A Visit to Ocean 3

OK... so we have been wondering what this new place - Ocean 3 - actually is. Sure, the awnings say lounge, restaurant and bar. But what actually was happening there.

So we visited tonight. We met the 3 new owners - George (the cook), Amir and Paul. They have renovated the place substantially. The main dining room is now the lounge which usually doesn't begin until 9:30 or 10 pm. ( We left before that time so I can't tell you what the lounge experience is like.) There is a large open space in the middle and low couches all along the perimeter. They expect to be open until 2-ish during the week and later on the weekends.

The dining room is in the upper section of the upper floor restaurant. The place has been painted and has all new furniture. The food offered is half Italian and half Mediterranean.

The downstairs - also redecorated - will primarily serve their pizza selections and other Italian foods. By the way, the chef from Portofino is still cooking for Ocean 3 and I would imagine he is focusing on the Italian food.

The three owners were very anxious to show us around and explain what they are trying to do there. They are aware that they exist in a residential neighborhood. So we will have to see how this plays out.

The food tasted very good, had nice presentation and was spicey. The service was good... so lets see what develops. Give them a try and let us know what you think.

> Joe

Lights on the Lane !!!

We often had to wait and wait for the Lane to get adorned with Christmas Lights during the holiday season. Why just last year they arrived only a few days before Christmas. Wonderfully they have arrived weeks early this year and they look magnificent as you drive up or down the Lane.

Make sure you journey up or down the Lane some night over the next few weeks and enjoy the display of holiday lights.

Enjoy them.

Meetings and Thanksgiving

If you missed our meeting last week you missed an update by Angela D'Aiuto on the Preservation League of Staten Island.

If you miss our meeting next month on December 20 you will miss a presentation by Gladys Schweiger, the Executive Director of the Alzheimer's Foundation of Staten Island.

If you sleep through the next 72 hours you will miss Thanksgiving.

From all of us at the NDCCA... Happy Thanksgiving!

> Joe Markowski

November Meeting - Thursday the 15th

Greetings… Autumn has arrived, Halloween is gone and we await the
arrival of the fatted turkey… followed by Winter and the Holidays! Such a wonderful time of the year!

Our guest speaker this month will be Angela D’Aiuto, from the Preservation League of Staten Island. The League is celebrating its 30th anniversary and going throughout Staten Island promoting preservation and planning. They accomplish this in many ways, from offering historic house tours, educational seminars at Richmondtown, advocacy, landmarking and planning initiatives. Plan now on hearing about the important role that this organization plays in protecting our Island.

Our meeting this month is Thursday, November 15, 2007 at the Kells-Grennie American Legion Post, 2750 Amboy Road. We will begin promptly at 8 p.m.

Come. Join us. And… bring a neighbor!

> Joe Markowski

November 2007 - Chit Chat

Wow. It happened so quickly. One day Portofino Restaurant on Richmond Road was closed for painting and now it is to be replaced by Ocean 3 – a place that is being mentioned as a “restaurant, bar and lounge”. I wonder what all that will mean for us? It sounds like something we need to keep an eye on... A special thanks to Chris Maccarone at the Restaurant on the Plaza who has been including a copy of our newsletter with his outgoing orders in the days before our meetings… About that enormous structure being constructed at Bache and Edison, a building which is truly out of character with the surrounding housing, that we mentioned last month, well there has been a development. It appears that the work permits for that building are being revoked. Now I’m not sure just what that means. What will happen to the current structure? Will a new proposal be offered that will allow it to continue? Will it need to be diminished in size? We need to watch and see what happens next… And a special thanks needs to be extended to Ron Cole who coordinated a “yard sale” which resulted in a nice profit to the Association. Thanks Ron!... Want to get more involved with your community and our organization? You can make a difference. There are a number of other ways you can contribute by joining or chairing a committee. Call 718-979-6011 and let us know that you are interested… The Sanitation Dept reminds us that they will be collecting fallen leaves in PAPER LAWN AND LEAF BAGS or unlined 20 to 32 gallon containers. Leaves placed in plastic bags are subject to fine$$$... There will be a lecture on “Dispelling Myths About Landmarking” at 7:30pm on Friday, Nov16 at the Courthouse at Historic Richmondtown. The speaker will be Tara Harrison – a staff member of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Call 718-980-1551 with questions…

Sanitation, Veterans Day and Leaf Collection

Just a reminder... there will be no garbage or recycling collection or street cleaning on Monday, November 12.

Residents who normally receive Monday garbage collection should place their trash out at curbside Monday after 4pm for pickup.

Those receiving Monday recycling collection will NOT have their recycling picked up until Monday, Nov 19... So don't put your recycling out!

Also, all Staten Islanders are responsible for raking fallen leaves on their property and placing them out properly in compostable lawn and leaf bags ( that is, in paper bags or unlined 20 to 32 gallon containers ) for special collection after 4pm on Saturday Nov 10 ( tomorrow ) and/or Saturday Nov 24.

Note: Residents who put out their leaves in plastic bags face a $25 fine for the first violation, $50 for the second and $100 for the third and each subsequent violation. Leaves in plastic bags will be treated as garbage and thrown in refuse trucks because the plastic does not decompose.

Dining Through New Dorp at Brioso

We had a wonderful time at Brioso on Thursday night as 25 of us gathered together for good food and good conversation with good friends.

We were treated wonderfully as we dined on fine foods in a wonderful New Dorp restaurant.

Make sure you plan on joining us next time as we support the businesses in our community... and our love of good food!

And if you want a great meal make sure you make a reservation at Brioso's on the Lane.

> Joe

UPDATE - Richmondtown Roadway Improvement Project

The NYC Department of Transportation is inviting all interested parties to view the most recent designs for the captioned project and learn about the progress of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

These materials and this information will be on display in the Court House at Historic Richmondtown at 441 Clarke Avenue, 2nd floor.

The days and hours are as follows:
Thursday, Nov8 from 1 to 8pm.
Friday, Nov9 from 1 to 5pm.
Saturday, Nov10 from 1 to 5pm.
Monday, Nov12 from 1 to 5pm.
Tuesday, Nov13 from 1 to 5pm.
Wednesday, Nov14 from 1 to 5pm.

You can view the displays online at:
http://nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/richmondtown.shtml#richmondtown

You can submit comments via email to:
Richmondtownproject@dot.nyc.gov

Our community abuts Richmondtown.
Changes to that community could greatly impact us.
You need to be concerned about changes to that neighborhood.
Check it out!

> Joe

Our Monthly Meeting - What You Missed !!!

So what did you miss? You missed an update on various items in our community (New Dorp Lumber, 321 Edison, Hess, Franks, dining, the Welsh property). You missed Ann's Joke of the Month! You missed a presentation by Michael Reiser, the Recycling Outreach Coordinator for Staten Island, who worked through the financials associated with recycling to show how recycling does make financial sense for the city. He helped us understand how much more room there is for us to improve and the benefit there would be for us. And he also answered a number of questions that our attendees had for him.

So if you are now saddened that you missed the meeting - don't despair. We will have another meeting in November on the 15th. Plan now on attending.

And lastly, remember, you can join us for dinner on the 30th. Check out the entry on our Dining Through New Dorp event.

See you around the neighborhood.

> Joe Markowski

Dining Through New Dorp

We will resume our Dining Through New Dorp program with our 44^th visit to a wonderful neighborhood restaurant - Brioso. Plan now on joining us for good food, good conversation and good company. We have purchased over 1250 dinners from our neighborhood restaurants and spent over $30,400 since 1994. It is a program of which you can all be proud.

On Tuesday, October 30 at 7pm we will journey to Brioso at 174 New Dorp Lane and sample their culinary treasures. What awaits us? Let me tell you:
1. appetizer (served family style) mozzarella en carozza and fried zucchini
2. pasta – penne alla vodka
3. entrée choice of...veal scallopine alla siciliana (veal medallions with tiomato, eggplant, mozzarella)... or pollo saporito (chicken with sun-dried tomato, garlic and artichokes)... or salmon alla griglia (salmon with steamed vegetables)
4. dessert (choice of dessert tray), coffee, tea
5. soda, tax, tip included
6. additional wine / drink cash bar
The cost for this feast, including meal, tax, tip and donation is $35.00 per person. Call Linda at 718-351-3714 to make your reservations.

Come... eat with us!

October Meeting and Newsletter

Our monthly meeting will be Thursday, October 18 at 8pm at the Kells-Grennie American Legion Post at 2750 Amboy Road. Our guest speaker is Mike Reiser, the Recycling Outreach Coordinator for Staten Island. Plan now on attending and bring a neighbor!

The October newsletter... ah yes. I've heard comments that the newsletter sometimes arrives after our monthly meeting. And that is not good. So this month I made sure that it was completed earlier and delivered to the printer earlier. My hope is that yours was in your mailbox. (My newsletter arrived yesterday.) Please let me know if it does not arrive before our monthly meeting next Thursday.

If you cannot attend the meeting but want to become more involved and help us with the work of the Association, please call 718-979-6011 or send us an email at ndcca@excite.com or newdorpcentralcivic@yahoo.com.

Thank you and I hope to see you at the meeting!

> Joe Markowski

October 2007 - Chit Chat

I have been told by a number of members of this organization that I should have included some information in the last newsletter which I did not. So let me make up for it now. Congratulations to Marie Markowski, NDCCA Treasurer who became a grandmother for the first time in the last week of August - a baby boy to her oldest daughter… I hope everyone enjoyed the Columbus Day Parade on September 30. The bands were magnificent and the marchers were very enthusiastic. Standing on the sunny side of the street, I even picked up a little sunburn. Thank you to Borough President James Molinaro for bringing this event to our community each year. And a thank you to Deidre D’Angelis, Principal of New Dorp High School, for the use of her facility to stage the marchers and host the Italian Heritage event preceding the parade… There is an enormous structure being constructed at Bache and Edison, a building which is truly out of character with the surrounding housing. Yet despite the zoning changes that were enacted to slow down the growth in our neighborhoods, these ghastly structures are still legal and there is little that we can do to prevent them. As we said years ago – and testified to the NY City Council – our corners are being bought up by community facilities and turned into medical centers due to the increased available parking on the streets… And as we mentioned last month. there is much for us to keep an eye on in our community. There is the former Waldbaum’s /Franks property. Now that it is not going to be a Target… what will become of it? Do we really need another stripmall? There is the developing structure at New Dorp Lane and Edison – the old Welsh property. We are watching as the structures there take shape – two structures... We now have a magnificent park down by the beach. Will we be able to get the commitment from the Federal government to keep the waterfront clean and usable or will we need to tiptoe carefully through garbage and other junk on the beach? And what can we do to support the second phase of the New Dorp Beach project that will create the bikepath linking Midland and Great Kills Parks? And speaking of the new park, did you get a chance to experience it this summer? If not, its still there. Go check it out!... Want to get more involved with your community and our organization? You can make a difference. There are a number of other ways you can contribute by joining or chairing a committee. Call 718-979-6011 and let us know that you are interested. Call today!... A special thanks to Barbara Sanchez – our Webmaster – who has helped us get the blog up and working. We would not be where we are without her. Thanks again!!... Interested in running for public office, the League of Women Voters will sponsor six sessions at CSI beginning Oct16. For additional information call 212-725-3541… and lastly, congratulation to NDCCA members Alex and Candida Finkelstein who recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. Yep… 70!!!... Wow… congrats!