STATEN ISLAND NEIGHBORHOODS: SOUTH SHORE

Local news & events from Tottenville, Great Kills, Huguenot and more

Sorry I've been gone for a while. Busy with school and such...

Lately, I've been trying to search out some different ways of getting home from C.S.I. to, you know, keep life interesting and get around a bit more. Often times I will pass through Rossville since it is near the Korean War Vets Parkway and in also not to far from Tottenville.

Let's talk about Clay Pit Road. Plain and simple, it is too congested and busy for what it is, which is a minor artery with lots of one- and two-family, detached or semi-attached homes. The reason that it is so congested is because, like so many places on the South Shore, many roads in its vicinity were never completed, thereby leaving Clay Pit alone to handle all the traffic moving to and from the nearby ramps off and on the West Shore Expressway. Classic island situation. So what can be done?

Emergency vehicles responded to a motorcycle accident near the intersection of Hylan Boulevard and Holdridge Avenue in Annadale, near Mike's Place diner.

Both the driver of the motorcycle and a car, also involved in the accident, were treated by emergency service technicians and removed to an area hospital.

The motorcyclist, though he flew off his bike, is conscious and expected to do fine.

Advance photo/Jamie LeeSince its opening in late 1999, a prime location for out-of-state commuters has been the Drumgoole Road West lot, a free park-and-ride location just over the Outerbridge Crossing.

HUGUENOT -- Some South Shore residents are seeing yellow these days.

It isn't the changing leaves of autumn, but rather the golden hue of New Jersey license plates filling the free park-and-ride lots closest to the Outerbridge Crossing.

Advance photo/Jamie LeeThe existence of nine cell phone towers on top of the Our Lady Star of the Sea gymnasium in Huguenot has led to a growth of parental concern over health issues.

HUGUENOT -- Despite a host of governmental and private scientific studies, definitive conclusions regarding the effects of electromagnetic fields on the human body, much less on the body of a child, have not been reached.

What is certain, however, is that growing parental concern over the placement of radio antennas atop school buildings has continued to pick up steam.

Advance photo/Jamie LeeThe MTA Transit Authority has cited the struggling economy as a reason against an extension of the S74 route that would service the Bricktown and the South Shore Commons shopping centers in Charleston.

CHARLESTON -- With the economy reeling, the best thing for Staten Island business owners is to continue to lose millions of dollars each year to New Jersey outlet malls.

At least that seems to be the belief of the MTA's New York City Transit Authority, which refuses to improve public transportation to and from a pair of booming shopping centers in Charleston.

Advance photo/Nicholas FeveloCity Councilman James Oddo, left, Linda Baran, president of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, and Borough President James Molinaro call upon the Bloomberg administration to facilitate implementation of recommendations made by members of the R/UDAT team.

SOUTH SHORE -- Adding a ferry, creating an uninterrupted coastal path and revitalizing the former Port Mobil would improve Staten Island's South Shore, according to the American Institute of Architects.

SOUTH SHORE -- Influenza and pneumonia vaccines are available from the Visiting Nurse Association of Staten Island for adults ages 18 and older. No appointment is necessary.

The cost is $29 for the flu shot and $33 for the pneumonia vaccine. For more information, call the Flu Prevention Hotline at 718-816-3556.

Edward Cosenza, foreground, is seen leaving the North Shore's 120th Precinct stationhouse in St. George in January. (Staten Island Advance)

An FDNY emergency medical technician from Staten Island is facing jail time after admitting he downloaded child pornography videos and tried to spread them online.

Edward Cosenza, 45, of Keegans Lane in Great Kills, pleaded guilty to a felony count of promoting sexual performance by a child for trying to e-mail three videos from a computer at his former home in Huguenot last year.