www.SaveStatenIsland.com
OUR 500th FRIEND ON MYSPACE WAS NONE OTHER THAN BRIAN FROM SCARED!RUDOLPH W. GIULIANI..
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We Couldn't make this up!!!!!The time was 6:44 pm, Thursday July 26, 2007. I was in Duane Reade on Forest Avenue looking for nail polish remover. Off to the left, near the aisle furthest from the door, it caught my eye, a rack of t-shirts! Since when does Duane Reade sell t-shirts?I am so glad I went over to see what they were. To my surprise, I saw shirts with Staten Island written on them. It was a tourist kind of rack for Staten Island. Because so many tourists stop by Duane Reade in the middle of Forest Avenue???Then I saw it…..the shirt of all shirts. It had written on it, ‘Staten Island, New Jersey’!Did we get traded?
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What Happened
In October 2006, MTV True Life aired, “I am a Staten Island Girlâ€. The show once again brought out the negative stereotypes that have plagued the ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" / Island for generations. The Island went wild. Forums were filled with complaints, MTV was contacted and people were mad. But nothing changed.
While waiting for the ferry one morning, the producers of this project realized they could do more that complain about the show. They wanted to film others complaining about the show and air it on You Tube. Then they started and something did change.
Staten Island – forgotten borough of stereotypes
Staten Island is the forgotten borough and full of stereotypes. During the first weekend of filming we realized our little idea to send a rebuttal to MTV has taken a strong left turn. The people of Staten Island did not respond the way we originally thought they would.
Instead of a few comments about the stereotypes the three girls in the MTV True Life show, the island seemed overly receptive to the idea of being ‘saved’. Saved from what? Well that is what surprised us. Everyone had an opinion. The opinions were varied, yet similar in their needs.
We learned a lot about the Islanders. They love this Island . They see its faults and still love it. They want to overcome the problems. Their belief, hands down, was this Island has the potential to be the greatest place to live in New York City . They believe in this place and want the needed changes.
While we were looking for comments about MTV, people didn’t want to talk about it.
We were taken down memory lane with the oldest bar on the Island . We were shown you do not need to leave this Island to get anything you want since we have the world right here. The bridge connecting our Island to Brooklyn has mixed views. Some want it torn down, while others know that is how they got here in the first place and are thankful for it.
A few others saw problems with the different departments of the city not caring enough to help situations in desperate need of change. Many were angry at the over building and population growth in the last few years. The traffic problem was brought up by most.
The lack of culture throughout the borough, and the culture that is being destroyed by developers was another running theme.
History is not lacking on this Island . The residents come here, raise their families and remain here, building family businesses and caring about their communities each and every day. Most gave a sense of tension when asked about their businesses. They are struggling and trying to survive against all odds in some places. They have no plans to give up the fight either.
Islanders have been hurt by the media in the past.
Each person we approached about the project had the same question for us. Are you native Islanders and what section are you from? I have never been asked that questions so many times in my life. As soon as we answered yes, we are natives; born and/or raised here, we were welcomed into each person’s world. They are leery of outsiders who have twisted and sensationalized the view of Island in the past.
Our Island is just like other places.
The most surprising part of the day was at the Cargo Café. After a day spent with business owners who have been living on the Island since before we were born, we were finally among our generation. Expecting totally different view points, we quickly found out, the younger generations may be more upset about the state of the Island then the older generations. One person told us he regularly attends community meetings and is frustrated about the progress this Island is not making. Several comparisons to Hoboken and Williamsburg were made. Those places were falling apart and the community built them back up making them the trendiest places to live in the city. Staten Island could be doing the same, but it is either happening too slow or not at all.
What is holding the Island back when other places are moving forward?
Some believe the Island itself is holding it back from succeeding. We have a lack of pride in ourselves. We are too divided by the North and South Shores . We fit some of the stereotypes, so why would anyone believe they are not indicative of the entire Island . The rest of the city aligned together and we are separating ourselves.
Others think we have no control over what has happened. We can’t get away from being called the dump! The transportation on and off the island stops anyone from wanting to come here. It takes to long to visit. The price of the bridge is insane.
‘Save Staten Island ’
Over the next few months, we will be visiting as many places as we can, including businesses, locals, Staten Island attractions and Historical Landmarks in the hopes of answering two main questions, should Staten Island be saved and can it be saved?
The adventures will be researched, filmed, photographed and recorded in interviews which will then be compiled in to the final project, ‘Save Staten Island’.
This site will stay active as a forum for the average Islander who wants to have their say. Please send your suggestions, art work, written comments, and your support through the forms on these pages.
Maybe we can finally ban together as one and save the island.