 Borough President Vito Fossella thanked members of a volunteer search-and-rescue crew who found Barbara Martz, an 83-year-old woman who went missing from her West Brighton home last month.
The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) was alerted to the retired schoolteacher’s disappearance through a social media post by Staten Island activist Scott LoBaido. The 27 volunteers followed tips, distributed flyers, and knocked on doors before safely finding her on the grounds of Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden on April 14. “After following the situation, we thought it would be nice to recognize what you all did,” said Borough President Fossella during a gathering in his office. “We just want to say thank you.” Ed Arale of the CERT team organized the volunteers into groups of four with mapped grids of the area. “Within two hours, we found her,” he said. “It all comes down to boots on the ground -- these people who came out, they stopped what they were doing, they’re true spontaneous volunteers.”  Borough President Vito Fossella and city officials announced a “Spring-Cleaning Blitz” across Staten Island, aiming to repair our pockmarked roads and remove litter left behind after the harsh winter.
Regular street repair and cleaning efforts were disrupted by the two snowstorms that blanketed Staten Island with more than a foot of snow, causing a build-up of trash on public streets and in public spaces. The initiative will bring together the City Department of Sanitation, the City Department of Transportation, the City Department of Parks, the Natural Resources Protective Association, nonprofits, and student volunteers. Penalties will be enforced to those caught littering and interfering with the cleanup efforts. “This is going to be the beginning of a big Spring blitz across Staten Island,” said Borough President Fossella at a press conference on Earth Day at Front Street and Edgewater Place in Stapleton. “These folks, who dedicate their lives to improving quality of life, have committed, thankfully, to helping us out and they’ll be dispatched across the Island.” And work has already begun: Crews collected approximately 600 pounds of trash from Front Street prior to the press conference. Borough President Fossella noted the Spring Blitz is a perfect opportunity for students to earn service credits. “If there are kids out there through their schools that need service hours, let us know, and we’ll figure out a way to plug you in,” he said. Borough President Fossella also applauded one of our own -- staff photographer Peter Trivelas has spent countless hours removing illegal signs from telephone poles. “Hundreds, if not thousands of signs have been taken down off the poles across Staten Island,” said Borough President Fossella. “Peter, thank you for what you do.”  Borough President Vito Fossella and Jessica Baldwin Phillips, CEO of Historic Richmond Town, announced the launch of a website to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America.
The website will feature a list of anniversary events taking place across Staten Island and provides a submission form for organizers to upload their events. “We’ve been putting a lot of effort into how Staten Island will commemorate the 250th anniversary,” said Borough President Fossella at a press conference in Borough Hall. “We’re here today to say that we will launch a new website, a portal for anybody on Staten Island who is interested in celebrating in their own little way.” Several events are already planned, including performances of the award-winning musical “1776” at the College of Staten Island; an exhibit at Historic Richmond Town featuring objects from their collection, such as a campaign button from 1776; the Staten Island Philharmonic Memorial Day Concert; the International Parade of Tall Ships, and an Independence Day Celebration at Historic Richmond Town on July 4. Jessica Baldwin Phillips recalled that "New York stood at the very center of the American Revolution and right here on Staten Island, history was not distant -- troops marched on these grounds, strategies were debated, peace was attempted -- and the future of the nation was uncertain.” “Today, we have the privilege and the responsibility to remember that history is not something static, but something we actively carry forward,” she said. “This new website is an invitation to do just that.” |