Gotham Gazette

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Staten Island

Staten Island

  • James Oddo's Not Done Fighting the Bureaucracy, But He's Also Not Running for Mayor

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    SI BP James Oddo, right, with Mayor de Blasio (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    James Oddo, the outspoken Republican Staten Island Borough President, doesn’t want to talk about President Donald Trump or the contentious congressional race heating up in his borough, and says he won’t run for mayor of New York City or any other elected office ever again. But none of that’s to say that the zip is coming off Oddo’s trademark chin-music political fastball.

    “The bureaucracy is too big and and the reality is but for one time—during Rudy

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Staten Island Borough President James Oddo

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    Staten Island BP James Oddo (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photo Office)


    October 28, 2019 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Staten Island Borough President James Oddo

    Outspoken Staten Island Borough President James Oddo, a Republican, joined the podcast to discuss a wide range of topics, from the status of his constituents seven years after Superstorm Sandy to how well his borough is prepared for the next big storm, from housing and development on the island to what he thinks is needed to make New York City government run

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  • Donovan, Grimm in Final Days of Contentious Congressional Primary

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    Rep. Donovan, left, and former Rep. Grimm on NY1


    Perhaps the most-watched congressional primary in New York ahead of Tuesday’s vote is the Republican contest centered on Staten Island, where former Congressional Representative Michael Grimm is attempting to unseat incumbent Representative Dan Donovan in what has been a nasty, hard-fought race with a heavy focus on President Donald Trump.

    The district, which includes all of Staten Island and a sliver of southern Brooklyn, is home to many Trump supporters, especially in the Republican primary, and both

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: City Council Member Joe Borelli

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    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    May 7, 2018 - Max & Murphy Podcast: City Council Member Joe Borelli

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    Joseph Borelli is a City Council member, former state Assembly member, Staten Islander, conservative Republican, and outspoken Donald Trump supporter. On the podcast, Borelli discusses his district, his constituents

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  • New York City Interests Given Varied Priority in Three Albany Budget Plans

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    De Blasio & Heastie (Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio didn't need to see the Assembly and Senate one-house budgets to know where he stands with each chamber - Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie is a close ally of the mayor, his fellow New York City Democrat, while Senate Republicans hold a major grudge against de Blasio for leading a failed effort to boot them from the majority two years ago. Most Republican legislators, who control the Senate but not the Assembly, are also philosophically opposed to much of de Blasio's

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  • Safe and Healthy Housing for All New Yorkers

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    (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    I just can't take the mice and the mold anymore.

    For years, I have lived in a Staten Island apartment in desperate need of repair. I live there with my daughter, and we've constantly struggled to get our landlord to fix the problems that make our home an unhealthy place to live.

    Over the past six years, we've frequently gone without heat and hot water, faced endless mold growing in our cabinets, and suffered rodent infestations that simply won't go away.

    We've asked the

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  • Eyeing 100 Schools, Will Success Academy Expand to Staten Island?

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    Eva Moskowitz & students at a charter school rally (photo: @MoskowitzEva)


    With 34 schools currently serving around 11,000 students, Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy is, and will likely continue to be, the largest charter school network in New York City. Success currently operates in four boroughs and Moskowitz has an ambitious target of reaching 100 schools within the next decade, which prompts the question: Why are there no Success Academy schools on Staten Island?

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  • To Meet Staten Island Needs, Borough President Focuses on Beating Bureaucracy

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    SIBP Oddo, right, & Maria Torres-Springer of the de Blasio admin (photo from Oddo's Twitter) 


    Staten Island has the highest rate of homeownership of any city borough, residents largely use cars to get around, since mass transit options are severely lacking, and despite being the city’s third largest borough in terms of square miles, Staten Island is home to just under 500,000 out of more than 8 million New Yorkers. There are a unique set of concerns on Staten Island, to

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  • New York City Needs Supervised Injection Facilities

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    First Lady McCray & Health Comm. Bassett (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    There is a hot topic trending in the debate over the war on drugs: should there be safe places for intravenous drug users to inject? A panel of experts from around the world convened a symposium in New York City to share their experiences and the panelists and their sponsor, VOCAL NY, called for such a facility in the city. They are completely correct.

    There are an estimated 100 supervised injection

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  • Two New Reps Join the City Council

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    CMs Borelli, right, & Grodenchik are sworn in next to the Speaker (photo by William Alatriste) 


    The New York City Council has two new members, each with prior experience in elected office and bringing to the 51-member body the perspective of New Yorkers living in the city's outer-reaches. Both districts being represented by new members are populated by many car- and single-family-home-owners.

    One new representative - Barry Grodenchik of Queens - brings a fairly moderate Democratic viewpoint to the

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  • Does Staten Island Get Its Fair Share?

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    Rendering of proposed New York Wheel on Staten Island


    There may be no other borough that has the local pride and identity felt by Staten Islanders. To be a Staten Islander often means to be of New York City and to be disconnected from New York City. It often means to know your family, but wonder if you were switched at birth.

    Since New York City adopted its outer boroughs in 1898, Staten Island has always been the odd child out. Even for a city of islands, Staten Island seems, and is, far away. It is the enigma of New

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