STATEN ISLAND NEIGHBORHOODS: EAST SHORE

Local news & events from South Beach, New Dorp, Rosebank and more

A Dongan Hills family claims the Snowflake On/Off Touch Control ornament sparked a fire that caused injuries and damaged their home.

The holidays are fast approaching, but for one Staten Island family, Christmastime will never be the same.

Almost three years ago, on Jan. 3, 2006, Michael and Karen Triglianos' Dongan Hills Avenue in the borough's Dongan Hills section home went up in flames, forcing Mrs. Triglianos and her daughter, Allison, then 12, to jump to safety from a second-floor window. Both survived, but were injured.

The cause wasn't a lit cigarette or smoldering ember, the Triglianos' allege, but a Christmas tree ornament purchased just two weeks earlier. Specifically, a defective "Touch Control" snowflake, which was supposed to control the lights on their real Christmas tree, but instead, set it ablaze.

Approximately 2,000 seniors from all five boroughs gathered at Staten Island's Midland Beach boardwalk this morning for the seventh annual Senior Stroll, held by the New York City Department for the Aging. Over 120 Big Apple Stroller Walking Clubs participated in the event.

Herds of buses and vans transported the seniors from various locations, all unified for the same purpose: Health.

Advance photo/Jan Somma-HammelAssemblywoman Janele Hyer-Spencer and Rosebank residents Michael DeCataldo, center and Vito Russo examine tree markings on Clifton Avenue.

Neighbors of several blocks slated to get new street trees in Staten Island's Rosebank neighborhood are complaining because the tree pits are so wide that it leaves little room on the sidewalk for pedestrians.

A number of the pits have been marked with cuts in the sidewalk, but some residents are trying to change the Parks Department's plans before the actual trees are put in.

Advance file photoA worker hoses down dust at the Sun Chemical plant in Rosebank in August.

Sun Chemical wants to clean up the site of its former pigment manufacturing plant in Staten Island's Rosebank section so it can be sold to a developer for either industrial or residential use, according the the state Department of Environmental Conservation [DEC].

The company, which shut down operations at the 101-year-old facility on Jan. 31, intends to clean up toxic materials -- including chlorinated solvents, volatile organic compounds, metals and polychlorinated biphenyls -- which have seeped into the ground over the years.

Here's a photo look at yesterday's Columbus Parade in Staten Island's New Dorp section

Advance file photoDancers take part in the festivities during last year's Columbus Day Parade in New Dorp.

It'll be the flying of the red, white and -- green -- along New Dorp Lane tomorrow, with Staten Island's Columbus Day parade.

The flag of Italy will be proudly on display next to the Stars and Stripes, organizers say, as festivities kick off at New Dorp High School at 1 p.m.

A Staten Island man is in hot water after allegedly hitting a 47-year-old bar owner multiple times with a pool cue in a Stapleton bar before stealing his wallet and car keys, according to a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan.

A ex-con from Staten Island had a change of heart at the last minute yesterday, deciding to cop a plea rather than face a jury.

Prince Thomas, 38, of the 200 block of Park Hill Avenue in Clifton, had opted to go before a jury on charges of possession of marijuana, cocaine and drug paraphernalia, but decided to plead guilty to a count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance stemming from a routine traffic stop in Stapleton earlier this year when police found marijuana and cocaine.