Results tagged “jamesmolinaro”

The race for the Congressional seat Representative Vito Fossella is vacating took another interesting turn. Yesterday, Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro--a Conservative-- moved to endorse Democrat Michael McMahon. Moliarno is expecting to make the endorsement official this afternoon, choosing the City Councilman over GOP nominee Robert Straniere. Straniere said, "Sadly, time and time again we have seen Jim Molinaro blatantly cast aside the fundamental principles of his own Conservative Party for petty, personal vendettas." Molinaro was once challenged in a primary by Straniere for the Beep position.

Everything's coming up rosé on Staten Island: on the heels of the new aquarium unveiling in the ferry terminal, plans for the island’s first vineyard are coming into focus. Borough President James Molinaro (pictured, right) has pledged $2 million for the project, which will establish a 2 acre vineyard and demonstration winery at the Staten Island Botanical Garden.

Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro, and some young constituents, unveiled two new 10-ton fish tanks at the St. George ferry terminal. Molinaro said the tanks will liven up people's commutes; in July, he told the Advance, "It's very soothing because we live on an Island and it's very pleasant, so it fits perfectly."

Brooklyn is all "Fuhgeddaboutit," but Staten Island can be "Hey, what about us!" at times. Take, for instance, a recent angry letter from the Richmond County Young Republicans who have asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to recognize the borough in its software. You can read the entire letter here (PDF), but check out this excerpt:We often send out event invitations to members of The Richmond County Young Republicans' Gacebook group, but we have come across...

Brushing aside the Staten Island Borough President's repeated criticism and endorsement of his opponent, Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan won re-election in a landslide over Democratic challenger Michael Ryan. Donovan, whose 51st birthday was also yesterday, said during the celebration, "Tonight, you guys made me real happy." The SI DA's race became unexpectedly contentious when SI Borough President James Molinaro, who Donovan worked under as a Deputy Beep and considered a friend, attacked Donovan's...

It's Election Day, which means it's time for people to go to the polls. City offices and public schools are closed, and alternate side of the street parking is suspended, as are garbage and recycling pick-up. It's an optional state holiday; federal offices are open and there is mail delivery. While there aren't many big races, there are a few notable ones, namely the Staten Island District Attorney's race which pits incumbent Daniel Donovan (R)...

Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro placed a full page ad in the Staten Island Advance blasting Staten Island D.A. Daniel Donovan. Molinaro called the trial and the sentencing of his 18-year-old grandson Steven to 5 years in jail a "miscarriage of justice."

Eighteen-year-old Steven Molinaro, grandson of Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro, was found guilty of criminal contempt of violating an order of protection. His family says that the jury made a bad decision and James Molinaro said, "I think being my grandson hurt him."

Photograph by ~Raymond on Flickr

With The Sopranos gone, those wishing for a slice of gangster life and a free John Gotti poster can watch out for Mob Candy magazine. Back in May, Radar explained how the magazine came to be during a conversation between editor in chief Tyrone Christopher and publisher Frank DiMatteo and that the first issue would feature "articles on Don Carlo Gambino's legacy, 50 years of rats, FBI vs. Italian Americans, along with current mobster news, hot girls, hitmen, and contracts."

John D'Amato, a prominent Staten Island attorney, died of a heart attack yesterday; the 52-year-old had been jogging near his Dongan Hills home. D'Amato, a lawyer and lobbyist, had been appointed as the NYC campaign manager for Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign. (He had hosted a fund-raiser for Governor Spitzer's campaign last year, though.) The Staten Island Advance writes:

John D'Amato was a titan on Staten Island -- one of the most ambitious, aggressive and influential of the borough's native sons...He spearheaded the ongoing lawsuit against the alleged Saudi Arabian financiers of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and achieved a landmark $75 million national settlement from the maker of the painkiller OxyContin-- the Island's largest-ever civil case. And though neither fight was successful, he was a key player in the city's bid to host the 2012 Olympics and in the borough's controversial lobby for a proposed NASCAR track on the West Shore.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a large snake was reported on West 118th St. in Manhattan, an assault in transit on the Brighton Line in Brooklyn, and an armed robbery on Whittier St. and Lafayette Ave. in the Bronx.
• The Splasher's identity is revealed! Scroll down to the bottom of our post on the anti-street art vandal for his name and picture.
• Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro wants security cameras installed at a World Trade Center memorial after it was damaged by one or more vandals.
• PETA released the results of its poll ranking the hottest vegetarians. Musicians swept the top spots this year, with Tonight Show band leader Kevin Eubanks and country musician Carrie Underwood claiming the sexiest male and female designations, respectively. Gothamist on New York's sexiest vegetarians.
• With its return to a rock format, radio station K-Rock is evaluating on-air talent and looking for deejays.
• Licensed NYC tour guide Adrienne Onofri has published a guide to seeing Kings County on foot called Walking Brooklyn.
• Anti-gun activist Rosie O'Donnell still likes to dress up her daughter as a pint-sized commando.
• More swimming and wading pools in NYC for those looking to cool off.

After Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro recommended that the 5 Boroughs ice cream flavor "Staten Island Landfill" be boycotted, sales of the swirly mix of brownies, fudge, crunchies, and cherries in a vanilla ice cream base have been so hot, it's hard to find it anywhere.

Five families are homeless after a 50 foot by 50 foot part of a retaining wall collapsed late Monday in the Dongan Hills section of Staten Island It turns out that the wall, which is 200 feet long, was built without a permit and that the owner of the wall happens to be John D'Amato, lobbying partner of Guy Molinari and the head of Rudy Giuliani's NYC campaign. Nice one, D'Amato!

- No financial services firms or other corporate office tenants are coming to Staten Island, despite large amounts of vacant space and inexpensive commercial real estate prices compared to Manhattan. (Most of the recent job growth on Staten Island has been in industries that pay low wages.)Yikes! The Center for an Urban Future suggests that reversing zoning laws to spur development, promoting cultural institution, developing a dynamic downtown to attract young residents, improving transportation options, and, most of all, having a plan to oversee population growth are key. With so much development, some people don't want any more, but former borough president hopeful John V. Luisi told the NY Times that more housing and stores should be built near the ferry terminal in St. George, not to mention a grocery store, a la the Red Hook Fairway, would help a lot.

Ha - of course, Mobil would deny everything. Anyway, Staten Islanders, Fresh Kills may not be a dump anymore, but seems like you're gonna have to live with strange smells.

- Veras has a brain contusion, bruised lip and 10 stitches

With all the criticism swirling around Mayor Bloomberg about the terror threat last week, former mayor Rudy Giuliani is defending Bloomberg. Guiliani, at a fundraiser for Staten Island's borough president, James Molinaro, said, "Mayor Bloomberg did exactly the right thing about putting the information out to the public, as did Commissioner Kelly. I think they have handled the whole situation about terrorism very well." Love him or hate him, Guiliani probably got it right when he said that Bloomberg would receive criticism if he kept the threat from the public.

The Mayor's press release for the Fresh Kills cycling venue. And here's the official site for NYC's bid for the Olympics, NYC 2012. Gothamist thinks turning Fresh Kills into a park is a great idea (it's just funny to tell the IOC, "Hey, we've got this great dump..."), and in fact, the City embarked on a competition to turn Fresh Kills from landfill to landscape three years ago. And NPR did a segment about sorting through the WTC debris at Fresh Kills in 2002.

Mayor Bloomberg announced the city's plans to turn the closed Fresh Kills landkill into a park. The Times points out that the landfill is "a garbage dump site that is so large it can be seen from space," which is why it's a sensitive and important issue for Staten Islanders...especially Staten Islanders who can vote. Reporter Michel Cooper describes the city's renderings of a Fresh Kills Park as "Monet using Photoshop" or Andrew Wyeth-like. Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro called the announcement was "the final nail in the heart of Dracula," as people have been speculating the dump might reopen since it closed in 2001. The Post says the proposal from Field Operations, the landscape company that won the competition to transform Fresh Kills, includes "bird-nesting island, public roads, boardwalks, soccer and baseball fields, bridle paths and a 5,000-seat stadium.