On Friday, September 20th, Borough President Oddo joined with DOE, SCA, and members of the New Dorp High School community to officially cut the ribbon on the new Football Field and Sports Complex.

The refurbished turf field was already in the works under the Department of Education’s five-year plan when New Dorp students attended the Borough Student Advisory Council back in April 2017. Their request to us: New lights. The students who came to us in 2017 have since graduated, but their hard work is now a reality.

Borough President Oddo listened to their request and allocated $1.5 million in tax dollars for new stadium lights. Additionally, allocated tax dollars for new bleachers in Fiscal Year 2019 and re-sodding for the baseball and softball fields in Fiscal Year 2020’s budget.

“To those students who came two years ago, we told you that you wouldn’t benefit from your request but you would pay it forward” said BP Oddo on the BSAC student representatives from New Dorp HS who requested lights for their new sports complex. “Thank you New Dorp. Congratulations!”

The complex has a new sound system; eight-lane track; aluminum bleachers; a press box with an air conditioner and a refurbished scoreboard. In addition to the football team, the field will also be used by the boys’ and girls’ soccer and lacrosse teams.

“Today starts a new chapter in our already rich history,” New Dorp HS Principal Deirdre DeAngelis on the ribbon cutting. “We often refer to ourselves as the New Dorp Family and that’s because we all work together.”

At the ceremony, BP Oddo was presented with an honorary New Dorp Football Jersey from Varsity Football Captain Jared Kerman and Head Coach Brian Murphy.

“On behalf of the New Dorp Community, the legacy you leave behind is something we should all try to emulate” said Vincenza Gallassio, Superintendent District 31, speaking on New Dorp HS Principal Deirdre DeAngelis’ dedication.

Following the ribbon cutting, BP Oddo tested out the new field with a running catch from QB Abdiel Gonzalez before the Varsity Football team played their first game under the lights vs. Lehman. Congratulations, New Dorp! 

On Wednesday, September 18, Borough President Oddo joined with NYC SCA President and CEO Lorraine Grillo, DOE officials, Hungerford School Principal Kristin McHugh, and elected officials for the official groundbreaking of the new four-story 456-seat Hungerford school building for District 75 students on Staten Island.

“Regardless of how this day has started for you,” said Borough President Oddo at the groundbreaking, “at the end of this day please say aloud to your loved ones ‘this was a good day’ because it certainly is. This is the next chapter of the story about a state-of-the-art new school being constructed for Hungerford students and one about the persistence and grit from Kevin Moran, who willed it into existence through sheer determination. The end result will be a new school that will educate future generations of students in a manner they deserve. I am grateful for all those in DOE and the School Construction Authority for making this a reality. To all the parents, families and educators who have advocated and fought for this over the years, thank you as well and congratulations."

The new Richard H. Hungerford School will be located on the Michael J. Petrides Educational Complex.

“We are thrilled to be doing this. This is going to be a spectacular school,” said NYC SCA President Lorraine Grillo speaking on the amenities that will be available at the new Hungerford School including: braille signage in every room, elevators on all floors, and wheelchair ramps. The new building will also include hearing loops, a wire that circles a room connected to a sound system which hearing-impaired students can connect to via their hearing aids or cochlear implants.
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Inclusion opportunities will be available for Hungerford School students across the entire Petrides campus.

Other amenities will include: 38 special education classrooms, Rooms for physical, occupational and speech therapy, stationary exercise room, full kitchen complex, library, guidance and medical suites, culinary art room, print/photography room, as well as administrative suite, conference room, teacher work room and parent room. 

Construction began in July on this $78 million investment. The project is expected to be completed for the start of the 2021-2022 school-year.

Photos courtesy of NYC SCA. 

​Borough President James Oddo is pleased to announce that he is joining with the Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation to collect backpacks and school supplies for needy Staten Island families. Donations of brand new children’s backpacks, folders, crayons, markers, non-toxic glue sticks, notebooks, #2 pencils, construction paper, and other new school supplies will be accepted.
 
Items can be left with Borough Hall staff at all of the remaining Sunset Summer Concerts. Donations will also be accepted directly at the Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation Office (543 Cary Avenue). Volunteers from the Atlas Foundation will then distribute the items to families in need.
 
The remaining concerts, which begin at 7pm unless otherwise noted, are as follows:
August 1st--Fort Wadsworth (210 New York Avenue), United States Coast Guard Appreciation Night with a special thank you to our Military service members featuring 42nd Division Infantry Band. *6:30PM START TIME*
August 8th--Westerleigh Park (Neal Dow Ave. and Maine Ave.) featuring Julia Gargano and JD & the All Stars
August 15th--Silver Lake Park (Forest Ave. at Haven Esplanade) featuring Cause and the Effects
August 17th--Midland Beach Splaza (Fr. Capodanno Blvd. at Seaview Ave) featuring Vito Picone and the Elegants and guests
August 22nd--Wolfe’s Pond Park (Cornelia Ave. and Chester Ave.) featuring Whiskey Tango Four and Saints in the City
August 29th--TBD Location (rain-out rescheduled concert) featuring Joan Caddell and the Midnight Choir and The Black Ties
 
“I want to thank the Atlas Foundation for collaborating with us again this year on this drive, which will help many young students across the Island,” noted BP Oddo. “My office is happy to be a part of this initiative, and we appreciate all the Staten Islanders who donate to help the less fortunate in our community. For these children, starting off the school year with all the necessary school supplies will set them off on the path towards academic success.”
 
For more information on the drive, call Renee Sarno at (718) 816-2133 or email RSarno@statenislandusa.com. 

​Borough President James Oddo sponsored a Lyme Disease Awareness Forum on Monday, June 17th. This free event took place at 7pm at Wagner College (1 Campus Road) in a Spiro Hall lecture room. Over 150 Staten Islanders came out to learn how to protect themselves and their loved ones from ticks and Lyme disease. After having to reschedule in May due to inclement weather, we were extremely pleased to hold a standing room only event.
 
“Our quest to mitigate the growing number of Staten Islanders suffering from Lyme disease is being fought on many fronts, and educating the public about the disease and how it is spread is a vital step. We will continue to raise awareness on this topic because it is real and it is affecting Staten Islanders,” said Borough President Oddo.
 
At the forum, researchers from NYC DOHMH presented an update on their surveillance measures with statistical updates on the incidence of Lyme disease cases in New York City and on Staten Island as well as information on the black-legged ticks that are vectors for the disease. Borough President Oddo was pleased to hear their tick surveillance has been increased from 14 to 24 sites in parks across our borough and that they will be implementing Met52 in their tick control measures, a fungus based approach that kills ticks without hurting any other invertebrates.
 
Maria Diuk-Wasser, Associate Professor and Researcher at Columbia University, presented information on how exactly ticks get around and where people are exposed to ticks. Can you guess how ticks ‘move’ around parks in New York City? That’s right – deer. Deer are where ticks meet and reproduce. She stressed that connectivity is key, as only parks close to other parks in NYC have ticks. Parks surrounded by vegetation and are more connected to others by habitat corridors have more ticks infected with the Lyme bacteria. We continue fight for ways to control the deer population to also reduce the tick numbers and Lyme cases on Staten Island.
 
Attendees also heard from Dr. Christopher J. Pappas, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Manhattanville College, who talked about what attracts the different types of ticks we have on Staten Island, how to avoid them and prevent tick bites, as well as do’s and don’ts on tick removal. Among many tips, one that stuck out: make sure to put clothes in the dryer, not the washer to kill ticks. Drying ticks out kills the ticks.

Dr. Ernest Visconti, pediatric infectious disease specialist, moderated a question and answer period with the audience following the pretensions.

Gaynor McCown Expeditionary Learning School tabled at the event showing their school projects to educate Staten Islanders on how to protect themselves from ticks and Lyme disease. 
 
Here is the link to the PowerPoint presentations from the forum: http://www.statenislandusa.com/lymeforumslides.

​New York State Senator John Liu, Chair of State Committee on NYC Education, and Borough President James Oddo will join together on Monday, June 24th, to hold a school diversity and specialized high school admission community forum on Staten Island. The forum will take place at Labetti Post, 390 Hylan Boulevard, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
 
This community forum, the last is a series of forums in New York City, is an opportunity for parents, teachers, students, alumni and stakeholders to speak about the issue of school diversity and specialized high school admissions.
 
“It is important that Staten Islanders have the opportunity to speak about the issue of school diversity and specialized high school admissions. Please join us for a chance to let your voice be heard,” said Borough President Oddo.
 
For more information, please call (718) 765-6675. To RSVP and to sign up to speak, please fill out the form in the link bit.ly/StatenIslandForum.

​On Thursday, June 14th, Borough President Oddo joined with members of the NYPD, District Attorney Mike McMahon, and the DOE to congratulate the 5th and 7th grade students who participated in the "Too Good For Drugs" program at PS 21 and St. Adalbert's School.

The “Too Good For Drugs” curriculum is co-taught in the classroom by a police officer and a teacher. The program, which is in its fourth year, takes place in 5th, 7th and 9th grade classes in public and parochial schools across the borough.
 
"The amazing officers have taught us to be a good influence on others," said PS 21 students thanking the NYPD officers for teaching the ‘Too Good For Drugs’ Curriculum. “Thank you and stay safe.”
 
Laura Timoney, BP Oddo's Deputy Director of Education, address the students speaking on why the 'Too Good For Drug" Program is important: “You all know you do better on a test when you study. That’s what this program exist for: to prepare you for the time when you’re faced with a tough decision of following along with your friends or choosing to say no."

At the end of the ceremony, students took a pledge to abstain from tobacco, alcohol and drugs, led by NYPD Chief Kenneth Corey.

Borough President James S. Oddo has announced that he is continuing the Patrick F. Daly Award after reviving it in 2017 in honor of the 26th anniversary of Mr. Daly’s death. This award goes to two educators who exemplify the values of fallen principal Patrick Daly, who was gunned down in Red Hook, Brooklyn while searching for a student who had left the school building 27 years ago.

“I’m grateful to be able to continue this award in honor of fallen principal, Mr. Patrick Daly,” said BP Oddo. “This award gives us a wonderful opportunity to pay tribute to his sacrifice and legacy, while also recognizing outstanding educators who have made an impact in our community.”

Anyone who may wish 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.

"My family and I would like to thank the Borough President for continuing to honor my father's legacy, as well Staten Island's many excellent educators, with this award. We look for forward to this year's ceremony and meeting the 2019 honorees,” said Pat Daly, son of the fallen educator.​

Nominations are currently being accepted and will be accepted until July 8th. For full details, please visit www.statenislandusa.com/dalyaward.

On Tuesday, May 21st, Borough President James S. Oddo hosted “A Conversation with the Class of 2019” in the Black Box Theater at Susan Wagner High School.  Students were asked to bring questions about issues on Staten Island that affect them and to come prepared to talk about their own experiences and where they see themselves going in the future for a personal, one-on-one conversation with the Borough President. 
 
Topics that the students were interested focused on asking for advice as to what to expect moving from their close-knit communities into the colleges of their choice and how to deal with the stress and anxiety that comes with that. They gave BP Oddo and his staff ideas about how to communicate with the younger generation to break them out of their shell and be more involved in the community.

“You all have great opportunities ahead of you, and I want you to take advantage of them,” BP Oddo said to the group of students. “I am so impressed by all of you and your passions. I hope you will take your passions and help Staten Island become a better place to live.”
 
Students from Curtis High School, Gaynor McCown Expeditionary Learning High School, Michael J. Petrides School, Moore Catholic High School, New Dorp High School, Port Richmond High School, St. Joseph Hill Academy, and Susan Wagner High School participated in the conversation.