Free concerts to take place every Thursday night starting June 30th; special concert featuring Vito Picone and the Elegants on Saturday, August 20th 

Borough President Vito J. Fossella is pleased to announce the dates and lineup for his 2022 Sounds of Summer Concert Series. All concerts will take place at 7pm, with the exception of August 18th and August 20th when the concerts will begin at 6:30pm. The Thursday night concert schedule is as follows:
 
June 30th— Silver Lake Park (Forest Ave. at Haven Esplanade) featuring Grounded4Life and Cause & the Effects
July 7th— Wolfe’s Pond Park (Cornelia Ave. and Chester Ave.) featuring The Karlus Trapp Band and The Resistance 
July 14th— Midland Beach Splaza (Fr. Capodanno Blvd. at Seaview Ave) featuring Vinnie Medugno & the Chiclettes with the CODA Band
July 21st — Conference House Park (298 Satterlee Street) featuring Generations and JC & The Funtime Band 
July 28th— Historic Richmond Town (441 Clarke Ave.) featuring Just Friends
August 4th— Bloomingdale Park (Ramona Ave. and Lenevar Ave.) featuring Goon Dads and Wicked Revival
August 11th—  Snug Harbor Cultural Center (1000 Richmond Terrace) featuring Hughie Lynch and Joan Caddell and the Midnight Choir
August 18th— Fort Wadsworth (210 New York Avenue) featuring Lina Fiscardi and The Black Ties at 6:30pm
August 25th— Westerleigh Park (Neal Dow Ave. and Maine Ave.) featuring JD & the All Stars and T-N-T with Mike Campbell
 
A special concert with headliners Vito Picone and the Elegants featuring Bob D’Andrea and The Dreamers will take place on Saturday, August 20th at 6:30pm at Midland Beach Turtle Circle (Fr. Capodanno Blvd. at Hunter Ave). 
 
“We are pleased to continue the summer concert series which invites all Staten Islanders to enjoy free entertainment in parks across the borough,” said Borough President Fossella. “We want to thank the talent who are sharing their musical gifts with us, as we look forward to hearing this lineup play all summer. Enjoy!” 
 
The Sounds of Summer Concert Series is sponsored by Borough President Fossella and Councilmembers Kamillah Hanks, David Carr, and Joe Borelli. 
 
Please note that shows will be cancelled in the event of extreme weather for safety reasons. For more information, visit www.statenislandusa.com/summerconcerts, Facebook page, or call 718-816-2133.  

Award honors fallen principal, nominations currently being accepted

Borough President Vito J. Fossella has announced that nominations are currently being accepted for the Patrick F. Daly Award. This award goes to two educators who exemplify the values of fallen principal Patrick Daly, who was gunned down in Red Hook, Brooklyn thirty years ago while searching for a student who had left the school building. 
 
“It is an honor to continue this award that pays tribute to the legacy and life of fallen principal Mr. Patrick Daly,” said BP Fossella. “Educators often go beyond the walls of the classroom to make an impact on their students. I look forward to recognizing two of them with this award.” 
 
Anyone who wishes to nominate a teacher, guidance counselor, assistant principal, or principal may do so. The award will be given in Mr. Daly’s memory, honoring his legacy of service to the community, his steadfast commitment to his students, and his leadership. 
 
“I would like to express my gratitude to Borough President Fossella for honoring my uncle’s dedication to his students and remembering his tragic sacrifice. It is a privilege to honor Staten Island’s truly great educators in his memory,” said David Pascarella, nephew of the fallen educator. 
 
"On behalf of the Daly family, I want to thank the Borough President for continuing to honor Staten Island's educators and my father's legacy with this award.  I look forward to meeting this year's recipients,” said Pat Daly, son of the fallen educator. 
 
Nominations are currently being accepted for the award until July 15. For full details, please visit https://www.statenislandusa.com/patrickdalynomination.html.

We want to commend Mayor Adams and Department of Buildings Commissioner Ulrich for their recent announcement of extended hours every Tuesday that will be available to any homeowner, tenant, small business owner, or building manager who require assistance. 

Constituents will be able to speak directly with staff about a number of buildings related issues – from renovation planning to addressing an open violation on a property, and using the online resources already available. 
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This effort by the Department of Buildings is an example of how our government can work effectively for Staten Island, and for the people of New York City. We encourage Staten Islanders to take advantage of this resource and come to Borough Hall’s second floor from 4p.m. to 7p.m. every Tuesday if help is needed. 

Elected officials, medical professionals, and not-for-profit leaders work together to expand program 
 
Borough President Vito J. Fossella and his public health team are pleased to continue the work of a three-year Cancer Prevention in Action (CPiA) grant given to Columbia University’s Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) by hosting a cancer roundtable with local elected officials, medical professionals, community leaders and not-for-profit organizations. The goal is to expand the program to additional community partner sites across Staten Island which can adopt their own sun safety policies, and extend to clinical partners to improve HPV vaccination, in an effort to reduce skin and HPV related cancer rates across the borough.
 
Compared to the other four boroughs of New York City, Staten Island has a higher incidence of melanoma, which is the deadliest form of skin cancer. With this grant, HICCC will work with the Borough President’s Office and Richmond University Medical Center to reduce skin cancer rates in Staten Island by raising awareness about the dangers of indoor tanning and the importance of widespread adoption of sun safety practices like seeking shade and using sunscreen for skin cancer prevention. 
 
Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, Children’s Aid- Goodhue Center, the Joan & Alan Bernikow JCC of Staten Island, and the Richmond University Medical Center’s School-Based Health Center at Susan E. Wagner High School have designed and adopted sun safety policies that encourage providing free sunscreen, displaying sun safety information, and providing sun safety training for staff.
 
“Our goal is to highlight the fact that there are so many of these cases of skin and HPV related cancers across the borough,” said Borough President Fossella. “This roundtable will help be the first step to spread awareness of this program which is available to community organizations and clinical offices. We want to thank our partners and beyond for their efforts in this important endeavor.”   
 
“We are proud to partner with the Borough President’s office, HICCC, and all of our community partners to bring sun safety programming to our Day Camp and Cornerstone programs. We know that taking proactive steps will help young people prevent cancer in the future, and we’re grateful to be able to play a role in educating our youth on the importance of prevention,” said Orit Lender, JCC CEO.
 
The grant will also address improving the low rates of HPV vaccination across Staten Island. Staten Island has the lowest rate of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations within the five boroughs with only about 1 in 4 adolescents (ages 13 to 17) having completed the HPV vaccination series. This rate is also significantly lower than New York State’s average of about 55%. HPV can cause six different types of cancers in both men and women, and is responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. The program will work to improve awareness about the protective benefits of the HPV vaccine and provide educational opportunities to community organizations, schools, and healthcare providers. Additionally, the grant will also work with both the Staten Island hospitals, various school based health centers and other clinical partners to improve HPV vaccination rates throughout the borough. 
 
“We are so grateful for our partnership with the team at the Columbia Herbert Irving Cancer Center. They have not only helped in identifying the true needs and gaps of our community, but have been able to bring much needed resources for Staten Island through the CPiA grant,” said Dr. Ginny Mantello, Director of Health and Wellness for Borough President Fossella. “We will continue to work with them beyond this grant to identify other resources around cancer prevention and education for the clinical and community based partners.”
 
“The roundtable provided an excellent forum to dialogue with our colleagues on population health concerns such as skin cancer and HPV among Staten Islanders,” said MR. Richard J. Salhany, MBA, FACHE, Chief Administrative Officer from Richmond University Medical Center. “We share a common goal of improving the health of the community through prevention, outreach and treatment.”
 
This roundtable was designed to help elected officials and other community leaders learn about ongoing cancer prevention work on Staten Island, discuss work under the grant, provide an overview of the three main ways to work on cancer prevention in adolescents, and discuss how to leverage partnerships to reduce cancer rates in Staten Island.
 
“The Cancer Prevention Roundtable was a great opportunity for us to talk to Staten Island elected officials about how they can work with the Cancer Prevention in Action program. We had a great discussion about the need for sun safety programming and HPV vaccination education in order to reduce cancer rates on Staten Island,” said Maya Lipsman, Project Director for Cancer Prevention in Action. “As trusted leaders in their communities, people listen to what elected officials have to say, so we hope that we can partner with them to spread information about sun safety and HPV vaccination to reduce Staten Island’s cancer burden in these areas.” 
 
Background: 
Columbia University’s Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) was recently awarded a three-year grant by Cancer Prevention in Action (CPiA) of New York State Department of Health and Health Research, Inc. The award supports the HICCC’s work on skin cancer risk reduction and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination education in Staten Island. The HICCC is the first and only site in New York City to receive this competitive award by the CPiA program. HICCC has partnered with Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC) and the Office of the Staten Island Borough President to complete the activities of this grant. These partners make connections with local organizations to implement sun safety policies and deliver HPV vaccination education.

In line with the start of Atlantic hurricane season, the New York City Emergency Management Department and Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella debuted the Borough Command Center (BCC) on Staten Island for emergency responders. The BCC will serve as a hub for NYC Emergency Management responders to mobilize and coordinate emergency assets during large-scale emergencies on Staten Island, allowing first responders to strategically address the specific needs of Staten Island’s communities.

“Disasters start and end locally, and this new command center will allow us to effectively respond to emergencies that affect Staten Island,” said NYC Emergency Management Zach Iscol. “We are thankful to Borough President Fossella and his office for their support in helping us continue to build a robust emergency response structure in this city.”

“We are pleased to announce that a new, expanded, and state of the art NYC Emergency Management Center will be located at the Petrides Complex. Given this centralized location, we feel this site will best serve the Staten Island community and the operations of NYC Emergency Management in our borough in cases of any emergency,” said Staten Island Borough President Vito J. Fossella. “We have been working with NYC Emergency Management since January to get a site to the borough since Staten Island relies on the agency for its expertise in emergency response, preparedness, and public awareness on safety. We commend NYC Emergency Management and the Department of Education for their partnership.”
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“School buildings and campuses have long served as hubs for our communities, particularly in times of hardship. I am grateful that with this new borough command center we will be able to ensure that our students and families have access to essential emergency resources, particularly as we head into hurricane season,” said Schools Chancellor David C. Banks. “I laud the incredible work that has been done to realize this center, and look forward to the Department of Education’s continued partnership with Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella and the New York City Emergency Management Department to support our communities.”

During the response to Tropical Storm Isaias, NYC Emergency Management deployed its Interagency Coordination Center to Staten Island Mall parking lot to coordinate field response operations in the borough. This mobile command center allowed the agency, along with its private partners, to strategically deploy resources throughout the borough. Under this new plan, the BCC would serve as the central hub for coordination and response.

To raise awareness of the hurricane season, NYC Emergency Management relaunched the "Know Your Zone" hurricane awareness campaign to encourage New Yorkers to find out whether they live in one of the city's six hurricane evacuation zones. New Yorkers can visit NYC.gov/knowyourzone to find their evacuation zone designation and to get more information about how to prepare for hurricanes. The Know Your Zone campaign is a multipronged, multilingual campaign that is supported with updated advertising for the 2022 hurricane season, social media engagement (#knowyourzone), and community outreach (hurricane preparedness presentations in communities throughout the city).

Through the Know Your Zone campaign, NYC Emergency Management aims to reach 3.1 million New Yorkers living within the city's hurricane evacuation zones, which were revised in 2021. Hurricane evacuation zones are based on coastal flood risk resulting from storm surge (the "dome" of ocean water that is pushed ashore by the winds and low barometric pressure of a hurricane), the geography of the city's low-lying neighborhoods, and the accessibility of these neighborhoods by bridges and roads. The City may order residents who live in a zone to evacuate depending on a hurricane's forecasted strength, track, and storm surge. If you are ordered to evacuate, do so as directed.