Staten Island, NY July 2023

The Summer Fun Issue

Summer Fun!

As the warm breeze of summer fills the air, it’s time to shed the weight of winter and embrace this season of sun-kissed skin and adventure! We hope that as you read this issue you are laying by a pool, lake or on a beach soaking up some sunshine.

One of the things that make summer so special is the freedom it brings. It’s a time to let loose and enjoy the present moment. Whether you are spending a lazy afternoon at Wolfe’s Pond Beach, going on a hike at the Greenbelt Conservancy or enjoying a picnic in the park, the warm weather provides no shortage of activities to keep us entertained. If you’re looking for a family friendly activity, why not head over to the Staten Island Zoo? Or maybe the Staten Island Children’s Museum? Summer is also a time for connection. Strengthen the bonds of friendship, family and the people in your community by embracing new memories and spending time together under the sun.

In this issue, we will give you some ideas for your Summer Bucket List, a list of our top summer reads, a peek into the work that Community Resources does, and of course, an opportunity to see what some friendly faces in your community are up to.

So whether you are enjoying some time away or staying local here on Staten Island, we hope the pages inside this month’s issue will enrich your summer season and inspire you to make every day count!

July 2023

PUBLISHER

Brigitte McLaughlin | brigitte.mclaughlin@citylifestyle.com

EDITOR

Valerie Bianculli | valerie.bianculli@citylifestyle.com

Corporate Team

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Steven Schowengerdt

CHIEF SALES OFFICER Matthew Perry

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER DeLand Shore

DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL MEDIA Mindy Hargesheimer

ART DIRECTOR Sara Minor

OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Janeane Thompson

BRIGITTE

@STATENISLANDCITYLIFESTYLE

WEB APPLICATIONS Michael O’Connell

AD DESIGNER Josh Govero

LAYOUT DESIGNER Andi Foster

A Taste of Italy

city scene

Where neighbors can see and be seen.

Want to be seen in the magazine? Tag your Instagram photos with @StatenIslandCityLifestyle

Sun-Kissed Berry Lemonade Fusion

As the warm summer breeze envelops us, what better way to quench your thirst than with a glass of homemade raspberry lemonade? Let’s dive into this delightful recipe that will keep you cool all summer long.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups fresh raspberries

• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4-6 lemons)

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 4 cups cold water

• Ice cubes

• Fresh mint leaves (optional, for garnish)

DIRECTIONS:

01. Begin by preparing the raspberry puree. Rinse the raspberries under cold water and

pat them dry. In a blender or food processor, blend the raspberries until smooth. Strain the puree through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl to remove the seeds. Set the strained raspberry puree aside.

02. In a large pitcher, combine the freshly squeezed lemon juice and granulated sugar. Stir well until the sugar has dissolved completely. If desired, adjust the amount of sugar to suit your taste.

03. Pour the strained raspberry puree into the pitcher with the lemon juice mixture. Stir vigorously to combine the flavors. The vibrant red color of the raspberries will beautifully infuse the lemonade.

04. Add cold water to the pitcher, stirring until everything is well mixed. Taste the

lemonade and add more water or lemon juice if needed to achieve your preferred balance of flavors.

05. Place the pitcher of raspberry lemonade in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together. This chilling time will also enhance the refreshing experience.

06. Just before serving, fill glasses with ice cubes to keep the lemonade chilled. Pour the raspberry lemonade into the glasses, allowing the ice to gently melt and dilute the drink.

07. For an extra touch, garnish each glass with a sprig of fresh mint. Not only does it add a pop of color, but it also imparts a subtle, invigorating aroma.

Community Resources

This month we wanted to bring some awareness to a hub of support and care that exists right here on Staten Island for the local community. Community Resources is a prominent community services center that stands tall as a beacon of hope and a catalyst for positive change. In this exclusive interview, we sit down with CEO, Mary Rafferty, COO, Michael DeGrottole and Director of Staff Training and Employee Engagement, Matthew McGuire to talk about the remarkable work they have been doing and all the different ways that they serve our community.

STATEN ISLAND CITY LIFESTYLE: THANKS FOR SITTING DOWN WITH US! WOULD YOU MIND TELLING US ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION AND WHAT YOUR SPECIFIC ROLES ARE?

MARY RAFFERTY: I am the Chief Executive Officer for Community Resources. We are a non-profit organization that has been serving Staten Island for the last 70 years. We are an organization that provides support to adults and children with developmental disabilities and autism. We have 15 group homes, 5 supportive apartments, day habilitation services for 200 people and a pre-school that supports 80 children.

MICHAEL DEGROTTOLE: I am the Chief Operating Officer. I oversee all the programs that we run. I assure that they are quality programs and I assure that they meet the guidelines of OPWDD (The New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities). I also follow the vision and the strategic plan of the executive staff and the board in how they want to see the agency develop, grow and

CONTINUED >

present itself to the community. That’s a very important part of what we all do because we are extending that executive vision. Our reputation in the community is paramount to any of our success. We have a lot of different programs as Mary described to you, those programs have to provide not only the best care but the best opportunities for people to grow. Innovative ideas such as our herb and garden program, our music program, our job training programs etc. are critical to improving people’s lives.

MATTHEW MCGUIRE: I am the Director of Staff Training and Employee Engagement. I train all of the existing and new employees on the rules and regulations of our agency as well as handle all social media and community outreach in addition to designing all of our promotional material.

STATEN ISLAND CITY LIFESTYLE: TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR JOB TRAINING PROGRAMS. HOW EXACTLY ARE YOU ASSISTING PEOPLE WITH THIS PROGRAM?

MICHAEL DEGROTTOLE: We have a day program. It serves people who have basic skills but still need some additional help and guidance. We give them that support to prepare them for work and teach them prerequisite skills that they might need. We have a working café on the grounds here where we teach them how to handle money and things like customer service, how to bus tables and those sort of skills to prepare them for a job outside of our program. Our garden teaches them how to grow fresh vegetables, pick those vegetables and prepare simple meals. There are other programs such as job coaching and supportive employment programs where we help people to put resumes together, teach them how to interview and get them out into the community using the connections we have.

CONTINUED >

STATEN ISLAND CITY LIFESTYLE: WE HEARD ABOUT YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH RED RABBIT. DID YOU WANT TO SPEAK MORE ABOUT THAT?

MARY RAFFERTY: Yes, Red Rabbit is a company that takes care of all the school lunches for the parochial schools in Staten Island. They are in our cafeteria space here which has given us the opportunity for some of our folks to be employed by Red Rabbit. We also have the Hungerford School. They have a group of high school students that come to the program here in the building. Hopefully, when they graduate, they will be attending our day program so we began integrating them into some of our programs here already.

STATEN ISLAND CITY LIFESTYLE: WE LOVE THAT YOU WORK WITH PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND THE COMFORT IT BRINGS TO FAMILIES KNOWING THAT THEY HAVE A SAFE PLACE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR SUPPORT. ARE THERE ANY UPCOMING PROJECTS YOU WANT TO DISCUSS THAT RELAY BACK TO THIS?

MARY RAFFERTY: We have been approved to open a new home for people who were at residential schools who have now turned 21 and are coming back home. We just entered a contract to purchase a property on Staten Island and we’ll be doing some major renovations. One of our philosophies is we try to make sure people have their own bedrooms, as an adult to have your own space is an important thing. Once we purchase this home, renovations will start and hopefully, within the next year, the home will be certified and people can move in. We spend time getting to know the families and the individuals that are accepted for

the home because it really is a collaboration and we need to be able to meet their needs.

STATEN ISLAND CITY LIFESTYLE: I KNOW 2020 WAS A DIFFICULT YEAR IN TERMS OF THE FUTURE OF COMMUNITY RESOURCES. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU FACED DURING THAT TIME AND HOW DID YOU PIVOT OUT OF THAT SITUATION?

MARY RAFFERTY: In 2020, every agency was faced with a decision considering all that was going on with the pandemic. It put quite a strain on staffing and finances for agencies because day programs were shut down. When I came in, it was the middle of this crisis and we had to stabilize our work force. We just had to get in good alignment, we’ve been around for 70 years so luckily we’ve been doing something right and we were able to get it back on track.

STATEN ISLAND CITY LIFESTYLE: TOUCHING ON THAT POINT, HOW HAVE THINGS CHANGED SINCE THE NEW LEADERSHIP TEAM HAS COME IN?

MICHAEL DEGROTTOLE: We’ve had this new leadership team in place for almost 3 years now and we have remodeled nearly every part of the agency. Not only the office but the preschool has been completely remodeled and many of our residential programs. We want to put everyone in a place that they are happy, proud and comfortable to be in. Another project we are very proud of is the garden which was an old mechanics garage and parking lot. It is now a fully accessible fully organic garden. We have horticultural classes that are going on weekly and every week we take some of the produce and we bring it down to Jacob’s Well Food Pantry.

“We are an organization that provides support to adults and children with developmental disabilities and autism. We have 15 group homes, 5 supportive apartments, day habilitation services for 200 people and a pre-school that supports 80 children.”

STATEN ISLAND CITY LIFESTYLE: HOW CAN PEOPLE GET INVOLVED?

MARY RAFFERTY: We run fundraising events every year. Last year we did an indoor golf event and we just had our Taste of Staten Island event. We haven’t rolled out our fundraising yet for this fiscal year, but being involved in our fundraisers whether it’s buying a ticket and attending or just opening up your own contact list to try and get people to participate. In terms of volunteering, you can go right through our website and send us a message. We can use volunteers in the garden this summer. We brought on some summer interns in different departments so even for students who need an activity or summer internship, we are always looking.

STATEN ISLAND CITY LIFESTYLE: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE FUTURE PLANS FOR COMMUNITY RESOURCES?

MARY RAFFERTY: We are so optimistic about the future. The approval to open this next group home has been such a big deal. We are very excited about that. Our goal is to continue to improve the quality and support that we are providing but also to expand our footprint in terms of residential homes. There is such a need for folks in the autism community. Next year we are spending a lot of time providing pretty intense autism training and getting ready for individuals that will be moving in with us. We also collaborate with other non-profits on Staten Island and we have really nice relationships with them so another goal is to continue to collaborate. We want to position ourselves as the place where people want to go to work. We’ve spent a lot of time improving the benefits for our employees. We provide full family medical coverage for our direct support professionals. It’s completely paid for by the agency so that has really helped us to attract a talented staff. Another goal is to continue to retain staff and have a really engaged work force.

If you are interested in volunteering or collaborating in any way with Community Resources you can visit their website at www.cr-si.org or visit their Instagram page @communityresourcesstatenisland CONTINUED >

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The Perfect Steak

Nothing describes summer better than a good cookout! And what is a cookout without a good, quality steak and the perfect grilling recipe?

1. Thaw and acclimate the steak. For searing to occur, the proteins in steak need to be heated to at least 310°F. Tossing cold meat onto a hot grill lowers the temperature and can prevent a crust from forming, so it’s important that any frozen steaks are thawed completely before cooking.

2. Salt your steak 30-45 minutes before grilling. This causes the salt to draw moisture from within the steak up to the surface, where it dissolves the salt and creates a brine that gets reabsorbed into the steak where it breaks down tough connective tissues.

3. Oil the grate on the grill, not the steak. Use tongs and a paper towel dipped in vegetable oil to lube your grates.

4. Manage your heat well. Remember that your grill needs to be hot for your steak to get a good sear. But if it’s hot enough to cause your oil to smoke, it’s too hot.

5. Use the 60/40 rule. The best-tasting steaks are seared on both sides and cooked evenly in the middle. The simplest way to do that is to only flip your steak once. The 60/40 rule suggests that 60% of your cook time should be spent on one side, and 40% on the other.

6. Keep the lid closed. It may be tempting to peek, but trust the experts and keep it shut! Opening the lid makes your grill lose heat, which makes steaks cook unevenly.

7. Check for doneness. A meat thermometer will give you the most accurate temperature reading:

• Rare: 120°F

• Medium Rare: 130°F

• Medium: 140°F

• Medium Well: 150°F

• Well: 160°F

8. Let your steak rest. Pull your steaks from the grill once they’re cooked to 5-10 degrees below your target temperature and rest for 10-15 minutes.

Summer Bucket List

Welcome, summer! As a hyper-local publication, we thrive on helping our readers make connections with the cities they live in, the businesses that make up their communities and the inspiring individuals making a positive mark. Are you ready for your most adventurous, fun summer? Here are summer bucket list ideas for you to accomplish this year. We hope you’ll explore a new neighborhood, spend a lazy Saturday afternoon at a new winery or taste the flavors at a local ice cream shop. Let us know what you discover and enjoy! We’d love to hear.

Summer is finally here. Take advantage of the season with our Adult Summer Bucket List. Check off these activities as you complete them with your family and friends and congratulate yourself on a Summer well-spent!

EXPLORE A NEW AREA OF YOUR CITY

beat the heat

Dive Into Our Top Summer Reads!

01 BEACH READ BY EMILY HENRY. A light summer romance novel perfect for beach days! / 02 ONE ITALIAN SUMMER BY REBECCA SERLE. Perfect if you can’t escape to the actual Amalfi Coast this summer. / 03 THE ART OF LIVING BY THICH NHAT HANH. Learning to live with mindfulness. / 04 WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING BY DELIA OWENS. An unforgettable story with unforgettable characters. / 05 THE HIGH 5 HABIT BY MEL ROBBINS. Personal Development at its finest. / 06 THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO BY TAYLOR JENKINS REID. Make sure to have some tissues nearby.