​Borough President Oddo announced today the resurgence of “Own the 18,” an anti-litter program. “Own the 18” encourages home and business owners to remove litter from their property, as well as 18 inches into the street, as required by NYC Administrative Code: Section 16-118(2)(a).
 
During the weekend of July 18 (July 17-18), Borough President Oddo is asking Staten Island property and business owners to commit to taking a few moments to clean in front of their properties.
 
“We have tried everything under the sun that a local government office can, yet Staten Island seems to as filthy with litter as it ever has been. We fully understand there is a pandemic, an economic and budgetary crisis that has resulted from it, as well as a whole host of street and mental and physical implications from them. None of this justifies the litter we see or prevents us from each doing our small role in addressing the litter we see. So while I would hope Staten Islanders would do their part every day, we are designating one weekend when each of us pledge to remove litter near our homes and begin to reclaim part of our quality of life. Meanwhile, our team is back 'in the lab' crafting new initiates, including a couple designed for children in hopes they grow up to be less inclined to act selfishly and demonstrate a greater appreciation for their neighbors and our Island,” noted Borough President Oddo. “Our litter problem is a self-inflicted one that Staten Islanders are doing to other Staten Islanders. While the majority of Staten Islanders are not engaging in it, we need the majority to help us with the solution.”
 
Those who participate are encouraged to post before and after photos on social media with the hashtag #ownthe18 to be reposted by the office’s social media accounts.

RSVP on our Facebook Event Page to tell your Staten Island friends and neighbors you will #OwnThe18 the weekend of July 18th! 

​Due to anticipated inclement weather, Saturday’s Drive-In Movie at Pouch Camp has been rescheduled to take place on Sunday, June 27th.  Gates will open at 7:30 p.m. for "Star Wars IV: A New Hope." The movie starts at 9 p.m.
 
Anyone who purchased tickets will get an email with the change.
 
The cost of admission is $40 per car, which includes a choice of four snack and four drinks. To purchase tickets, please visit www.camppouch.org/driveinmovie. Tickets are limited, and movie goers must prepay online for entry.

Borough President James S. Oddo announced today that his office has launched the social media campaign #outSIdeEATS to support local eateries that have shifted to outdoor dining, as designated by Phase 2 of the State’s re-opening plan.
 
This social media campaign follows the successful #DeliverSI campaign, which supports eateries that shifted to delivery and takeout during COVID-19 PAUSE order.

The #outSIdeEATS campaign offers Staten Islanders the following comprehensive spreadsheet of local restaurants, bars and cafés with curb lane, sidewalk, backyard and/or patio seating. It can be found at: https://bit.ly/outSIdeEATS. This constantly updated list is designed for those who wish to partake in an outdoor dining experience.
 
“Our Borough Hall team is looking to replicate the success we had with our #DeliverSI initiative we started when restaurants were first forced to close. We unveiled #outSIdeEATS to tell you all the great Staten Island joints that are open and ready to serve with outdoor dining options. We continue to host the #DeliverSI list for takeout and delivery. But if you are among those who want to get to a restaurant now, we will have you covered,” said Staten Island Borough President Oddo.
 
Staten Islanders are encouraged to tag the Borough President’s Office @StatenIslUSA in the places they are dining and use the #outSIdeEATS hashtag to show support and raise awareness of those open for outside dining.
 
Any restaurant, bar or café that would like to be featured in the list are asked to contact Lauren Lefkowitz at llefkowitz@statenislandusa.com with the following information: zip code; restaurant name; address; phone number; type of dining (patio/sidewalk/street/parking lot); reservation requirements; takeout/delivery availability; days and hours; social media handles; website.

​Borough President Oddo is pleased to announce his office has partnered with the Boy Scouts of America to sponsor the first drive-in movie in a summer-long series to be held at William H Pouch Boy Scout Camp (1285 Manor Rd), adjacent to the entrance to the Staten Island JCC. The first drive-in movie will take place on June 27th, featuring Star Wars IV: A New Hope.
 
“I am happy to partner with the Boy Scouts to provide Staten Islanders of all ages this opportunity to get out for a night of fun and entertainment, but while remaining safe in your cars,” said Borough President Oddo.
 
The summer long series schedule is as follows:
June 27 – Star Wars IV: A New Hope
July 4 – Jaws
July 11 – Raiders of the Lost Arc
July 18 – The Fly
July 25 – Jurassic Park
August 1 – Young Frankenstein
August 8 – E.T.
August 15 – Coco
August 22 – The Princess Bride
August 29 – Up
 
"We’re excited to share our amazing facilities with our Staten Island community and provide a venue for families,” notes Matt Gaor, Pouch Scout Camp Chair.
 
The cost of admission is $40 per car, which includes a choice of four snack and four drinks. To purchase tickets, please visit www.camppouch.org/driveinmovie. Tickets are limited, and movie goers must prepay online for entry.
 
Movie goers will be instructed no smoking will be permitted at the site, including inside cars. Additionally, attendees will be instructed to stay within their own car, no idling of cars will be allowed, and to take all garbage with them when they leave. 

Borough President James Oddo is pleased to announce that his office will be helping Cut Red Tape 4 Heroes and Super Health Pharmacy to bring essential PPE to Richmond University Medical Center staff. Cut Red Tape 4 Heroes puts free personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies directly in the hands of NYC doctors, nurses, healthcare staff, frontline workers and those in need by parking its donation truck outside of medical centers and offering PPE to anyone with a hospital badge.

Today, Tuesday, May 12, starting at 1:30pm, Cut Red Tape 4 Heroes will park their donation truck outside of Richmond University Medical Center to distribute 4,000 kits and additional supplies to anyone with a hospital badge. The pre-packaged PPE kits include: 1 face shield, 1 KN95 and 7 surgical masks. In addition the volunteers will be refilling hand sanitizer bottles, handing out gowns and Tyvek coverings based on availability.

“Thank you to Cut Red Tape 4 Heroes and Super Health Pharmacy for including our office in this distribution effort for our frontline healthcare workers. We continue to  work collaboratively in an all-out effort with every possible source to find supplies for those helping our community through this crisis,” noted Borough President James Oddo.  

Borough Hall is pleased to be involved in today’s effort, and is looking forward to future collaborative efforts with these organizations to bring PPE to Staten Island’s frontline workers.

This fundraiser, organized by Rhonda Roland Shearer on behalf of Art Science Research Laboratory Inc. in partnership with Housing Works, has distributed PPE to more than 15K healthcare workers and those at risk across the city and has purchased more than 1 million PPEs to date. The initiative, which was initially paid for by Rhonda’s own home equity line, is being funded via donations raised on www.cutredtape4heroes.org.  

“We are heartened that Borough President James Oddo is going to help and distribute PPE supplies today. The needs for PPE have been huge here in Staten Island,” said Rhonda Roland Shearer, founder of Cut Red Tape 4 Heroes and Director of Art Science Research Laboratory.  “Beyond PPE, we are bringing dignity and respect to these frontline workers and saying to them that we see you, we thank you, and we have your back."

Super Health Pharmacy, a local Staten Island pharmacy, has provided trucking, banners, and PPE discounts to the project. 
​
“Super Health Pharmacy is super excited to be able to help out neighbors at Richmond University Medical Center during this time in partnership with Cut Red Tape 4 Heroes. This is what it is all about, helping our community and getting things done,” said Mayank Parikh, Super Health Pharmacy. ​

Borough President Oddo continues to maintain a focus on expanding COVID-19 testing options for Staten Islanders, and has clarified today with the public the differences between  Diagnostic Testing and Antibody Blood Testing. 

"We are now at the phase of this pandemic where we see that people are recovering from COVID-19 and we are eager to return to our normal lives. As eager as we might be, it's important to continue to protect ourselves with social distancing and face coverings and gloves while in public. Now is the time for antibody testing and that's happening in numerous ways on Staten Island," explained Borough President James Oddo. "It is especially important to note that even if you test positive for antibodies, evidence that you have been exposed to COVID-19, it may not make you immune to any future strains of the virus. We must continue to be vigilant about protecting ourselves and others."

What is COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing, and what does it tell you?

• If you have symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, aches, persistent cough, loss of senses of smell and taste) and go to get tested, you may receive a Nasal Swab Molecular Test.
• This test will confirm, with a high degree of accuracy, whether you are POSITIVE or NEGATIVE for the virus AT THE TIME OF THE TEST.
• Your provider or the lab will usually contact you with results by phone and can advise you on how long to quarantine, based on the results of your test. The results could take 3-5 days, during which you must self-quarantine. 

​What is Antibody Blood Testing:

• Antibody blood tests can indicate if you had the virus in the past, whether or not you experienced symptoms.
• This test detects the “IgG” antibodies, which indicate that you had the virus in the past, and “IgM” antibodies, which may indicate more recent infection 
• If you did have symptoms, you should wait at least 2 weeks after the end of symptoms to get the antibody test, as it can take this long for the body to produce “IgG” antibodies. This antibody test is nearly 100% accurate when used more than 14 days after the end of symptoms, which is why the timing is important. 
• There is substantial evidence that people may have been infected without ever being symptomatic. Depending on the timing of the infection, the antibody blood test would detect the “IgG” antibodies in this population.
• Patients who believe they were exposed and want to be tested should discuss their situation with their healthcare provider. 

What does Antibody Blood Testing tell you?

• You may have read or heard that the antibody test may provide evidence of future immunity. While this is often the case with other viruses, the science is not yet clear on this particular virus.
• At this point, antibody blood tests will indicate only that you did or did not have exposure to COVID-19 in the past.
• Currently we DO NOT know if having antibodies will prevent you from getting a future SARS CoV 2 coronavirus infection.
• While some of these tests have been approved by the FDA, for emergency use in a pandemic setting, we must stress that, like flu, strep, and many other widely used diagnostic tests, they are not 100% accurate.

For a list of locations offering testing on Staten Island, including antibody tests, please visit https://www.statenislandusa.com/covidtesting.html. 

Borough President Oddo is pleased to share the progress of the collaborative effort with Richmond University Medical Center, Staten Island’s skilled nursing facilities, and Chembio to bring antibody blood tests to Staten Island’s nursing homes, as well as RUMC staff. RUMC will be running and processing the tests, at its own cost and by its own lab technicians, for both their staff and for nursing facility tests. RUMC has quickly ramped up and trained its staff, completed the initial validation of the test kits, and begun testing staff for the antibodies. 

This is an important step in beating COVID-19, and the Borough President expresses his gratitude for the partnerships to make this happen.

Thus far, six RUMC staff members in the Department of Laboratory Medicine have been trained to analyze the tests. Currently, RUMC is testing their medical personnel and staff, averaging about 125 tests per day. To date, 700 tests have been completed. 

At this time, the collaborative is working on completing required paperwork as well as memorandums of understanding with the skilled nursing facilities and respective partners so that the testing can begin at their sites. 
​
“We are very excited about this partnership with Borough President Oddo and Chembio labs,” Richmond University Medical Center President and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel J., Messina, PhD, FACHE, said.  “The safety and health of our staff on the frontlines of this pandemic is always our highest priority. They are caring for hundreds of COVID-19 positive patients in various stages of the virus. On behalf of everyone at Richmond University Medical Center, I would like to thank Borough President James Oddo and Chembio for helping us secure access to this new testing capability.”