The Brooklyn Standard

This article appeared in the 4 September issue of am New York.

No one really uses the word “love” when they describe their feelings toward Great Kills, Staten Island. In fact, most residents speak with a blend of reservation and cautious optimism that it’s almost disarming at first. It’s not a dangerous place or a ghost town, but then again, it’s no Shangri-La, they say. It’s middle-class, medium sized, centrally located and even-keeled, through and through. What you see is what you get in Great Kills and the people that live here like it just fine.

The corner of Nelson Ave. and Amboy Rd. in Great Kills. (Phil S. Kropoth / amNewYork)

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This article appeared in the 26 June issue of am New York.

On Staten Island, all buses, trains, taxis and yes, the ferry from Manhattan lead to St. George.

And while proximity to Manhattan is the chief reason why it’s such a big hub, St. George is experiencing a renaissance that is making the borough’s northernmost tip a destination in its own right.

A man muses over his wine choice at Enoteca Maria on Hyatt St. in the St. George neighborhood of Staten Island. (Emily Anne Epstein / amNewYork)

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This article appeared in the 22 May issue of am New York.

Anthony Wolk, 91, moved to Westerleigh in 1971 after he was carjacked in his neighborhood of East Flatbush.

“It was very bad in that neighborhood so I came here,” said Wolk, a member of the American Legion from Canarsie and VFW post 7172. “It’s better for veterans and good for families here. It’s nice, what can I say?”

A charming home on Maine Avenue in the Westerleigh neighborhood of Staten Island (Photo by Katya Pronin / amNewYork)

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St. Andrews Church in Historic Richmond Town held Staten Island’s first ever U2charist today. What is a U2charist exactly? Well it was just like your run of the mill Sunday Christian service but with one major difference…

This self-described open, inclusive and progressive Episcopal Church invited the congregation to abandon their hymnals and sing along to the hits of Irish rock band U2.

The objective was to raise awareness and funds to help meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and the crowded pews and full collection plates suggest that it was successful. “I think it just gives the liturgy another dimension,” said Rev’d Michael F. Delaney, the rector of St. Andrews and the leader of today’s service, “and it gives us an opportunity to do some outreach beyond ourselves.”

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