Joint statement by Borough President Oddo, Congressman Max Rose, District Attorney Michael E. McMahon, Senator Diane Savino, Senator Andrew Lanza, Assemblyman Michael Cusick, Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, Assemblyman Mike Reilly, Assemblyman Charles Fall, Councilman Steven Matteo, Councilman Joe Borelli, and Councilwoman Debi Rose: “Common ground, common effort. This is how we, as your Staten Island representatives, have operated in response to this crisis, and now we are calling on our constituents to do the same. If you are, or know someone who is, willing to share their time and expertise to fight this crisis your service will be deeply appreciated. We thank Governor Cuomo for his leadership through this crisis, and for his work to expand testing in New York City.”
 
In response to the growing number of COVID-19 case numbers, Governor Andrew Cuomo has authorized a drive-through testing facility to open on Staten Island, the first facility of its kind in New York City. The facility will open tomorrow, Thursday, March 19, 2020. At this time, Borough President James Oddo and the Staten Island delegation are working closely with the Office of the Governor and Northwell Health to facilitate swab testing for COVID-19 to those who meet the necessary criteria. The testing is open to New York City Residents by appointment only from 11am to 7 pm tomorrow and from 7 am to 7 pm beginning Friday at South Beach Psych Center (777 Seaview Avenue).
 
Anyone who feels they are at risk should contact the NYS DOH Hotline at 888-364-3065 to determine if and how to be tested. If it is determined an individual needs to be tested, they will receive notice directly from NYS DOH. An appointment must be made in order to receive a test. Individuals who show up without an appointment will be turned away.
 
The State and Northwell Health are seeking the help of qualified retired health professionals—including Licensed Practical Nurses, Registered Nurses and Physicians—to volunteer to staff the mobile testing unit. If you are a retired health professional and looking to help with the crisis at hand, please consider volunteering. Shifts will be from 7 am to 1 pm and 1 pm to 7 pm.
 
"This testing site is going to be a huge sigh of relief for Staten Islanders with concerns of COVID-19. We thank Governor Cuomo and Staten Island’s elected officials who have once again stepped up for the borough when it needed it most," said Brahim Ardolic, MD, Executive Director of Staten Island University Hospital/Northwell Health. "Staten Island University Hospital is happy to assist in this effort wherever we can. So far, over 120 medical professionals from the hospital have volunteered to help staff the testing site.”
 
Potential volunteers should fill out the following online form to be considered for a volunteer position: https://apps.health.ny.gov/pubpal/builder/survey/retired-health-professional. Volunteers will be prompted to enter their Name, Address, Phone number, New York State Certification Number, Information on last role, and Availability.
 
According to NYS DOH, drive-through mobile testing facilities help keep people who are sick or at risk of having contracted coronavirus out of healthcare facilities where they could infect other people. To that end, the guidance for receiving a COVID-19 test is unchanged from the guidance provided at any other medical facility.
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Until New York State is at full capacity for testing, the Department of Health has issued guidance to ensure that New York State prioritizes the resources to meet the most urgent public health need. Testing for COVID-19 shall be authorized by a health care provider when:

• An individual has come within proximate contact (same classroom, office, or gatherings) of another person known to be positive; or
• An individual has traveled to a country that the CDC has issued a Level 2 or Level 3 Travel Health Notice, and shows symptoms of illness; or
• An individual is quarantined (mandatory or precautionary) and has shown symptoms of COVID-19 illness; or
• An individual is symptomatic and has not tested positive for any other infection; or
• Other cases where the facts and circumstances warrant as determined by the treating clinician in consultation with state and local department of health officials.

 
On Sunday, March 15, 2020, the entire Staten Island delegation made an announcement to encourage Staten Islanders to re-evaluate their social distancing behaviors, including to: Stay home as much as possible; keep 6 feet of distance from others in public; and minimize in-person social contact in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
 

The Staten Island Delegation has one clear directive for Staten Islanders in order to prevent the further spread of COVID-19: Stay Home.
 
“By now, we're all very much aware of the Coronavirus, but what's not all that clear is what you need to do. It is simple: STAY HOME. Healthy or sick, all New Yorkers need to stay home as much as possible. Stay home and check in with your friends and family members who may need your help via phone,” noted in a joint statement by Borough President Oddo, Congressman Max Rose, District Attorney Michael E. McMahon, Senator Diane Savino, Senator Andrew Lanza, Assemblyman Michael Cusick, Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, Assemblyman Mike Reilly, Assemblyman Charles Fall, Councilman Steven Matteo, Councilman Joe Borelli, and Councilwoman Debi Rose.
 
On Sunday, March 15, 2020, the entire Staten Island delegation to made an announcement to encourage Staten Islanders to re-evaluate their social distancing behaviors, including to: Stay home as much as possible; keep 6 feet of distance from others in public; and minimize in-person social contact.
 
Any New Yorkers who feel they are getting sick should abide by the following advice from NYC and NYS DOH:
 
If you are sick, rest and monitor your symptoms for 24-48 hours. If they worsen, call your primary care doctor.
 
Do not go to the emergency room, an urgent-care center, or your doctor’s office if you are feeling sick. Call your doctor first so they can make arrangements for you to come in, if necessary.
 
If you do not have a primary care doctor or Health insurance, call the Health and Hospitals 24/7 help line where you will be connected to a doctor to assist: 1-844-NYC-4NYC (1-844-692-4692).
 
Any general questions or concerns on coronavirus, call 311. New Yorkers are also encouraged to text “COVID” to 692-692 for automatic updates from NYC OEM on Coronavirus.

​Joint statement by Borough President Oddo, Congressman Max Rose, District Attorney Michael E. McMahon, Senator Diane Savino, Senator Andrew Lanza, Assemblyman Michael Cusick, Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, Assemblyman Mike Reilly, Assemblyman Charles Fall, Councilman Steven Matteo, Councilman Joe Borelli, and Councilwoman Debi Rose:
 
“In addition to a running text thread to allow all Staten Island elected officials to communicate with each other simultaneously, and to collectively share information, we have established what will be a daily conference call to coordinate our efforts. Today’s call focused on securing the needs of our two hospital systems, attempting to unclog the flow of county specific information and data, expressing our ongoing bewilderment and concerns about schools not officially closing, and our strenuous belief that this next week is critical in terms of containment efforts. To that end we all agreed on the following:
 
“After reading the bleak predictions and emphatic counsel of medical and scientific experts across the country, after seeing other cities and nations imposing curfews or shutting businesses and gathering places, and after hearing widespread accounts of people willfully ignoring social distancing in establishments across the city, state and nation, we strongly encourage Staten Islanders to re-evaluate their social distancing behavior.
 
“We want to help keep our small businesses viable, but Islanders need to understand that they are not invulnerable and their behavior puts OTHER people at risk, including potentially the vulnerable populations in their own homes and within their own families.
 
“As so many have advocated: Stay home as much as possible; keep 6 feet of distance from others in public; and minimize in-person social contact. Please, for everyone’s sake, use common sense. This upcoming week is critically important in terms of attempting to contain this virus. Those who can should just stay home.”

Joint statement by Borough President Oddo, Congressman Max Rose, District Attorney Michael E. McMahon, Senator Diane Savino, Senator Andrew Lanza, Assemblyman Michael Cusick, Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, Assemblyman Mike Reilly, Assemblyman Charles Fall, Councilman Steven Matteo, Councilman Joe Borelli, and Councilwoman Debi Rose:
 
“Following a meeting today at Borough Hall, we are calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to close New York City Public Schools, grades 3-K through 12, for one week to allow for all school buildings to be completely sanitized and to allow for further assessment of the COVID-19 situation, to be reassessed at the end of that week. Essential to this plan is developing a program to allow for children who need shelter and food to be cared for during this time.
 
“In addition, we are reiterating our position on closing Senior Centers throughout the City to safeguard older adults who are in the high-risk category, pending an appropriate course of action to ensure safety and nutrition for all seniors in the program.”

The following text is from Governor Cuomo Office's Press Release dated 11/4/2019.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that Staten Island will receive $10 million in funding as the New York City Region winner of the fourth round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. As in the first three rounds of the DRI, one municipality from each of the state's 10 regional economic development regions is selected as a $10 million winner, marking another overall state goal to target $100 million in funding and investments to help communities boost their economies by transforming downtowns into vibrant neighborhoods where the next generation of New Yorkers will want to live, work and raise a family.
  
"Staten Island's downtown has made significant strides fostering business and tourism opportunities, and this investment will help further uplift this historic community," Governor Cuomo said. "Staten Island holds a special place in the story of New York City, and we look forward to seeing it continue to flourish in this next chapter."
 
"Staten Island is undergoing an economic renaissance, and our Downtown Revitalization Initiative capitalizes on the booming North Shore community," said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. "With this targeted investment, Staten Island will be able to continue turning the North Shore into a world-class tourist, retail and dining destination. The DRI is part of our ongoing strategy to create a brighter economic future across all of New York State and transform our communities into even better places to live, work and do business."
 
Staten Island
 
Staten Island's downtown core is the gateway to Staten Island for both visitors and residents. It provides prominent civic, commercial, and cultural assets connected by the central Bay Street Corridor running from the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and historic St. George neighborhood to the rapidly developing Stapleton area. As the fastest-growing area in Staten Island, the neighborhood is on the cusp of a new era: business incubators and breweries are joining historic tourist destinations and an established civic center in bringing foot traffic to downtown streets, waterfront and mixed-used developments are creating a renaissance on the North Shore, and an unprecedented demand for businesses to locate downtown is transforming the suburban enclave into an expanding hub of economic activity. The DRI award will enable Staten Island to capitalize on this recent and rapid growth and focus development efforts on creating a connected world-class tourist, retail, and dining destination.
 
The New York City Regional Economic Development Council went through a competitive review process of proposals from communities throughout the region and considered all seven criteria below before recommending Staten Island as its nominee for winner:

• The downtown should be compact, with well-defined boundaries;
• The downtown is able to capitalize on prior or catalyze future private and public investment in the neighborhood and its surrounding areas;
• There should be recent or impending job growth within, or in close proximity to the downtown that can attract workers to the downtown, support redevelopment and make growth sustainable;
• The downtown must be an attractive and livable community for diverse populations of all ages, including existing residents, millennials and skilled workers;
• The municipality should already embrace or have the ability to create and implement policies that increase livability and quality of life, including the use of local land banks, modern zoning codes and parking standards, complete streets plans, energy efficient projects, green jobs, and transit-oriented development;
• The municipality should have conducted an open and robust community engagement process resulting in a vision for downtown revitalization and a preliminary list of projects and initiatives that may be included in a DRI strategic investment plan; and
• The municipality has identified transformative projects that will be ready for implementation with an infusion of DRI funds within the first one to two years.

 
Staten Island's fourth-round DRI win entitles the city to receive $10 million in state funding and investments to revitalize its downtown neighborhoods and generate new opportunities for long-term growth. Staten Island now joins Jamaica, the Bronx, and Downtown Brooklyn, which were the New York City Region's winners in the first three DRI rounds, respectively. 

Staten Island Borough President James Oddo said, "Thank you to Governor Cuomo for selecting Staten Island as the NYC Region winner of this Downtown Revitalization Initiative. Staten Island's most impactful successes have come about via genuine collaborations, and this victory is no different.  I am proud to have brought the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce and SIEDC together to work on this exciting project, a project that will allow us to continue to transform Downtown Staten Island in a big way. Staten Island has so much to offer both tourists and locals alike - from history, to food, to experiences, to shopping. We have it all and the whole world is starting to get the message."

Staten Island will now begin the process of developing a Strategic Investment Plan to revitalize its downtown with up to $300,000 in planning funds from the $10 million DRI grant. A Local Planning Committee made up of municipal representatives, community leaders, and other stakeholders will lead the effort, supported by a team of private sector experts and state planners. The Strategic Investment Plan for downtown Staten Island will examine local assets and opportunities and identify economic development, transportation, housing, and community projects that align with the community's vision for downtown revitalization and that are poised for implementation. The downtown Staten Island Strategic Investment Plan will guide the investment of DRI grant funds in revitalization projects that will advance the community's vision for its downtown and that can leverage and expand upon the state's $10 million investment. Plans for the DRI's fourth round will be complete in 2020.

For more information on the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, go to: www.ny.gov/programs/downtown-revitalization-initiative.

On Wednesday October 23rd, Borough President Oddo joined at Staten Island University Hospital for the Topping Off Ceremony of the hospital’s new power plant.
 
Ground was broken in September 2018 for the 12,600-square-foot facility, which is seated 18 feet above mean sea level and 2 feet above the 500-year flood level, in conformance with FEMA’s flood elevation requirements. Once the entire flood mitigation project is completed by the end of 2020, the power plant will replace the hospital’s original utility plant, constructed in 1977 at seven feet above mean sea level on the hospital’s north site.
 
“We made so many mistakes but it is wonderful to be a part of something that we did right” said BP Oddo, thanking two great partners in government for their partnership on pushing to get this project to become reality in the wake of Sandy, Assemblyman Michael Cusick and Senator Andrew Lanza. When Sandy struck Staten Island in 2012, water surrounded the hospital’s electrical power plant. Had it been completely flooded, the facility would have gone black.
 
Funding for the project came from a $28 million appropriation acquired by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio through the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant Program’s Disaster Relief Fund and a $12 million award by New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo under the Federal Emergency Management Agency Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
 
The Gruppuso Family Women and Newborn Center will expand newborn care on Staten Island in a state-of-the-art facility. The center is scheduled to open in early 2022.

Over the weekend of September 28-30, Borough President James Oddo joined with the Consortium for Affordable Medical Technologies (CAMTech) at Massachusetts General Hospital, the State of New York, Northwell Health, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering to host the Empire State Opioid Epidemic Innovation Challenge at Columbia University.
 
The goal of the weekend was to serve as an open-innovation platform for a diverse community to co-create solutions that have the potential to change the trajectory of the local and national opioid crisis. The idea for the challenge came from the BP’s Policy Team, who learned about a successful opioid “Hack-A-Thon” hosted by CAMTech in Boston in 2016. The Borough President’s office reached out to CAMTech and collaborated with them to create a similar event in New York City.

Kicking off the event, BP Oddo spoke about the local impact of the opioid crisis on the Staten Island community. Other speakers included Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, OASAS Commissioner Arlene González-Sánchez, Dr. Ram Raju of Northwell Health, First Deputy New York City Police Commissioner Benjamin Tucker, and District Attorney Michael McMahon. In addition, those in recovery and family members who lost loved ones to addiction spoke about their personal experiences. Representatives from Google and CVS Health joined a panel discussion on what large companies can do to help fight this epidemic.

As part of the challenge, 12 multi-disciplinary teams were formed—composed of engineers, data experts, social workers, clinicians, and other professionals. The teams worked over the weekend to develop, finalize, and pitch their innovations with the help of subject-matter experts—representing government, hospitals, public health, business, first responders, and the treatment community—who made themselves available to offer mentorship. Each team gave a three-minute pitch on Sunday afternoon to the panel of judges.
 
Here are the winning entries:
 
Grand Prize: Team RAN won the $2,000 Empire State Opioid Epidemic Innovation Award. RAN links individuals with certified peer advocates to meet patients at hospitals and treatment recovery centers.
 
Northwell Health Innovation Award: Team Recover We won $1,500 for innovating a Google chat to link individuals with prevention, treatment, and opioid recovery programs.

CAMTech Innovation Award: Team Quick Reversal won $1,500 for innovating a nasal patch that dispenses Narcan to prevent opioid overdose.

Honorable Mention: Team ARK won $500 for innovating a kit that aggregates existing prevention, treatment, and recovery tools for hospitals, needle exchanges, detox centers, and rehab facilities.

“I’m so pleased to see this event come to life and be such a success. We recruited talented individuals with hard-to-find skill sets to help us add options to the toolkit we use to tackle the opioid epidemic. We are eager to see how these promising innovations progress and hope to apply the best of them on Staten Island,” said BP Oddo. “Thanks again to the Governor’s Office, NYS OASAS, Northwell Health, Columbia University’s Public Health and Engineering Schools—and most importantly our organizing entity that made this all possible—CAMTech at Massachussets General Hospital, for working with us to turn this idea into reality.”

The challenge continues at Demo Day on January 31st, where all 12 teams will have the opportunity to compete for a $10,000 prize. Each team will have four months to develop their ideas, bring their innovations to life, and perfect their pitches.

On Thursday, October 19th, BP Oddo joined with City Council Member Joe Borelli, NYSDOT Regional Director Sonia Pichardo and other NYSDOT officials to announce the completion of the new sidewalks on Drumgoole Road West between Lenevar Avenue and Bloomingdale Road.

Since the completion of Bloomingdale Park, a glaring omission has been the lack of sidewalks along the service road. The completion of this decade-long project has been much anticipated. After a meeting at Borough Hall in the summer of 2016, New York State DOT agreed to build the sidewalks to make this area safer. 

The project began in June and is now complete. This sidewalk will aid access to Bloomingdale Park and improve safety for Staten Islanders.

"The Governor and State DOT are 'walking the walk' on this much needed safety improvement, and now Staten Islanders can walk more safely,” said Borough President Jim Oddo. “They heard our plea for assistance and they acted, and their action will directly help seniors, runners and cyclists, those pushing baby strollers, and everyday Staten Islanders out for a stroll to the park. Thank you for 'doing' and helping!"

"Increasing New Yorkers' mobility and ease of travel is a top priority of this administration," Governor Andrew Cuomo said. "Projects like the sidewalk upgrades on Staten Island are key to improving the safety for both pedestrians and motorists, and by making it easier for residents to walk, run and bike, we are improving the quality of life for all Staten Islanders."
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This sidewalk construction was part of the State’s $5.4 million project to make safety improvements and ease traffic flow at the parkway’s interchange.