INITIATIVES / CLEAN UP STATEN ISLAND / CLEAN UP PSA CONTEST
AND THE WINNER IS...
"Selfish" by Aria Mutkoski
The voting has officially ended for Staten Islanders to select their favorite homemade PSA to fight litter and keep Staten Island clean. The winner, with 49% percent of the vote, was Aria Mutkoski for her PSA entitled, “Selfish.” Last month, Staten Island Borough President James S. Oddo announced the contest, asking Staten Islanders to create their own anti-litter videos, most of which were made using camera phones.
The Top 6 were made by students from IS 72, Josh Pesin, Aria Mutkoski, James Demiro, Evan Batov, and Jarryl Collier. In total, 8,837 votes were cast. “Selfish” won with 49 percent, or 4,355 votes. In second place was I.S. 72’s “Comet Star: The Pack of Gum,” with 27 percent of the vote, or 2,375 votes; and in third place was Josh Pesin’s “Don’t let litter get out of control,” with 22 percent or 1,934 votes. “All of these PSAs were really impressive and really focused on a clean Staten Island,” said Borough President Oddo. “They displayed community spirit, which was a pleasure to watch. Now, the public has spoken. Aria Mutkoski’s PSA got the most votes and is our winner.” Aria, 14, is finishing her freshman year at Staten Island Technical High School and resides in Annadale. She made her PSA for two reasons – at her teacher’s urging, and because she knows that litter is a problem on Staten Island. “I took part in the contest not expecting anything out of it,” she said. “Little did I know that I'd make top six or even win! The concept came from walking by a playground near a friend's house and overhearing a little boy complaining to his mother about the garbage in the sand box. I knew it was time for a change.” As the contest winner, Aria has been invited to participate in an anti-littering poster campaign that the Borough President plans to launch this summer. |
OUR LITTER PLAN HAS SEVERAL KEY PRINCIPLES:
Clean up litter as quickly as possible.
Coordinate with other elected officials and agencies to ensure there are no duplicative efforts.
Encourage non-government organizations, including businesses and non-profit organizations, to become part of the solution.
Engage Staten Islanders to be aware of the issue and to make it a norm to clean litter whenever they can through creative means.
Explore new technologies that can help us more efficently clean litter.
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