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Our Urban Town a Publication of the  Staten Island Urban Center
Our Urban Town is a quarterly publication that shares thought provoking, intellectually provocative, community news, ideas and opinions from Staten Island's urban neighborhoods.    

Building a Community Driven Vision 
​for Staten Island's North Shore Waterfront


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​Our Urban Town publishes thought provoking ideas, intellectually provocative reflections, community news and opinions written by the very people in the community who live and/or work with these issues.
 Our Urban Town has compiled samplings of works we have published in the past.  As a collection, these articles serve as briefings as they reflect different ideas specifically about community infrastructure, planning ideas, and thoughts on rezoning and development. Our hope is to spur further discussion, thought and action by offering these articles to help shape better communities.
Kelly Vilar, Editor of Our Urban Town Newsletter & Blog

Our Urban Town's
 Community Briefings for Neighborhood Life:
Thoughts on Infrastructure, Planning, Rezoning & Development

"Hey, if you don't want homeless shelters, then you gotta fight for affordable housing." Mary Bourne, Staten Island resident
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#reinventthewheelstatenisland
With the onslaught of financial troubles with the Staten Island Observation Wheel, there is a growing movement that is saying, "Hey, let's reinvent the wheel.  Let's do something different that is needed, viable and community driven.
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image by Banksy
"The MERC (Maritime Education Recreation & Cultural Corridor) is a stunning opportunity for Staten Island."
​Captain Ann Fraoli, NY Harbor Foundation
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"When parking and walking safety is on par with other successful Staten Island main street mainstays like Forest Ave and New Dorp Lane, we will see a quality and quantity of small businesses in the downtown SI area” 
​Lorie Honor, Honor Wines
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The loss of the natural environment at the expense of “development” is a great tragedy for everyone, but especially for the children of Staten Island. 
​Rev. Gabriella Vellardi
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#reSIStah issue
​in celebration of women's history month

​the Woke reSIStah Issue
     Our Urban Town publishes thought provoking ideas, intellectually provocative reflections, community news, and opinions from the very people in the community who passionately live and/or work with these issues.
     In this Woke ReSistah Issue, Our Urban Town shares the writings of women activists on Staten Island as a tribute to the contributions of women right now in this borough. Due to space constraints, these are just a small sample of women activists doing the work on the island, but our hope is that these writings inspire readers to be or continue to be activists, to share real stories, advocate for real solutions and to fight for real for the things they believe in.
     In the era of WOKE and RESIST, it’s our time to be activists everywhere we go and in everything we do.



PictureJane Jacobs, community activist and Robert Moses, Former NYC Parks Commissioner
The Debate: Jane Jacobs & Robert Moses On The Developing North Shore
​Kelly Vilar- Let’s Rebuild Cromwell Community Coalition

Jane Jacobs said “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because and only when they are created by everybody.”  Her nemesis Robert Moses said “Those who can, build.  Those who can’t, criticize.”   And somewhere in between Jacobs and Moses are the plows of development sweeping across Staten Island’s north shore waterfront as many in the community watch. Some excited and some not so sure.
Are we as Staten Islanders being ignorant? How many of us know the story of Williamsburg or the tales of Upper Yorkville and the Mason-Dixon line of 96 street?  Or perhaps there are some who are secretly wishing away the grit and soul of the neighborhood so property values go up, thinking this may be the way to better the neighborhood. Heck, we got a shiny new courthouse built to take care of all the bad guys, a luxury hotel for tourists, high end outlet shops for the high end shoppers, and a perfect urban utopia called Urby for the newcomers, but who’s on community patrol for the people that live here now? As the author of Naked City, Sharon Zukin puts it… “The pattern in places like Williamsburg, is dreary and inexorable: Middle-class “pioneers” buy brownstones and row houses. City officials rezone to allow luxury towers, which swell the value of the brownstones. And banks and real estate companies unleash a river of capital, flushing out the people who gave the neighborhoods character.”  Here in Staten Island, it’s called the north shore.
To the outside world, little is known about our loisaida-esque (Spanish slang for lower east side) enclave of a neighborhood, the north shore of Staten Island encompassing St. George, Tompkinsville, New Brighton, Stapleton, with Mariner’s Harbor, Port Richmond and Arlington to the west and Rosebank, and Clifton to the east. And inland there’s also Westerleigh and West Brighton.  It’s a beautiful urban town with a mixture of people from every income level, ethnicity, race and where many languages are spoken: Spanish, Italian, Polish, Russian, Caribbean Dutch, Mandarin, Korean, Patois, Hindi, Albanian, Sri Lankan Tamil or Sinhalese dialects, Liberian Kreyol and other West African pidgin. There is something very different here that the outside world (meaning the other 4 boroughs) don’t know. Because of our diversity and ability to live somewhat harmoniously together in the same neighborhood, we have potential power--potential community power to transfer the development of our neighborhood into something quite unique, not a Williamsburg or Hoboken, but into a very different place called the North Shore of Staten Island.
Yes, this is the very neighborhood where Eric Garner was killed, but we’ll leave that for another article. It is despite that horrific event that I believe we have potential.
The North Shore is where Jacobs would caution us about a number of things to look out for as our oxymoron town develops and deteriorates at the same time. If we as community folk don’t get involved, Jacobs would say there would be the loss of our ability to live here in the future as the goal is always buy low sell high; the loss of the mom and pop businesses as they become replaced. You know, it’s when Jerry’s Diner gets replaced by Starbucks. Jacobs would urge us to fight for the Rebuilding of Cromwell as it was a place of town gathering and had a richer meaning than any artificial utopia. She would urge us to take heed to the preservationists to not erase the landscape fabric of what is meaningful to community life. Jacobs would tell us that community folk no matter what other issues are present in their lives, that even if they have to crawl to be at the table discussing community growth, we must eradicate the notion that Staten Island’s culture is conservative and conforming, and rid ourselves of the idea that government officials are royalty and always know what is right, instead of people that need to be informed..
And Moses, well let’s just say, that unless there are not more people to get in the way, excuse me I meant, “who get involved”, is probably looking down on all this monumental waterfront development –the largest this city has seen in years, building of the observation wheel, the hotel, luxury apartments, high end outlet stores, the lovely walking trail and park benches which mimic all that he himself did many years ago and saying “I raise my stein to the builder who can remove ghettos without removing people as I hail the chef who can make omelets without breaking eggs.” 

Please click titles and scroll down to read more articles

Why We Fight For Housing Dignity For Staten Island - Mary Bourne
Making Businesses Work on Bay Street - Lorie Honor
The Role of Civic Organizations - Priscilla Marco
Visualizing The North Shore - Nicholas Zvegintov
We Are Still Here - Annecia Steiniger
Thriving Students Reflect Thriving Communities - Lou Bruschi
Miseducation of Staten Island Development - Kelly Vilar
Maritime Education: A Future For Staten Island Youth -
Captain Ann Fraoli
Nature and Justice - rev. Gabriella Velardi

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The Staten Island Women of Color Collective Mini Conference
​Celebrating Women of Color in Past & Present

Please click articles below and then scroll all the way down to read
​Thank You

Finding Your Authentic Feminine Power Voice
​Deborah Quinones
Why We Fight For Housing Dignity For Staten Island
​ Mary Bourne
A daughter of DACA - Una hija de daca
​Judith prado
The Black Helicopter Mom Chronicles
​Tammy Greer Brown
The Call for Young Women's Leadership school on Staten island
​susan master
Profiles of the Past: Mary Mcleod Bethune
​Shamar Thompson
Profiles of the Present: Dr. Marta Moreno Vega
​Tillia Arrindell
Profiles of the Future: Shereese Mullings
​​Kelly Vilar
Paying It Forward
​Rosalind Diaz
The New Surge of Women Entering the Political Arena
​A Moment or a Movement
​Jasmine Robinson
Nature and Justice ​Rev. Gabriella Velardi
War is a Justice Issue
A Dramatic Rant By An Otherwise Optimistic Veteran
​Brittany Ramos DeBarros
The food deserts of staten island
​susan fowler

Archives

September 2018
March 2018
September 2017
June 2017
February 2017
October 2016

The Youth Issue: What Young People Think About Their Developing Communities

Reclaim Our Harbors Thru Maritime Ed
Isabel Bruschi
URBY and Democracy
Annecia Steiniger-Youth Editor
We're Still Here
Annecia Steiniger
Visualizing the North Shore
​Nicholas Zvegintzov
Adaptation to climate change
Annecia Steiniger
Issues: A Hip Hop View
Brendyn Owoyemi
Recreation on the North Shore
​Nicolas Vilar
Concerns for the Growing North Shore
​ Delcia Coye
The Power of Play
​Kelly vilar
The Evolving Cultural Ethos of Staten Island - Kelly Vilar
Naful's Story - Naful Bahri
Immigrants Changed My Life - Caryn Davis
Our Urban Town's Exclusive Interview with First Lady of NYC Chirlane McCray
Culture Spotlight on CANVAS - Amber Thatcher
Why I March? - Lorie Honor
A Street Named For Samuel A Brown: A Staten Island Story of African American Resilience - Debbie Ann Paige
The Birth of A Nation Did Not Begin with D. W. Griffith's Silent Epic-It Began With The Birth of HBCUs - Tammy Greer Brown
Would a Maritime Education Recreation Cultural Corridor Create a Better Community? - Kelly Vilar
Kingdom Building is Community Building - Rev. Dr. Demetrius Carolina, Sr.
The Way Forward For Healthcare - Max Rose
Staten Island Is Not Just Where White People Live - Carlos Vargas

The Education Issue Winter 2017
click title below and scroll down to read article

The Mis-Education of Staten Island Development
​Kelly Vilar
Bringing Arts, Hsitory & Education to the Table: Sandy Ground at St. John's Finale & Final Steps
​Robert Fanuzzi, Ph.D
dyslexic friendly communities
​laura cavallieri
Truly Organic Community Gardens: From Soil to Seed
​Carmen abercrombie
Confessions of a Black Helicopter Mom Part Two
​Tammy Greer Brown
An Essay on Social Justice
​Tysen Marcellus Metcalf
Maritime Education: A Future For Staten Island Youth
​Captain Ann Fraioli
Open Letter No. 16 #rebuildcromwell
let's rebuild cromwell community coalition
support the maritime education & recreation corridor
kelly vilar
Our Urban Town News Blog Articles-Inaugural Issue Fall 2016
(click titles below and scroll down to read article)
THE DEBATE: JANE JACOBS & ROBERT MOSES ON THE DEVELOPING NORTH SHORE
​kELLY VILAR
THE CROMWELL UPDATE
​STEVE JOSEPH
THE ROLE OF CIVIC GROUPS IN SHAPING DEVELOPMENT & ADVOCATING FOR COMMUNITIES
​PRISCILLA MARCO
MAKING BUSINESSES WORK ON BAY STREET
​LORIE HONOR
GRAFFITI AND STREET ART ON STATEN ISLAND
​CHRIS PENN
WHY HAVE A MARITIME EDUCATION & RECREATION CORRIDOR?
LET'S ​REBUILD CROMWELL COMMUNITY COALITION
STATEN ISLANDERS DESERVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING
​NICK PETRIE
NO SCHOOL SEATS, NO DEVELOPMENT
​BARBARA SANCHEZ
CONFESSIONS OF A BLACK HELICOPTER MOM
TAMMY GREER BROWN

The Debate:   Jane Jacobs & Robert Moses On The Developing North Shore

10/25/2016

1 Comment

 
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​By Kelly Vilar,
Founder of Staten Island Urban Center & Let’s Rebuild Cromwell Community Coalition


Jane Jacobs said “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because and only when they are created by everybody.”  Her nemesis Robert Moses said “Those who can, build.  Those who can’t, criticize.”   And somewhere in between Jacobs and Moses are the plows of development sweeping across Staten Island’s north shore waterfront as many in the community watch. Some excited and some not so sure.
​
Are we as Staten Islanders being ignorant? How many of us know the story of Williamsburg or the tales of Upper Yorkville and the Mason-Dixon line of 96 street?  Or perhaps there are some who are secretly wishing away the grit and soul of the neighborhood so property values go up, thinking this may be the way to better the neighborhood. Heck, we got a shiny new courthouse built to take care of all the bad guys, a luxury hotel for tourists, high end outlet shops for the high end shoppers, and a perfect urban utopia called Urby for the newcomers, but who’s on community patrol for the people that live here now? As the author of Naked City, Sharon Zukin puts it… “The pattern in places like Williamsburg, is dreary and inexorable: Middle-class “pioneers” buy brownstones and row houses. City officials rezone to allow luxury towers, which swell the value of the brownstones. And banks and real estate companies unleash a river of capital, flushing out the people who gave the neighborhoods character.”  Here in Staten Island, it’s called the north shore.

To the outside world, little is known about our loisaida-esque (Spanish slang for lower east side) enclave of a neighborhood, the north shore of Staten Island encompassing St. George, Tompkinsville, New Brighton, Stapleton, with Mariner’s Harbor, Port Richmond and Arlington to the west and Rosebank, and Clifton to the east. And inland there’s also Westerleigh and West Brighton.  It’s a beautiful urban town with a mixture of people from every income level, ethnicity, race and where many languages are spoken: Spanish, Italian, Polish, Russian, Caribbean Dutch, Mandarin, Korean, Patois, Hindi, Albanian, Sri Lankan Tamil or Sinhalese dialects, Liberian Kreyol and other West African pidgin. There is something very different here that the outside world (meaning the other 4 boroughs) don’t know. Because of our diversity and ability to live somewhat harmoniously together in the same neighborhood, we have potential power--potential community power to transfer the development of our neighborhood into something quite unique, not a Williamsburg or Hoboken, but into a very different place called the North Shore of Staten Island.

Yes, this is the very neighborhood where Eric Garner was killed, but we’ll leave that for another article. It is despite that horrific event that I believe we have potential.

The North Shore is where Jacobs would caution us about a number of things to look out for as our oxymoron town develops and deteriorates at the same time. If we as community folk don’t get involved, Jacobs would say there would be the loss of our ability to live here in the future as the goal is always buy low sell high; the loss of the mom and pop businesses as they become replaced. You know, it’s when Jerry’s Diner gets replaced by Starbucks. Jacobs would urge us to fight for the Rebuilding of Cromwell as it was a place of town gathering and had a richer meaning than any artificial utopia. She would urge us to take heed to the preservationists to not erase the landscape fabric of what is meaningful to community life. Jacobs would tell us that community folk no matter what other issues are present in their lives, that even if they have to crawl to be at the table discussing community growth, we must eradicate the notion that Staten Island’s culture is conservative and conforming, and rid ourselves of the idea that government officials are royalty and always know what is right, instead of people that need to be informed..

And Moses, well let’s just say, that unless there are a lot more people to get in the way, excuse me I meant, “who get involved”, is probably looking down on all this monumental waterfront development –the largest this city has seen in years, building of the observation wheel, the hotel, luxury apartments, high end outlet stores, the lovely walking trail and park benches which mimic all that he himself did many years ago and saying “I raise my stein to the builder who can remove ghettos without removing people as I hail the chef who can make omelets without breaking eggs.”

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  • Contact-Donate-Volunteer
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