STATEN ISLAND NEIGHBORHOODS: NORTH SHORE

Local news & events from West Brighton, St. George, Stapleton and more

Two Staten Island men were arrested and hit with weapons and ammunition possession charges on Wednesday, a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan said.

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.

Two employees of a Stapleton nursing home were arrested after stealing a credit card from a patient's bedside drawer and using it at several locations on Staten Island, according to a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan.

Advance photo/Michael OatesA police officer restrains Marvin Downey in a sack after a chase in West Brighton yesterday.

Police have charged a man accused of throwing bricks through windshields then leading cops on a wild chase in Staten Island's West Brighton section with a number of crimes.

Marvin Downey, 28, of the 1700-block of Richmond Terrace, was charged with criminal mischief, resisting arrest, menacing and criminal trespass.

Advance photos/Jan Somma-HammelEd Johnson, the director of science at the Staten Island Museum, stands before a rare hybrid oak outside the St. George museum.

ST. GEORGE -- When an old honey locust that stood on the battlefield at Gettysburg was damaged recently by a storm it was described as one of the last remaining "witness trees."

The venerable tree had stood over Union soldiers during the decisive Civil War battle. It was not far from where President Abraham Lincoln later dedicated a national cemetery to honor the thousands of fallen soldiers with a brief, but eloquent, speech that became one of the most famous in American history.

Advance file photoJames Miller, of Mariners Harbor, once again captured first place, citywide, for his vegetable garden.

NORTH SHORE -- New York City is full of urban gardeners and Staten Island's got some of the best of them.

There's James Miller of Mariners Harbor who, once again, captured first place, citywide, for his vegetable garden in the 42nd annual New York City Housing Authority's garden contest.

Advance file photoThis house at 257 Decker Ave. in Port Richmond has become a neighborhood eyesore since its owner went to jail.

PORT RICHMOND -- It looks like most any abandoned home: Planks and chains shutter the doors and windows. Soggy mail addressed "To: RESIDENT" piles up at the doorstep. An occasional rat scuttles through the littered and overgrown yard.

There was a time when the white, two-story house at 257 Decker Ave. didn't stand out among the charming row of houses that distinguish its Port Richmond block.

Advance photo/Jan Somma-HammelEric Aversa and Annette Silvestro have started up a new division at Majors Travel in West Brighton, that caters to gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and trans-gendered (LGBT) customers. It's called Passages.

When they started out in the tourism industry, travel agents Eric Aversa and Annette Silvestro would never have booked a "gay day" at Walt Disney World.

Back in the 1980s, airlines, travel agencies, cruise ships and tourist destinations rarely courted gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and trans-gendered (LGBT) customers, so arrangements for gay-friendly hotels and LGBT group get-aways were typically made discretely, off the books or not at all.