 Borough President Vito Fossella unveiled a ground-up, one-of-a-kind Behavioral Health Blueprint for Staten Island Children and Young Adults to support those at-risk or already suffering from mental health illnesses at a press conference at the College of Staten Island.
In response to the growing mental health crisis on Staten Island, Borough President Fossella and his health team partnered with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and some of the longstanding organizations that have been serving the borough for more than 50 years to develop a framework to provide the best services to children and young adults with mental and emotional needs. To create the blueprint, there was extensive community participation with educators, students, parents, treatment providers, and clergy. It was led by Dr. Ginny Mantello, the director of health and wellness at Borough Hall. The blueprint aims to address an alarming increase in mental health conditions, particularly depression and suicidal thoughts, among Staten Island youth and young adults from pre-K through the age of 24. “It’s a community-based, school-based, primary care-centered approach to ensure that every child on Staten Island who may show signs of behavioral problems or mental illness will get the help they need,” said Borough President Fossella. “And that will come between a collaboration with the Department of Education, the healthcare providers, so many of you in this room, to ensure that here on Staten Island, with this customized -- not a one size fits all -- but a customized approach that will work for the kids and the families of Staten Island.” The “north star” goal of zero suicides was selected to guide the work, which includes reducing suicidal ideation; reducing suicidal attempts; reducing emergency department visits and hospitalizations for suicidality; improving transition to care post-hospitalization; increasing self-management, connectedness, and resiliency; and decreasing anxiety, bullying, and depression, substance misuse and overdoses. Additionally, there will be a multi-pronged system in the schools this fall to track the data, which will include teen mental health and first aid tips for ninth-and-tenth grade students, increased training for school social workers and counselors, wellness training for school staff, and a mental health literacy pilot program for sixth-grade students.  Borough President Vito Fossella presented a proclamation to Sylvia Moody D’Alessandro in honor of her steadfast commitment to preserving the story and legacy of Sandy Ground, the nation’s oldest free Black settlement in the United States still inhabited by its original descendants.
As she steps down from her role as the executive director of the Sandy Ground Historical Society, Sandy Ground Historical , the proclamation declared May 22 as “Sylvia Moody D’Alessandro Day” on Staten Island. Sandy Ground was first settled by free Black New Yorkers as a farming community in the 1820s. In the 1850s, free Black oystermen from Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware came north to work the abundant shellfish beds of the Raritan Bay. Borough President Fossella called the story of Sandy Ground an American story. “Unless you have that person, that devoted servant, the person who believes that the story needs to be told, sometimes people forget,” said Borough President Fossella. “There’s always one person who everybody turns to in order to keep the story alive -- who’s going to tell the next generation the significance and the importance of Sandy Ground, and that’s this lady right there.” Sylvia's daughter, Julie Moody Lewis, offered her thanks for “the affection, the consideration, and the recognition” reserved for mother and referenced the free Black men who settled on the sandy shores. “Sandy Ground is her heart,” she said. “That community out there in Sandy Ground is an authentic historic site, and Staten Island has to make sure that it remains intact and that the historical society stays there, in that place, so we can continue to re-live that history. Take your shoes off and rub it in that sand and get some of that determination that they had.”  Brian Lihari, a senior at Monsignor Farrell High School, received the Michael J. Petrides Student Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science.
The award is named for Michael J. Petrides, a Staten Island educator who passed away in 1994 and is awarded annually to a student who shows and practices model citizenship both inside and outside the classroom. Brian is a member of the Scholars Program, an elite group of students enrolled in numerous rigorous classes across several academic disciplines, including advanced placement. He has a 102% GPA and an outstanding SAT score of 1480. His work outside of Farrell includes spearheading a 60-week research project of harmful bacteria levels of the waters surrounding Staten Island. His findings were published in the Citizen’s Water Quality Testing Program, which he presented to the New York State Department of Health. Additionally, he helped develop an alert system to warn residents when the waters contain high concentrations of harmful bacteria and presented his findings to public schools on Staten Island to promote awareness and safety for beachgoers. Congratulations, Brian. You make Staten Island proud. Borough President Vito Fossella Hosts 30th Annual Emergency Medical Services Recognition Ceremony5/20/2024
 Borough President Vito Fossella honored Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics during the 30th Annual Emergency Medical Services Recognition Ceremony in the Staaten. The breakfast honored EMT’s, paramedics, emergency service instructors, and students for their heroic and -- and sometimes -- life-saving work. It was held in conjunction with the kickoff of National EMS Week. “I am proud to keep this tradition going because it is a valuable way to express our gratitude to the brave men and women who wear the uniform so well, and who are frankly willing to die for us sometimes,” said Borough President Fossella. In a hockey-crazed town, he referred to them as “goalies.” “To use a hockey analogy, one of the most exciting plays in the sport is when the goalie has a tremendous or exciting play and saves the puck,” he said. “In a way, that’s what you all do every single day -- you make that tremendous save. When there is a moment of hopelessness, of helplessness, you become the goalies -- you run into the house, you run to the car, or run into the building and you save lives. That is the greatest gift, the greatest vocation, the greatest thing you can do for your neighbors here on Staten Island.”   Borough President Vito Fossella, District Attorney Michael McMahon, and NYPD Borough Commander Assistant Chief Joseph Gullotta, along with a host of elected officials, addressed concerns about squatters during a press conference outside of a home in Westerleigh.
“We all know the expression that the home is our castle,” said Borough President Fossella. “It’s the American dream and those dreams became a nightmare for a lot of people because they realized, unfortunately, that people can just come in and take over their house. And, when the owners try to take back their homes, they realize the squatters had more rights than they did.” Previously, squatters who were able to prove residency and maintenance of a vacant property for 30 days were entitled to the rights associated with being a tenant of the property. However, the 2024 New York State Budget includes a clarification excluding squatters from tenant protections. The hole at the site of the press conference was boarded up after three defendants were indicted on criminal charges for squatting there, said District Attorney McMahon. Assistant Chief Gullotta said Ring Cameras are the best defense to prevent squatters and other home invasions. “If you can afford to put the cameras in your house, then we’re going to be in better shape,” he said. “It provides evidence for us and it provides a deterrent because if someone does go into a vacant lot or a vacant house, we can tell when they arrived and when they left. Cameras play an integral part in what we do." |