The following blog post was written by Emil Micha, Senior Advisor to the Borough President.

After a long career as an Art Director for institutions like The New York Times, Sotheby’s, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, I decided to bring my talents closer to home. For the past three years, I have been privileged to apply my graphic design chops in the service of James Oddo, Staten Island Borough President. Jim is a visionary who recognizes the value of good design as a tool for the messaging he employs on a broad range of life-affirming initiatives championed by his administration. 

When Jim arranged for a collection of art works from 3rd graders at P.S. 50 to be exhibited on the walls of our main conference room at Borough Hall, I was delighted. Upon examining the pieces and the accompanying annotations by Mrs. Natasha Galante, the students’ Art Teacher, the project took on much more pertinence. Not only were the individual paintings and drawings remarkably executed, it was clear that the young artists were inspired by a well thought-out process of exposure to brilliant examples of master painters from three distinct schools of art. This was educational nurturing yielding extraordinary results. Plus, the kids’ pieces were joyful and beautiful, as well as carefully matted and framed. The obvious care with which they were created demanded that we give them the best possible display.

We would apply the same techniques that I used in ten years of designing fine art installations for The Met. The room was transformed into a genuine gallery space and the students’ colorful pieces looked positively luminous.  

On Valentine’s Day, the kids and their teacher arrived at Borough Hall for their exhibition “opening.”  They were welcomed by the BP and members of his staff. With obvious delight, the young artists gazed at their beautiful works and listened attentively as Jim expressed how happy we all were to share this experience with them.

Before taking questions from the kids, Jim asked several of his assembled staff to offer thoughts and comments. Recognition of the young artists’ accomplishments, plus the value of art appreciation in one’s life, was emphasized in each speaker’s remarks. 

As someone whose very career was inspired and nurtured by a public school teacher, who was both wise and knowledgeable about the importance of art as an essential component of life and, in my case, a vocation, I recognize Mrs. Galante as that rare individual who can open the door that Mrs. Catherine Kaschur opened for me as my high school art teacher.

Three cheers for Mrs. Galante, and three cheers for these kids!

The following blog post was written by our staff member Emil Micha about his teenage memories of Vito Picone and the Elegants. 

Staten Island in 1957-58 was a pretty isolated borough with limited connections geographically and culturally to the world at large.  I was a sophomore at New Dorp High School that fall and winter and rock ‘n roll, the music we loved, was in its infancy – barely 10 years removed from the swing music of our parents. We found in it our identity, as we explored who we were and who we were becoming.

Vito Picone was a senior at New Dorp, and his fledgling singing group, the Elegants, used to practice their harmonies in the "echo chamber" courtyard of the school. They were often heard between classes - and sometimes during classes. Doo Wop singing groups were ubiquitous in those days: SIRT train stations, school stairwells, the boy’s bathroom  – anywhere a group of teenagers gathered, sooner or later you'd hear a few bars of whatever top -10 song was charting at the time.
But our music came mainly from the radio. It was the era of the rock ‘n roll disc jockey.  Cousin Brucie, Murry the K, Alan Freed, Jocko Henderson, all served up what we couldn't get enough of.  The local groups, like the Elegants and dozens of others, performed at the church dances and school hops.  So when we heard that the Elegants had signed with an actual recording label, we could hardly believe it. Vito and his group were still at NDHS, but things thereafter happened very quickly.

I believe their very first release was "Little Star," and as we all witnessed, the record got immediate and omnipresent airplay. You could not turn on an AM radio without hearing the mellow harmonies of our Vito and his South Beach buddies crooning "oh meee o meee o my-y-y-y"
We (all my friends) were thrilled that "one of our own" was an actual rock ‘n roll celebrity.
We were glued to our black & white TV's to watch as Vito and the boys made an appearance on the most popular teenage dance show of them all...American Bandstand, hosted by Dick Clark. The Elegants dutifully lip-synced their number one nation-wide hit "Little Star," then repaired to the interview corner for Dick to quiz them on their meteoric rise to the top of the charts.  We all hung on every word they uttered; here on national television were our Ambassadors of Arrochar and points south.

"So" said the smooth Mr. Clark, "Just how did you choose your name 'The Elegants'?" There was a silence. They all looked dumbfounded.  Clark was getting uneasy.  He thrust the mike in front of Artie Venosa.  Venosa suddenly found his tongue.
"Jeezus, I don't know!" he said.  

We all cheered!

Please join us for "Home Sweet Home," a doo-wop concert featuring Vito Picone and the Elegants, with opening acts Lina Fiscardi and The Expressions. The free show will take place on Saturday, August 20th at 7pm at Midland Beach Splaza (Fr. Capodanno Blvd. and Seaview Avenue). ​