Borough President Vito Fossella, District Attorney Michael McMahon Announce Bread Of Life Food Drive3/16/2023
Borough President Vito Fossella was joined by District Attorney Michael McMahon and students from across Staten Island to announce the 32nd annual Notre Dame Bread of Life Food Drive during a press conference in Borough Hall.
For the second year, the food drive’s catchphrase is "Fight Hunger, Not Each Other," which gives students an opportunity to contribute to the community in light of recent violent incidents in schools. Students in both public and private schools will collect food for the drive, which will be distributed to 25 non-profit organizations on Staten Island that serve individuals and families in need of food. “We always hear about a handful of bad kids, but the vast majority want to help their fellow sister and their fellow brother,” said Borough President Fossella. “That is what the Bread Of Life Food Drive is all about. This has been a labor of love for us for so many years because it is so important to the people of Staten Island.” Across the country, 285 cities in 34 states participate in their own Bread of Life Food Drives. “It started right here on Staten Island and it became a national model by building on the love that is so strong here,” Vito said. District Attorney McMahon touched on the catchphrase. “Recently, there has been violence within and among the population of young people here in our borough and that is very concerning to us,” said District Attorney McMahon. “By focusing on the love between us and not the anger, this program is going to make sure we all have a bright future. I know that you are all leaders in your schools and will bring that message back.” Bread of Life Executive Director Joseph Delaney thanked the students who participate each year. “Last year, when we totaled up what we collected in the Bread of Life Food Drive, there was a 12% increase in school donations than the previous year,” he said. “I attribute a lot of it to this get together, to your impetus in getting this started and to this work that you are doing for us.” Claire Atalla, the CEO of Catholic Charities of Staten Island, one of the recipients of the food drive, said the nonprofit recently shifted one of its main priorities to food insecurity. “You would be surprised to know that many of your Staten Island neighbors are food insecure,” she said. “They are people who live paycheck to paycheck, who can barely make ends meet, who are disabled, who are single parents, who are the victims of domestic abuse, who are between jobs. It can happen to any of us at any time and our job is to rally around our neighbors to make sure we help each other out. ‘Fight Hunger, Not Each Other’ is a true testament to what we need to do.” Since its inception, the Bread of Life Food Drive has collected and distributed more than two million food items. This year, participating schools will collect non-perishable items through April 1. The food will then be boxed at Monsignor Farrell High School and delivered to the recipient organizations. Creativity, building, innovation, letting your imagination run wild -- that is what is behind the Department of Education’s Minecraft Education Challenge.
Borough President Vito Fossella announced Staten Island’s participation in the five-borough competition for public school students in grades K-12 during a press conference at Wagner College on March 8. He was joined by Department of Education representatives and Wagner College President Angelo Araimo. Also participating were students from Staten Island Tech, CSI High School for International Studies, New Dorp High School, Tottenville High School, Curtis High School, Susan E. Wagner High School, and McKee High School. In the Minecraft Education Challenge, students will build a space that answers the question: “How can we create a safe, connected, resilient, and sustainable borough that moves NYC forward without leaving anyone behind?” “Education can be exhilarating, it can be boring, it can be a lot of different things, but in this case, you can have as much fun as you want,” said Borough President Fossella. “This is a blank canvas. Be bold, be creative, be innovative.” To participate, Staten Island students can create a team and submit their design by April 5. The teams selected will move onto a qualifying round and compete against other borough schools in a live challenge. The winning teams from the qualifying round will compete for the Borough Champion on May 13 at Wagner College. That team will move on to the Mayor’s Cup and vie to become NYC Battle of the Borough’s Champion. “Let yourselves shine,” said Borough President Fossella. “There are no limitations to this, you have the freedom of you own mind to be your tour guide -- and at the end of the day, we want to bring a winner home to Staten Island.”  Borough President Vito Fossella was surrounded by students from P.S. 78 to announce that the public playground adjacent to the school will be secured exclusively for their use during their recess.
The announcement came a month after the Stapleton school’s windows were pierced by bullets from a nearby shooting. Nobody was hurt in the incident. Securing the playground exclusively to the P.S. 78 students is a collaboration with the City Department of Education, the City Parks Department, and District Attorney Michael McMahon. “We walked around the playground and within a couple of days, thanks to the way government should work for the people starting with the mayor and all the way down to the Department of Education and the Parks Department, we were able to secure this facility for the children everyday between the hours of 9 o’clock and 2 o'clock for them to enjoy,” Borough President Fossella said during a press conference on March 8. Principal Jodi Contento said collaboration is one of the core values taught at P.S. 78. “Nobody could do it alone,” she said. “For me, this is about taking something negative that happened -- and we’re thankful that nobody got hurt -- and turning it into a positive. What happened was we were able to identify one of our needs. So, when the DA and the Borough President came, they asked us what it was that we needed. I told them that one thing that could be a quick fix is that we don’t have a playground. We don’t have a place that is just for P.S. 78." She said gates and signage will be installed to alert the community about the new use of the playground during weekdays. “This is a public playground, and of course we want the community to enjoy it, but we have to ensure that my 600 students who are going to come outside have a place to play that’s safe during these hours,” she said. The students passed around the microphone to talk about the importance of having a playground to call their own. “We need recess, because we have to take out all our energy, because in class we’re just sitting down and learning,” said Stanlee Uruchima, president of the third-grade student council. “We want to run around and play games and have fun.”  Borough President Vito Fossella joined Councilman David Carr to announce a more than $3M renovation to the Midland Beach Playground announce a more than $3M renovation of the Midland Beach Playground, which is adjacent to P.S. 38. The renovations will feature new play equipment, a safety surface, seating, landscaping, and fencing.
He recalled walking by the park when he was a student at Egbert (I.S. 2) Intermediate School. “It’s a vital part of the community,” said Borough President Fossella. “I used to see this park all the time and nothing has really changed. It does serve P.S. 38, and it serves it well, but anybody who drives by here on a nice spring or summer afternoon knows that this is very well used by the Midland Beach community. This is why we come together because the public space, the parks, and the playgrounds make life just a little bit better, especially for young families who want to watch their kids enjoy aimless time instead of watching their phone.” The allocations include $2.4M in funding from Borough Hall and $1.8M in City Council funding. “It’s an investment that’s definitely needed because it’s been well over two decades since there was substantial investment to make this a truly operating playground,” said Councilman Carr. A community input meeting will be held in the spring, which will include students from P.S 38. “We like to meet with the kids because they’re the ones who give us the best ideas for what they want to see in their local playground,” said Joe Homsey, chief of staff to Staten Island Borough Parks Commissioner Lynda Ricciardone. Watch the full press conference here. (Photo courtesy of the Staten Island Advance/Paul Liotta) |
