Latest news with #StatenIslanders
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Radio host Frank Morano, son of Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella slugging it out to represent NYC's most conservative Council district
A radio talk show host is in dogfight with a baby-faced Staten Island scion 13 years his junior to represent NYC's most conservative Council district. Republican Frank Morano, host of WABC's 'The Other Side of Midnight,' has already locked up endorsements from the Staten Island GOP, all of the borough's Republican elected officials and key members of President Trump's inner circle in his campaign to serve the South Shore. But his path to victory in the April 29 nonpartisan special election is no sure thing. His stiffest competition: fellow GOPer Griffin Fossella, who comes from a long line of Island power brokers, from his late great-great grandfather, Congressman James O'Leary, to his dad, Borough President and ex-Rep. Vito Fossella. Morano, 40, said he 'never expected the race to be a cakewalk' but isn't losing sleep competing against the 27-year-old Fossella, or a family dynasty. 'I think Staten Islanders aren't going to be fooled by a candidate with the same last name who uses a similar campaign slogan ('Staten Island First') and the same color lawn signs as his father,' said Morano. He claims Fossella has repeatedly ducked debating him. Fossella insists he's had scheduling conflicts. Both Morano and Griffin Fossella are lifelong Staten Islanders who have nearly identical campaign platforms: including opposing congestion pricing and NYC's sanctuary city policy, advocating for the NYPD to hire thousands of more cops, and pushing for mass-transit affordability. The two, along with longshot Democrat Clifford Hagen, are vying to replace former Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island), who was term-limited and stepped down in January from the $148,000-a-year gig to take a job as a lobbyist. The winner would serve the remaining months of Borelli's term, which expires at year's end — and take a huge advantage into the November general election for a new four-year term. Fossella said it would 'humbling' to win the 51st District Council seat once held by his father in the mid-1990s. 'I think public service is in my blood, and to serve the people of Staten Island would be a dream come true,' he said. On a local level, both also vehemently oppose a project to build a hotel at the corner of Richmond Valley and Arthur Kill roads because many residents are concerned it will ultimately become a homeless shelter. President Trump – who is wildly popular on Staten Island — appears to be staying out the race, but Morano has scored key endorsements from former Trump advisors Roger Stone, Michael Caputo, Corey Lewandowski and Trump's former White House chief Steve Bannon. Fossella's endorsements include former Long Island Rep. Peter King, former Brooklyn state Sen. Marty Golden and John Catsimatidis, a billionaire who owns WABC-AM. Griffin Fossella got his first taste of politics working on Catsimatidis' 2013 mayoral campaign. Morano and the younger Fossella's political war chests are nearly identical. Both said they've raised over $50,000 and expect to qualify for another $200,000-plus in public matching funds. Fossella boasts he's 'the only lifelong Republican in the race' – a dig at Morano being a former leader of the state's now-defunct Independence and Reform parties before registering as a Republican. Vito Fossella couldn't be happier — and jabbed his son's opponent, saying he's 'incredibly proud of Griffin's decision to step forward as the only true Republican in the race — committed to preserving Staten Island as a great place to live and raise a family for generations to come.'
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Three firefighters reportedly injured battling two-alarm Staten Island house fire
Three firefighters were injured battling a two-alarm blaze at a home in Staten Island Saturday night, according to reports. The fire broke out just after 7 p.m. on Rosewood Place in Tompkinsville on the island's north shore, according to ABC 7. Three firefighters suffered minor injuries and were transported to a local hospital in stable condition, that report stated. Dozens of smoke-eaters responded to the conflagration in the residential neighborhood not far from Silver Lake Park. Video posted to Citizen App shows the roaring flames on the house billow in the wind as fire trucks arrive at the scene. Other witness video shows the structure of the house completely torched by the rising flames. Many Staten Islanders can be seen watching from the sidewalk as the FDNY extinguished the flames. The fire was eventually put out with the home still standing but exhibiting serious burning on its upper floor, Citizen app video shows.
CBS News
02-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Staten Island St. Patrick's Day Parade celebrates LGBTQ+ groups for first time
Sunday was monumental day for Staten Island's LGBTQ+ community. After being banned from participating for decades, the groups were allowed to march in the borough's St. Patrick's Day Parade. "Queer people belong everywhere" The Pride Center of Staten Island made its debut during the 61st annual celebration in West Brighton. "Queer people belong everywhere," Rainbow Run organizer K.C. Hankins said. "It feels incredible. It feels so good to know that we will not be beaten, not going to be stopped." Hankins had been fighting for years on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community to be included in the celebration. "I just can't stop thinking about the little kids that get to see they are welcome here, too," Hankins said. The Pride Center's executive director, Carol Bullock, said the invitation was extended last November, following a change of leadership within the parade committee, a lot of perseverance, and community support. "We had support from businesses on Forest Avenue and the entire Staten Island community," Bullock said. Event is now about uniting as a community Despite the cold conditions, spectators lined Forest Avenue with their Irish pride on full display. "This is what it's about, our Irish culture, our heritage," Charles McCarthy said. "It's so memorable, especially being an implant from Brooklyn to Staten Island. It carries over our tradition of St. Patrick's Day," Kimberly Malloy added. From dancers to firetrucks to marching bands, everyone had a favorite. But for most in attendance, the day was about celebrating family and uniting as a community, one that now includes everyone. "It brings us together, the family, spend time with my boys, my wife," Alex Baez said. "Staten Islanders have long felt this day is overdue and we are finally here. It's wonderful," John Luisi said.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
Notorious NYC activist Scott LoBaido admits he used flowers to block speed cameras: ‘I'm the Beautification Squad'
Notorious Staten Island artist and activist Scott LoBaido appeared in court Monday, accused of blocking speed cameras with bouquets of fake flowers in his latest vigilante stunt, prosecutors said. LoBaido, 59, was arraigned on charges of second-degree obstructing governmental administration and third-degree criminal tampering – both misdemeanors – for allegedly impeding the devices with floral arrangements on two different dates this year, according to the Staten Island District Attorney's Office. 'The Beautification Squad is me,' LoBaido confessed to a detective, according to a criminal complaint. 'I'm the Beautification Squad.' LoBaido is accused of attaching the flowers to the top of a pole at Richmond Avenue and Oakdale Street on Jan. 14, as well at Van Duzer Street and Maxie Court on Feb. 4, according to the court doc. An employee of Verra Mobility, which maintains the cameras, told police that the blossoming blockade prevented the cameras from recording the street – in effect preventing them from catching speed violators. In both cases, LoBaido was joined by another person, who he simply described to investigators as his pal who chauffeured and photographed him. 'He didn't know what I was doing,' LoBaido said, according to the complaint. During his Monday arraignment, LoBaido was granted an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, prosecutors said. LoBaido, flanked by his attorney Mark Fonte, held a press conference after the court hearing. 'I had to admit that I was putting up these flowers as a beautification public arts statement — what I am famous for — because these ugly things on these poles were apparently cameras and I was putting these flowers up to beautify the community,' LoBaido told reporters, according to The Staten Island Advance. Fonte hailed his client as 'a national treasure and an American hero,' the paper reported. 'Ninety nine percent of Staten Islanders know those speed cameras are money-grab cameras,' the lawyer said. 'It's all about the city of New York reaching their hands into the pockets of the hard-working people of Staten Island and separating them from their money,' While Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon described protests as an 'essential aspect of democratic expression,' he said LoBaido's alleged actions crossed 'the line from lawful advocacy to criminal activity.' 'Placing flowerpots in a manner that blocks traffic cameras and prevents the enforcement of traffic safety laws is certainly an act of protest, and not the crime of the century, but nonetheless, a crime,' McMahon said in a statement. 'Like most Staten Islanders, I loathe the omnipresence of speed cameras, of which we seem to have way more than our fair share of compared to the other boroughs. 'And yet, this does not give me, Staten Island's district attorney, nor any other resident of our borough, the right to intentionally disrupt their operation and decide what functions of our local government are allowed to exist and which do not.' LoBaido's other alleged stunts include hanging 'Trump Crossing' signs in Manhattan last fall, and releasing 100 pink, penis-shaped balloons outside the downtown courthouse where the current president's hush money trial was taking place. The conservative provocateur was also cuffed back in March for allegedly tossing pizza over the gates of City Hall in protest of a plan to ban coal and wood-fired pizza ovens in Big Apple restaurants.
