members like Mike the Bake.

Chef Matthew Cutolo: You rarely get a family business that goes three generations. It's super important for me to continue on our legacy and that aspect of things, because at the end of the day, this is who we are.

Janae Pierre: Cutolo and elders in his family are eager to pass on their traditions and family recipes to the next generation. As of now, he says no one's interested, but there's still time to sort that out. He says his uncle Mike, who's the head chef at Gargiulo's, is showing no sign of slowing down. After frying in hot oil, the cannoli shells are done. We let them cool down. Then Cutolo stuffs one just for me.

Chef Matthew Cutolo: Just going to pipe that into there and you've got, look, mini cannoli.

Janae Pierre: Beautiful, airy, and golden brown and dare I say, the best cannoli I've ever tasted. Thanks for listening to NYC Now from WNYC, I'm Janae Pierre. Enjoy this Thanksgiving Day. We'll be back with one episode tomorrow.

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