In an interview on Conan, Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin revealed that a certain mysterious island across the water from his Bayonne, N.J. childhood home played a part in his hit book series.
“I come from a Blue Collar family, my father was a longshoreman. We lived in the projects on Read More
Now if only they could trick tourists into visiting the Fresh Kills Landfill.
On Thursday, the city added tourist information about about Staten Island’s ship graveyard to its summer guide for British visitors.
“It may not have the #MaryRose, but NYC does have a rather spooky Boat Graveyard on Staten Island,” New York’s Read More
It seems that Staten Island has just crowned its very own Welfare King.
Maksim Shelikhov, 29, is set to be sentenced next week for his admitted role as a Medicare charlatan, embezzling up to $50 million in taxpayer dollars in his Brooklyn-based “medical clinic,” according to the Post.
In the scam’s five lucrative years, Read More
They’re hereeee…
Thousands of cicadas have been spotted in Staten Island over the last few days, sending residents into a Twitter frenzy. Dozens of photos, videos and tweets have been posted chronicling the invasion of the insects.
Brood II or the “East Coast Brood” returns every 17 years to mate and drive humans crazy with Read More
Joe Lhota, it seems, wants to finish the job that Governor Nelson Rockefeller started. Speaking to the Staten Island Advance last week, the frontrunner laid out the most ambitious transportation proposal yet of the 2013 mayoral race: give New York City back its bridges and tunnels.
“The former head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority,” the editorial board wrote, “said that if he were to be elected mayor, he would seek to get full mayoral control of the bridges and tunnels in the city.”
Aside from the untolled East River bridges that belong to the city—the Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg and Queensboro bridges—major river crossings between the five boroughs belong to the state, under the guise of the MTA Bridges and Tunnels. Read More
At least there’s one benefit for those whose homes were destroyed or significantly damaged during Hurricane Sandy. Today, the city council voted to give owners of such properties an interest-free extension on their next property tax bill— a three month grace period that extends until April 1, 2013 (tax bills are usually due on January 1). Read More
One of the more unusual sides of the city’s response to Superstorm Sandy has been the ingenuity of the transportation and planning wonks that help us get around this giant metropolis. It is not only the speed with which the MTA recovered, but also what it and the city’s Department of Transportation did in between. Creating bus bridges to replace flooded subways, launching new ferry lines, creating special subway shuttles.
Today, Mayor Bloomberg and Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan announced yet another innovation, a second ferry for Staten Island. The Rockaways already has one, and now the city is looking for an operator to serve the hardest-hit sections of Staten Island’s south shore. With widespread destruction, many locals’ lives have been interrupted, forcing them to leave behind their homes and cars. The new ferry service is seen as a lifeline between Great Kills and Manhattan, for those struggling to get to work and beyond. Read More
Hurricane Sandy has been something of a catastrophe for New Yorkers, but opportunistic celebrities (who, like, totally LOVE charity) have been popping up all over the state to get involved with the relief efforts. It would appear that other causes are very much out this season now that superstorm victims are in, so take a Read More
Among the thousands of images taken of Hurricane Sandy’s destruction, showing mangled houses and weeping children, photographs of floating family albums and framed memories lost to the storm have been particularly poignant.
For these families, there is no way to rebuild a photograph of a baby’s first step, a great-grandfather’s smile, a son’s lost tooth Read More
According to a volunteer helping to distribute resources to victims of Hurricane Sandy last Friday, Drita D’Avanzo of VH1′s reality show Mob Wives, and her camera crew made a surprise appearance at a place where volunteers were distributing supplies to victims of Hurricane Sandy on Staten Island. According to a volunteer with the relief effort who spoke to The Observer, her arrival was “not well received.”
“So she walked up and volunteers thought it was another news crew filming people helping out. ” the volunteer said, providing a photo of the occasion. “But then a boom mike lurked over our heads. Notice in the picture everyone turning their backs on her and walking away. She was not well received and was able to clear a hot coffee stand on a cold day in 2 seconds.” Read More
