Save Staten Island

SI Mentioned on Deal or No Deal

2008-01-07T19:16:00.000-08:00

Apparently a contestent mentioned the dump on Deal or No Deal. I did not see the show, but the woman was from Bayonne and she stated "least we don't have a dump like Staten Island."

The forum at SILIVE.com is taking many comments on this. It just never ends with the Staten Island Dump jokes.

Rocky LaPorte

2008-01-04T21:07:00.001-08:00

HAS ANYONE HEARD OF THIE GUY? HE JUST DID AN ENTIRE BIT KNOCKING THE STATEN ISLAND. EVERYTHING HE SAID WAS A BUNCH OF CPAP.

I WANT A YOUTUBE CLIP IF ANYONE KNOWS WHERE I CAN FIND ONE.

http://www.rockylaporte.com/

Calling all Bloggers!

2008-01-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

We are looking for Island bloggers. The task is simple, we need write ups about your neighborhood. One initial post that gives the readers a real feel for the area, and then updates a few times a year is all we are asking. No daily work needed.

If you are interested, please contact us at savestatenisland@yahoo.com

January 2nd

2008-01-02T17:27:00.000-08:00

We launched STATEN ISLAND 2008 yesterday. Today the Advance ran a story on the project on the front page. Next week, I will be speaking at the Community Board 1 meeting on the 8th.

We have high hopes for this project. We need a huge response to make it work though and we need a lot of people behind us to get it all accomplished.

Hopefully we will get enough in the first few months to show it is capable of holding it's own.

In addition to the yearbook, we have a list of ideas that will be taking off each month in 2008. It is going to be a big year. Little by little we hope to engage the entire Island in Staten Island 2008!

Looking for Animators

2007-06-19T07:08:00.001-07:00

We have an idea for an opening sequence for the film that would require the help of some animators, photographers and very creative people.

We need to show people missing the ferry and the doors closing on them. We may not be able to film in the terminal.

Does anyone have ideas and suggestions on how we can accomplish this?

Even the Championship Team gets ignored

2007-06-19T06:36:00.000-07:00

Tonight the Staten Island Yankees are playing the Brooklyn Cyclones in Brooklyn and tomorrow night is their home opening in St. George. Good Day New York announced the Brooklyn game and did not mention who was playing them.

You would think as the reigning Champions of the NY Penn League, the SIYanks would get mentioned, but guess not.

Let's see if tomorrow our home opener is announced and if they take a moment to mention Brooklyn also. Maybe they will report the Brooklyn score all season and forgot about the Yanks then too. I have seen them do that in the past too.

SIEDC - Tuesday, April 24th

2007-04-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

We have so much to say about our day at the SIEDC. We want to thank Ceaser Claro, Jeannine Marotta and all those involved who helped us get there.

We were given a prime spot in the exhibition sections. We met some of the greatest people the Island has to offer, and the list of great things could go on and on.The biggest interview we snagged was the Borough President. We want to thanks him for his wonderful interview. I

n addition to him, we met a few doctors, a judge, business owners, people from the Staten Island Yankees and Brooklyn Cyclones, and so many all around great people.

The hits to our site and the requests to be a part of the project have been tremendous and the brain storming ideas that results will take this project to a new and exciting level.

We need to thank CVS and duct tape for the same reason. They helped us make the greatest prop imaginable at the midnight the night before. We had to be up at 5:30 a.m., but there we were with an inflatable raft, sharpies and duct tape creating a life saver to take pictures with.

The list of potential interviews will be posted shortly.

SIEDU - Save Staten Island will be Attending

2007-03-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

On April 24th, Save Staten Island will have their own table at the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation.

We are excited to be invited to meet with many business owners on the Island, the guest speakers and of course the Staten Island Film Festival (SIFF).

Last night we attend Mall Madness for the SIFF while they auditioned some acts for the festival in June.

If you haven't already checked out their web, go now and get a poster!

We would like to thank SIEDC for inviting us down. We cannot wait for the date.

Save Staten Island from Being the Borough with the Most Drug and Booze Abuse by KIDS!

2007-03-21T15:56:00.000-07:00

Today the Advance www.silive.com, and a lot of other city papers, printed the results of a study listing Staten Island with the largest percentage of high school students who binge drink and do drugs.

On FreeFM, my new favorite radio station (please sense the sarcasm) once again made Staten Island the topic of their show from 6-9pm.

I was a little more alarmed by the callers than the facts of the study. Too many adults called and stated, sure they grew up here, and regularly drank and did whatever drug while they were younger. At least one admitted he was still using until recently.

Several others called and stated of course Staten Island is the higher rate, their is nothing else to do on that Island.

Then of course there are the ones that left and are still knocking this place. Why they feel the need to knock a place they choose to live for a at least a while is beyond me.

Here a few reasons we believe the rate for us may be higher.

We have more families here where both parents are at work all day thanks to our real estate costs. Who can survive here on one salary?
The parents are away from the house even longer due to our long commutes.
We have more affluent families so the money for the kids to use is there.
We have more areas for the kids to get away with it. The other boroughs are laid out differently.
Obviously there is nothing else for them to do.
Our kids have more cars here. Another easy hideout and way to get these things.
Our store owners are selling the beer and alcohol because the police presence is different here than other boroughs.
Peer pressure to use or to say you use is really high.
Or maybe the rate here was inflated because we had more truthful answers. Maybe we have the most getting help right now. I would at least like to believe this last one could be true if that 24% is accurate.

It may seem unreal that we have 24% of our kids on drugs, but let's keep this in perspective. Our population is so much lower than the other boroughs that our 24% is still less than their 14% in an actual head count.

Maybe we do have less to do on this Island in theory, but please show me what the other boroughs have for TEENAGERS! Everyone forgets this group.

They are the forgotten generation. My son will be 13 this year. I know we are in for a rough for years. Except for his sports, nothing is geared to his age group. My options are to let him sit in front of a video game, let him shot some hoops, or hang out aimlessly with his buddies. The hoops is the only hope.

If we ever wanted a real reason to Save Staten Island, here it is. We have an entire generation in need. We have discovered countless things on this Island for people to do, but hardly any are geared to this generation.

If you are out there, please let us know. We need to promote you here.

Our teenage population is the immediate future. As it is now, they believe too many of the stereotypes about this place. They play into so many of them. They believe you need to leave the Island to have a life. The adults know this and yet we see it happen generation after generation with no end in sight. Time to stand up and help the Island from the inside.

Vote Off the Island Results!

2007-03-20T08:04:00.000-07:00

We have been received a lot of votes for people whom others want voted off the Island.

Since this is all in the name of good fun (and a little research for the project) we will not be listing all votes specifically.

We have set a few guidelines. For example, no kids will be listed. No person with one vote will be listed. Many will be part of categories.

We do not want to hurt feelings, cause problems or stop some of the creative answers we are getting.

With that being said here is where we stand now:

Politician are coming in first place.
Builders/Developers are a close second.
Guidos rounding out the top three.
The Mall is getting up there.
Tanning booths!
And EVERYONE!

Now for the creative honorable mentions:
Road Rage Animals
Pink/Coral Stucco

and several votes for:
ME (all different people voting off themselves)

Keep the votes coming. More results next week.

FREE FM Has Knocked Staten Island twice (that we know of)...

2007-03-20T06:40:00.000-07:00

About a month ago the city began talking about a new slogan for New York. Someone in power who needs more real work to do thinks I Love NY is outdated. I Still Love NY, so I don't get it.

But anyway....FREE FM 92.3, the old KRock decided to have callers suggest new slogans. One they like was "I love NY except for Staten Island!".

Just last week the knocked us again. They have stated the Verrazzano cannot be up for a wonder of the world because 'nothing connected to Staten Island' can have that honor!

2007-02-02T15:25:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn's Great!

Listen to what they say about Staten Island at the end.

2007-01-25T08:02:00.000-08:00

Blast from Staten Island's Past

Assemblyman John Lavelle

2007-01-24T06:16:00.000-08:00

Last night, Staten Island lost one if its own:

Assemblyman John Lavelle, 57, the Staten Island Democratic Party chairman.

Although we are saddened by his death, we were happy to read the Advance is reporting Lavelle was a member of the New York Organ Donor Registry.

The Producers of SSI would like to acknowledge this wonderful gesture. In our family we have an organ donor recipient and a living donor.

New York now has a registry in which you can sign up in addition to marking your driver's license as we did in the past. Remember to continue telling your family members of your decision. They are the only ones who can speak for in the end.

To learn more about the registry and organ donation please visit the New York Organ Donors Network.

To learn more about Assemblyman John Lavelle, visit the advance online at www.silive.com.

We are in the paper today!

2007-01-21T09:40:00.000-08:00

The Staten Island Advance printed an article about us today. Thanks to Melissa Anelli, our new favorite Advance writer for contacting us.

There's Something Good on Our Island

We were also thrilled to see we were not only on the front page of the OUR TOWN Section, but we also had the honor of being right next to BiscuitMagoo! Just yesterday we interviewed Ayana Mitchell and John Verdi, the owners. In fact, we took one of our dogs down for an evaluation. Our Chase may spend some time at doggie day care while we are out saving the Island!

I would also like to thank my son for running to the store to pick up several copies of the paper for me this morning. (He did owe me one. Twelve years ago, when he had his transplant and was featured in the Advance, I ran to the store to get the paper!)

Updates:

#1.The hits to our site are jumping today! If are reading this, you made a great choice in stopping by. Leave us a comment and you can have your say about the Island too. We print all comments we are given permission for.

#2 Thatz Wassup was spelled incorrectly in the article. Well, it was correct, but not for how the store spells it in their logo. They are currently on our friends page if you want more information about them.

#3 We had so many hits yesterday our free site meter crashed!

Biscuit Magoo

2007-01-20T22:06:00.000-08:00

What can we say, as animal lovers who have rescued our fair share, and then some of cats and dogs, we were delighted one morning when we saw a sign in New Brighton/Shug Harbor. It said Biscuit Magoo.

I made a mental note to look them up. Later, I found them on Craigslist advertising a new dog salon/day care/ boarding place.

Today I was able to not only interveiw them for the film, but I had my dog evaluated at the same time. I need someone like them near my house.

After the interview we joked we both due to be in the paper. Maybe we will both be there tomorrow as expected.

Biscuit Magoo

Helping Hands Initiative

2007-01-20T09:57:00.000-08:00

Helping Hands Initiative

Yesterday, we headed out to the Cromwell Center to meet with Julianna Farella, President of Helping Hands Initiative Incorporated.

This is a great group. Julianna gave us a unique view on how Staten Island treats the disabled. A lot of the same concerns came out as usual; transportation, over developement, attitudes, etc.

But it was also just great to see a person who running her own Staten Island based organization and volunteering her time at a community based facility to teach music.

New Reality TV Show

2007-01-18T07:13:00.000-08:00

I was watching TV last night and a comercial came on for a new reality TV show about film making. My son asked if I was going to submit Save Staten Island.

Uh...NO!

This project started because one reality show did the Island wrong, I am not going to add to it. It goes against my purpose, however the show itself looks interesting.

There are two types of reality shows. One where you are in a competition and really only your actions can make you seem bad. The other is where you let the producers into your home to film you and ultimately make an ass out of your their ratings.

MTV True Life was the latter, whereas THE LOT is the first, so it shouldn't be that bad.

If there are any talented film makers out there reading this, check out their site:

http://www.thelot.com/

Scheduling

2007-01-18T06:49:00.000-08:00

We finally got in touch with Vernon from Thatz Wassup. We are set to see the new digs on February 5th. The store has moved from Water Street to the NY Art Cypher Center at 12 Broad Street.

I think the reopening will be mid February. Check their myspace account for more details.

Another Night with SCARED

2007-01-14T06:42:00.000-08:00

We went back to the Garibaldi Meucci Musuem last night for round two of the Scared investigation. This time we met up with the Staten Island Paranormal Society also.

Both groups are Staten Island based, paranormal investigators. Scared also has a show in CTV. Check out their websites:

SCARED

Staten Island Paranormal Society

And the best part is they travel the Island also for their work and don't mind us tagging along.

Save Staten Island In the News

2007-01-12T18:09:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago we did an interview with the Staten Island Advance. Last week, we did a photo shoot for the article. If all stays on track, it may be out this Sunday, the 14th.

Not only that, but we are working on scheduling a date with NY1.

We knew when we started this, it was a cool idea, but a lot of our crazy ideas seem cool to us. We had no idea how quickly this would catch on and all the attention it would get.

Our little idea of ‘Saving’ the Island from MTV turned into a real thing. No one cares about MTV anymore, but they do care about the Island and its future.

Hopefully the momentum will continue to grow and this project will turn out the way it is meant to be.

We have signed on with the Staten Island Film Festival. It was weird at first. We got an email asking us to call them about our film. At that stage, we didn’t have more than three hours of footage, yet we were getting called by THEM!

We went with the honesty route since it is usually the best bet and admitted we were just getting started. After explaining what we were trying to accomplish, it was decided we could work with the festival. No place else on the Island, will so many talented, artistic people come together at one time, than they will in June.

So we are officially invited to film some behind the scenes footage of the festival in 2007. Hope to see you guys at the festival.

New Art Exhibit

2007-01-11T23:08:00.000-08:00

We attended the Garibaldi Meucci Museum tonight for the opening of a new art exhibit. Until we started this project, I never realized how many artists the Island homes.

Michael Santini will be on display until April. Stop by if you have a chance, see his art, tour the museum and maybe you will hear or see a few odd things along the way. The place is haunted you know.

SSI wishes everyone a happy and healthy New Year!

2007-01-03T18:05:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 2007. We have started the new scheduling for Save Staten Island. Please contact us if you wish to be interviewed, if you have an event we can attend, or if you want more information on the project. All Staten Islanders, past, present and future are encouraged to call us!

The Save Staten Island phone line will be up next week! Check the site for details.

We are actively looking for music for the film. If you are a Staten Island musician and have a song with Staten Island in the words, please contact us for consideration in the film.

Happy Holidays!

2006-12-25T20:05:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Staten Island

The St. George Ball

2006-12-10T18:04:00.000-08:00

We were honored to sponsor the outside of the museum for the first St. George Ball. I know that sounds funny, but for those of you who don’t know yet, one of our main producers is a bagpiper. He played Christmas Carols on the Pipe outside the Museum.

People who lived in the area or who were walking up from the Ferry commented on the music which could be heard from blocks away.

Inside the museum after the party was underway, we set up the camera and started the interviews. We were lucky enough to get several unique perspectives on the Island and even caught up with the staff of the museum and the artist who is on display, Sarah Youst.

Thanks to Cecelia and Ann Maria for inviting us to such a great event.

PS I even saw my high school English teacher that night. This Island really is a small place.

MC Battle for Supremacy

2006-12-08T22:03:00.000-08:00

Our sincerest apologies to the MC Battle for Supremacy. We were scheduled to attend the event, but had to cancel out at the last minute due to illness. We hope the event was successful and we still plan to visit the NY Art Center where it was held at a later date.

Tree Lighting - Tristan Wilde

2006-12-04T23:01:00.000-08:00

We ran home from our day jobs for a rare Monday filming today. Straight to St. George for the Christmas tree lighting.

Outside of borough hall, many schools had sent choirs to sing Christmas Carols. While we were watching, I noticed the guardian angles. I have never seen them before on the Island. They were more than happy to be interviewed. They are expanding on the Island and looking for new volunteers all the time.

We found our friends from City-Zen and the St. George Civic Society watched the tree being light, and the square in front of the tree. The borough president even welcomed Santa.

As we watched, we asked to interview the people who were dressed in Dickenville era clothing. Turns out we were meeting the people who clean up abandon cemeteries for Staten Island. Then the screams started.

Little did I know who was behind me; Tristan Wilde. Another one of Staten Island’s “30 Under 30” from the Advance article was standing right behind me. We got him on tape; our first official TV star.

Before we closed out the night, we met with the Red Cross and the guys who were setting up the stage for the event.

Overall the evening was perfect and we even handed out business card to a photographer who said, “Yeah I have heard of you guys!” That made out night.

Staten Island Mall

2006-12-04T08:22:00.000-08:00

A lot happened this weekend. The more we think we know about the Island, the more we find out.

Before I give you the details of our tour of the Island, I need to comment on the article in the Staten Island Advance on Saturday.

No Room at the Inn by: Judy Randall.

I believe that Staten Island, unlike the other boroughs at times, has a better sense of itself when it comes to our religious beliefs. As a whole, we seem to be Catholic. Even if you aren't, we all do list a religion. We are not the hotspot for agnostics or atheists. And we are not threatened with all religions having their symbols around.

You don't hear about things being non-denominational as much as you hear, multi-denominational. We embrace religion here.

With this being said who made these calls to the mall? And how many were there? I believe it held true that the people who like the Nativity didn't call to compliment the set up. Only the negative reaction was seen and dealt with.

This falls right in line with our mission. Only the negative is seen about Staten Island, never the positive.

If you want to express your view, check out the forum on our main page. We are looking for a nice mixture of responses, both for and against, so we can add it to the project.

Scared! - Meucci - World AIDs Day

2006-12-03T17:58:00.000-08:00

In the morning, I started the day off at the blood lab getting tests for my yearly physical. The lab technician noticed my hat and I explained the project, Save Staten Island. I scored us an invite to a function in New Brighton to raise awareness for World AIDS day.

After the labs, I got one of my partners and headed to the ferry to pick up and interview a potential editor. We may be novice filmmakers, but we now have professional help in the editing process.

When we made the plans to meet, it was decided she could come to the Island and see what we were all about. Now at some point in every Islanders life, we say, hey let’s go someplace better, but not this time. I said sure take the 9am boat, and I will take you to our cultural center.

We toured Snug Harbor with the editor who hails from DC these days, and a friend of hers. By the time we dropped them off at the ferry, later in the day, we had in love with the Island. Not everyone thinks this place is a dump.

Later I was at a CYO basketball game. I never miss those, since my favorite basketball player is on one of the teams.

We spent the evening with a local film crew filming the latest episode of Scared. They investigate the paranormal for a local cable show. SSI visited them in the hopes of seeing some of the great stuff Islanders are up to. Not only did we get to meet a great group of people and have a pretty interesting night doing so, we also knocked off a few others things on our list.

Fist we got to meet one of the ’30 Under 30’ from the Advance article. Emily Gear is the curator of the Garibaldi Meucci Museum in Rosebank. We interview her and her dog, Louie for the film. Louie is a star already!

Then we toured the museum itself. They also display art shows. The one currently on display runs though January. We hope to return for the next exhibit opening.

The Advance Rocked Today...Great Article

2006-11-30T17:35:00.000-08:00

Traveling home today, I grabbed a copy of the Advance for the boat ride back to the Island. The pull out section, AWE (Advance Weekly Entertainment) had an article titled, “30 under 30”.

It listed 30 Islanders, all under 30 years old, who are making a name for themselves on and off the Island. It even took the time to mention there people here who are proof we are not all like the MTV True Life: I am a Staten Island girl.

Out of the 30 people, I want to meet 28 of them. Why 28? Well, one I already know, so Vernon Avery is off my list. I visited his shop a few weeks ago and got a great interview from him.

And another, well, I probably want to meet him more than the others now that I think about it.

Vinnie Postestivo works for MTV and the Advance credited him with helping to reinforce the negative stereotypes of the Island. Go Advance! I am glad that fact was not sugarcoated.

I would love get Vinnie on film. I want to ask him “why”? Being an Islander himself, I am sure I am not the only one who thinks he has some explaining to do.

Here is a list of the other people I want to meet. If you know them, send them this link, we want to meet Islanders who are breaking the mold. Some left the Island to do it and others did it right here. (MTV didn’t get anything right about this Island, did they?)

Sean Quinn, New Dorp
Selita Ebanks, St. George
Emily Gear, West Brighton
Elijah Bullock, West Brighton
Andy Meyers, St. George
Paul Schalda, Port Richmond
Nicholas Fevelo, Westerleigh
Anthony Tirado, St. George
Monette McKay, Grymes Hill
John Boutsikakis, Todt Hill
Tristan Wilds, Stapleton
Eamon Doyle, Port Richmond
Rolando Brown, New Brighton
Ingrid Michaelson, Stapleton
Adewale Ogunleye, Tompkinsville
Tammy Tyburcy, New Dorp
John Bellotti, West Brighton
Christina Caruso, Grymes Hill
Ashley Hurd, Stapleton
John Wolyniec, Annadale
Greg Rikaart, New Springville
Nicky Anosike, West Brighton
John Lavelle, Great Kills
Henry Kim, Princess Bay
Victor Miller, Annadale
Paul Bruno, Shore Acres
Michael Angarano, Oakwood
Bobby Digi, Clifton

I am glad the Advance took time to acknowledge these people. The Island is full of great people and they NEED to be shown more than the negative stereotypes are. The only way to do this is create exposure for those who deserve it.

Too often newspaper are filled with the negative. They cannot help the fact that most news is negative. But they can take the time to do pieces like this.

Thank you, Staten Island Advance!

So Much is Happening...

2006-11-30T08:34:00.000-08:00

I can't keep up! My internet at home went down so I couldn't write about Tuesday night until now.

We met the coolest people thus far on our 'Tour of Staten Island'. City-Zen is a local group on the North Shore who Expose the Real Estate and Lifestlye
Options of the North Shore of "The Island".

They are doing the tree lighting at Borough Hall this Friday and are hosting the St. George Ball on the 9th. We will be a full part of the ball now.

The Ball is expected to be the coolest new events on the North Shore. It is casual, tickets are more than reasonable, eats, drinks and dancing and of course lots of cool Staten Islander who have the best interest of this place as their priority.

We will be filming at the party. If you want to come down, get your tickets now, they are cheaper if you buy prior to the date.

http://www.cityzen-nyc.com/home.html

Is the Island Divided?

2006-11-28T06:46:00.000-08:00

We have been asking people what they think of the comments in the last post. Most think the reaction is very typical of Staten Island.

People believe this Island needs to be saved from itself. We are divided amongst ourselves and have no pride or self esteem.

We ask most people we interview where they tell people they are from. Do you say Staten Island or New York City and hope no one asks more? If they insult the Island, do you play along? Or do you stand up for it?

We are beginning to think the people of this island have a hand in the negative press we get, however, there is a change happening.

As one person told us, the life of coming from Brooklyn and moving to New Jersey is changing. Generation X is no longer making that jump automatically. We are staying and raising our families here.

I was reminded of this yesterday when I was on line at the supermarket with my son and the person behind me said hello. It took me a moment to recognize the guy I went to junior and high school with. But here we were, two adult who have not jumped ship and left the Island. I told him my son now goes to the school where we first met almost twenty plus years ago.

Maybe that last interview was right, changes are happening.

It Was Bound to Happen...

2006-11-25T16:18:00.000-08:00

We received our first negative response to the project.

I am printing it here so others can see what some of the neighbors are thinking. The question we have is, how many of you belive the Island not worth saving due to certain nationalities moving here.

"I don't understand what the "problem" is or what is left of Staten Island to save.

It was said on your website "the ten best things about Staten Island" or something like that and #2 was: We are all from Brooklyn anyway.

That's a lie. Brooklynites are from Brooklyn. When the bridge was put up, all the Italian people from Brooklyn INVADED Staten Island, ripped down trees, parks and all places of nature and poured cement on everything and built what I can only call cockeroach condos. One small living space, no yard, piled on top of another all in a row.

And NOW, they want to call themselves Staten Islanders?

And I laugh, because the Russians INVADED Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst, which were traditionally Italian neighborhoods and took over everything there. But at least, they didn't destory nature to do it. That was done already in Brooklyn by those cement-loving people.

So I laugh now because guess what? The Russians are invading the Italians on the South Shore. Everywhere you go, all the signs are in Russian because "we are a tolerant people who embrace culture and the melting pot". Hahahaha. Too stupid to know an invasion when you see one.

Ahhh, Karma. Gotta love it.

Wake up call --- Staten Island no longer exists. It was raped and invaded many years ago thanks to money-hungry individuals who allowed it to be torn down and overrun and now there is hardly anything green left at all.

Enjoy your cement-covered town. Comrade."

Thanksgiving

2006-11-22T09:45:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Staten Island.

We will not be doing any filming this coming weekend, but the first weekend of December is jammed packed with appointments.

Check back on the 4th for the scoop.

That's Wassup and Charles Dickens

2006-11-20T09:34:00.000-08:00

Today started with the camera on me. There I was looking half asleep with my hat and tea in hand. (It is my constant prop in life.) I am acting like it is the crack of dawn. But it was really about 2 pm. These late nights take their toll.

Off to Stapleton we go. That's Wassup is a new store in the area. We talk to the owner's son about the area, the reason they opened here and what they do. We also got one customer on film.

They sell jewelry on consignment and the designer is there, so we got her too. It was a great outing.

Later the owner contacted us to come back so he could be on film too. We love that!

After the store, we go over to the Dicken's festival to look around. We love Snug Harbor and would have attended the festival anyway. I started my Christmas shopping since we were there anyway. Had some good shepherds Pie too.

It has been a long weekend and I have emails to return, so home we go. Got to get up early for an Expo in Manhattan in the morning.

ETG, Wahoo Skiffle Crazies and the SideStreet

2006-11-19T09:29:00.000-08:00

We went to the Everything Goes Cafe for a local band. The owner gladly talked on camera for us, before the band arrived. We also had some awesome food. Highly recommend the Buccaneer tea and the Humdinger if you go.

A local comedian opened, so we spoke with him for a few minutes, then the band arrived.

They were awesome. We got them to end the show with "Save Staten Island." We are trying to get everyone to say that, so if you see us (we frequently have on the SSI hats and one of us wears the kilt)come over and get on camera saying it.

After the show, we head to the Side Street Saloon. Got a few view points about the MTV show again. Hard to film over karaoke, so we can't stay long.

Over to Liedy's. He has a Blue Band, so we film outside for a while. Enough for one day out.

November 17th

2006-11-17T09:27:00.000-08:00

It has been a long week. The site www.savestatenisland.com is getting visitors left and right.

The emails are shooting and the myspace account is growing with friends. This Island is into this little idea we started as a joke.

The last email I opened was from the band we were planning to see tonight anyway. They found us before I could call them.

Cargo Cafe

2006-11-12T09:24:00.000-08:00

After a pit stop at home to feed and walk our dogs, we head out to the Cargo for 9pm.

We are giving a booth in the corner and spend some time testing the sound by goofing off in front of the camera. (We have to make a blooper reel or something now, it gets too funny at the end of these days.)

We get a few people on film, but we are surprised also. Others who visited earlier, left answers to our questions. Another booth wrote out their answers while we there too.

People are getting into this and the project is taking off in a new direction.

Forest Avenue and Castleton Avenue

2006-11-12T09:11:00.000-08:00

We head out again to Forest Avenue in the late afternoon. The Claddagh Shop is first on the list. The owner, a life long Islander, is glad to be interviewed and tells us "God Bless Staten Island."

Our family is Irish and we show him all our Claddagh rings which were all purchased from him. Plus my brother is wearing his kilt for bagpiping. (We can't help but be noticed at times.)

Next over to Gregorio's, the oldest florist on the Island. The owners are again more than happy to speak about their Island and the negative images people have, particularly about the North Shore. We get the second comment of the day pertaining to the Verazzano Bridge. Apparently, some people want it gone! News to me.

Across the street to Rustic Music. We catch them off guard, but we talk them into speaking on camera. They get into the MTV show a bit. That show really made people angry.

German Beer house, (yeah, I am not going to attemp a spelling at their name right now) is next. We get a private tour of the garden and some interior shots.

Across the street is the Perking Cafe. Never had been inside before, but we are going back. It was great. Camera shy people all around, but one customer gave several suggestions on where to visit next.

Hop in the car to find Buddy's. Buddy is there and waiting for us. Not only was he not camera shy, but he was ready and waiting for us. People are passionate about this Island.

November 11th -morning

2006-11-10T11:46:00.000-08:00

Off we go with the camera. (Truth be told, we had to make sure we knew how to work the thing before we left.)

Gerardi's is the first stop. We are there no more than ten minutes when we get invited to Buddy's Tattoo Shop. This is great, appointments number 2 arrived without any effort.

We talk with Enzo Gerardi about his business for a while and get the place on film. Then across the street to the Sunoco station and mechanic. We speak with Vinny, the owner there for a while and he discusses the problems he is having with his sign and the city.

Both guys are camera shy! It's okay, we got the interviews anyway.

Then off to the Green Market in St. George. It only has two weeks left before the season ends.

Our first non-camera shy victim awaits. The owners of Scalisi Florist on Victory Boulevard are more than happy to talk. Life long Islanders have a lot to say about this place. They even recruiting a customer for us.

I see an old co-worker and head over to see if he has "been saved!" It is pretty funny as he tries to figure out what I am talking about. Several introductions later and we were brought to the Downtown Staten Island Council.

We explain the project and ask for permission to take their walking tour and film the experience. (note to self: follow up with them on that idea)

Every merchant at the market gave us permission to film and all the information we needed off camera. So far this project is getting great feedback from the camera shy side of the island. We have to work on that one.

Last stop before we recharge the camera is Liedy's Shore Saloon. Liedy invites us in and gives us the historal tour of the oldest bar on the Island. We have an open invite to visit again and interview the customers.

November 10th

2006-11-10T10:47:00.000-08:00

We have one scheduled meeting tomorrow at Gerardi's Farm Market. Okay not actually scheduled, but when I was buying fruit the other day, I said, "Hey can we come down on Saturday and film your stand?" He said "yes", so it counts! You have to start somewhere.

Tonight we are printing informational material to hand out and charging the camera. We have some time, so we decided to put on the new hats and walk around the neighborhood. The hats say 'Save Staten Island'. Pretty cool!

Without planning it, we are breaking the first stereotype. We are walking around St. George after dark, alone, hats on with release forms. Were we mugged? No, in fact just the opposite. People were extremely nice to us. No one bothers you here.

We made our way to the Side Street Saloon, Cargo Cafe, and Ruddy and Deans. We have permission to show up with the cameras now.

The reaction you get when you first tell someone what you are doing is unreal. We fully expected to be disregarded by most people and loved by the ones who had a few drinks already. We were wrong.

We have an open invite to the Side Street, the Cargo gave us an exact time to arrive and Ruddy and Deans sat with us talking about the neighborhood and what is needed; and we didn't have the camera yet! We vow never to leave without it again.

Before we head home, one last stop near borough hall to look at the building itself. A few locals are mulling around, we say hi and are on our way. Makes us wonder why everyone thinks this neighborhood is the "bad one".

Welcome

2006-11-09T12:57:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Save Staten Island blog.

Over the next few months, we will be filming a documentary style project on Staten Island in the hopes of breaking the stereotypes and negative image the Island has been handed over the years.

This project is being filmed on the weekends and some evenings. The film makers are also holding down full time jobs and are active members of the Very Nice People Society.

Stayed tuned for blogs after each trip we take across the Island to interview Islanders about their home.