Beer lovers unite! Play Sports Bar in Annadale will be hosting the American Craft Beer Festival this Saturday, November 8th.


[Photo source: facebook.com]

The all-American selection will highlight fall, pumpkin, and early winter beers. Featured brews will hail from well-known brands such as Sam Adams, Dogfish Head, Ommegang, and Founders, as well as local up-and-coming brands such as Flagship and Brooklyn Brewery. There will also be live acoustic music and beer reps available to further discuss and promote key brands. But here's the real treat: ticket price not only includes unlimited beer tastings, but also all-you-can-eat gourmet pizza!

This event will take place in two separate sessions, 12pm-4pm and 6pm-10pm. Tickets are $45 in advance or $50 at…

1572 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

What are you going to do with those soggy, carved out pumpkins now that Halloween is over? Some residents got to dispose of them in a fun way today.


[Photo source: silive.com]

P.S. 9 in Concord hosted "Pumpkin Smash 2014" on this rainy, post-Halloween day. The schoolyard was covered with tarp to serve as a dropcloth of sorts, and there were also refreshments served and raffles to be won. The wet weather certainly didn't hurt today as pumpkins met their crumbly ends with ease, either smashed with a bat or simply thrown on the ground. All remains will be used by the school for compost.

The event was sponsored by the NYC Compost Project, started in 1993 by the Department of Sanitation's Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling. The program aims…

1358 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Veteran's Day falls on Tuesday, November 11th, but due to some local events and sponsorship by Borough President James Oddo this year, November should be called Veteran's Month here on Staten Island.

First, on November 5th, there will be a live convert event at the Old Bermuda Inn on Veterans Rd West in Rossville from 9am to 1pm. Award-winning singer/songwriter and U.S. Army Veteran Tim Maggart will headline the "New American Freedom Train Show." This 75-minute multimedia collaborative effort will feature 8 more artists, a state-of-the-art video production, and the help of the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center and the National Civil War Naval Museum, both of Columbus, Georgia. [Photo source: silive.com]

Also on November 5th, Borough Hall…

1570 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Did you ever wonder who lived in your house before you, or maybe before the last owner or 5 or 10 owners before that?  Was it merely a house or was it a home?  Did they have many children, were they educated in a one-room school house or taught by a tutor at home?  Were they rich, poor?  Did they have servants?  Did they have a farm, horses, chickens, cows?  What kind of "real estate" was trendy and sought after in those days of yore?

I own a home on the North Shore of Staten Island where three generations of my own family have lived, died, been born, had Thanksgiving dinners, opened gifts under the Christmas tree, laughed, cried--all in these very rooms.  The fourth generation was born and a sibling on the way, and I cannot wait to share the…

2415 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Check out my new listing in Westerleigh--281 Kingsley Avenue!

This large, roomy well-maintained 100 year-old house on an 82 x 92 lot, designed by one of the foremost North Shore architects, James Whitfield, Sr., boasts six bedrooms (4 on the second floor, 2 on the third floor), living room, formal dining room, 3 baths (one a 6' jet tub), hardwood floors throughout, in friendly established Westerleigh.  Plumbing, electricity and heating have been upgraded over the years.  The roof and trim are about 10 years old (30-year roof).  Exterior shingles have always been stained, never painted which has kept them in top condition for almost 100 years. 

Picture yourself snuggled up in your favorite chair in front of a roaring fireplace reading a book on a…

2190 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Gillani Homes would like to give a big thank you to the Staten Island Board of Realtors for throwing such a great party last night! Everyone had a great time and we're looking forward to more fun events in the future!

1417 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

It's a wee bit early for Paddy's Day talk, but there's no time like the present to pop 'round to this new tavern in Port Richmond.


[Photo source: silive.com]

Owner Michael Regan and his wife, Cori, opened O'Neill's earlier this month. The new bar/restaurant is located on Forest Ave, and is filled with eccentric decor and authentic pieces that give the space "an Old World, comfortable feel." Each piece of furntiure and decorative item was hunted down carefully by the pair of owners.


[Photo source: silive.com]

Some unique design features include high back, hand-crafted wooden booths, tables featuing designer woodwork, a custom milled anc ured bar top, pendulum lamps with antique bulbs and pulley controls. There are ten televisions over the bar, plus…

1535 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

As yesterday marked the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, the New York Mets baseball team officially lent a hand to a local school that took a serious hit due to the storm. P.S. 52 on Buel Ave, in between the Midland Beach and South Beach areas, was flooded with 17 feet of water and remained closed for five weeks in late 2012 due to damages and unsafe conditions. 


[Photo source: silive.com]

Mets pitcher Vic Black, team COO Jeff Wilpon and mascot Mr. Met joined Borough President James Oddo and Principal Jane McCord for the unveiling of a new baseball diamond in the school's playground, as well as the installation of new fencing.


[Photo source: silive.com]

The team also donated sports equipment such as baseballs, softwalls, wiffleballs, and…

1689 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Before I tell you about the events of the weekend, let me remind you that Daylight Saving Time ends this weekend.  You should turn your clocks back an hour before you retire on Saturday night.  Your Smart Phones will automatically adjust the time.  If you don’t want to be late or miss the events on Sunday, remember to adjust your clocks.  Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you to change the batteries in your smoke alarms.  My alarm started beeping a few weeks ago so I’m ready for anything! Halloween is on Friday, 10/31, and I’m ready for Trick or Treat from the neighborhood kiddies!  However, I would like to share what three dentists on Staten Island are sponsoring--a Halloween Candy Buyback.  The dentists noted below will buy back candy at $1 a…

2272 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

After the trick-or-treating is done and the sun goes down on Halloween Night, the gates to Fountain Cemetery in Port Richmond, one of Staten Island's oldest and rumored most haunted cemeteries, will be opened for a spooky walking tour.


[Photo source: flickr.com]

Ghost enthusiasts and those seeking a scare will be led by torchlight through the deepest, darkest parts of this 213-year-old cemetery. According to Staten Island/Fountain Cemetery Association President Lynn Rogers, this cemetery has been the location of many reports of spirit sightings over the years. The cemetery rests over what was once a sacred Lenape Indian burial ground, which accounts for the sight of a phantom wandering Native American man. Other recurring sightings include a woman in…

3106 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post