Staten Island Advance Top News

Local crime, politics, traffic & more from the Staten Island Advance

• African-American burial ground in dire straits
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Broken bricks and a ruptured wrought-iron fence mark the entrance to Frederick Douglass Memorial Park in Oakwood, a 17-acre cemetery named for the man who escaped slavery and went on to become a famous abolitionist, lecturer, writer and trusted adviser to Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War.

• Scammers bait trap with big bucks
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Paul Hofmann smelled a rat the moment he saw the $3,990 check in the mail.

• Way too many for the road
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Drunken and drugged-out motorists left a trail of twisted metal and smashed plastic in their wake on several of Staten Island's roads over the weekend.

• A lecture they couldn't refuse
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Mob expert Jerry Capeci has seen it all when it comes to the Mafia, and there was no more electric moment than when notorious Graniteville stool pigeon Salvatore (Sammy Bull) Gravano testified against John Gotti.

• CRIME ROUNDUP
FELONIOUS CARGO

• Girl, 16, is linked to pair of muggings
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A 16-year-old girl from Graniteville who was accused of shoplifting at the Staten Island Mall over the weekend faces charges far more serious than stealing sneakers -- police say they have linked her to a pair of muggings in Mariners Harbor last week.

• House hopefuls clash over tax policy
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The four candidates running to replace GOP Rep. Vito Fossella in the House battled over tax policy and gave divergent takes on preserving Social Security and on health care during a forum yesterday in Sea View.

• In Rosebank, tree planting gives rise to complaints
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- If a tree is planted in Rosebank, will residents make a sound?

• Possible human remains could be of Island mobster
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Possible human remains wrapped in a cloth have been discovered in a Long Island location that might be the burial ground of a missing Tottenville mobster, according to published reports.

• Senator renews pledge on reserve center
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Renewing his pledge to have an Army Reserve center built at Fort Wadsworth, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer met yesterday with Staten Island veterans and elected officials to call for the facility to be built in the borough after the $18.55-million allocation was shifted to New Jersey last week.

• Sun Chemical wants to clean up site and sell it
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Sun Chemical wants to clean up the site of its former pigment manufacturing plant in Rosebank so it can be sold to a developer for either industrial or residential use, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

• Teen gets in trouble, nullifying plea deal and sending him to jail
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- All he had to do was stay out of trouble.

• Youth rally aims to boost voter registration
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Even though they're too young to vote, Staten Island youth will be able to influence the election by attending the StepUp SpeakOut Youth Rally Thursday at 1 p.m. in the Cromwell Center, Tompkinsville.

• Health care help is on the way
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Community Health Center of Richmond will open a new primary care facility in New Brighton within three years to serve poor and underinsured Staten Islanders.

• If addicts move in, they're moving out
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Maria Rusolo and her husband settled in St. George to buy a home because it was both close to Manhattan and reflective of the city with its ethnic and financial diversity. It also was cheaper than Brooklyn, where the two had been renting before purchasing their first house in 2004. Now Ms. Rusolo, an actress, is considering leaving her spacious home on Fort Place and going back to Brooklyn.

• 3 cheers for the red, white and green
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The green, white and red of Italy blended with the Red, White and Blue of Old Glory yesterday in Staten Island's 18th annual Columbus Parade -- a festive nod to Italian heritage and the immigrant spirit in America.

• Bank makes donation to Advance's NIE program
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- SI Bank & Trust, a division of Sovereign Bank, has donated $25,000 to the Advance Newspaper in Education (NIE) program, which provides newspapers to Staten Island classrooms for use as an educational tool.

• Clothing found on L.I., slain Island mobster linked?
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Federal investigators have been digging what their mob sources have to say -- literally.

• Fort Wadsworth rally to support building of reserve center here
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is rallying the troops on Staten Island today in an effort to ensure that an $18.55 million Army Reserve training center is built here as planned and is not moved to New Jersey.

• Islanders help make wounded soldier's dream a reality
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A trip to Trinidad next February is being planned by the Staten Island and Brooklyn friends of injured soldier Trevor Diaz, who had his dream of seeing the New York Yankees play at their old stadium become a reality thanks to their efforts.

• It's fade to black for Island coach potato
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Who says zoning out in front of the TV is easy?

• Woman charges foot burns in callus removal
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A New Springville woman contends callus removal treatment she received at a local nail salon was a real pain in the foot.

• Woman pulled from harbor reaches out on Facebook
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Two weeks after she was fished out of the waters off Staten Island by an attentive ferry crew, public school teacher Hannah Upp has broken her silence, but not by speaking to reporters or granting a primetime television interview.