 Vito Lopez was born on June 5, 1941, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, of an Italian-American family; his last name Lopez derives from his grandfather, who was a native of Spain.Vito Lopez graduated from Brooklyn's James Madison High School, and received a BS in Business Administration from Long Island University (1964), and a Master of Social Work from Yeshiva University (1970), where he was trained in the community organizing program.Lopez and his former wife Joan have two grown children.