Feel the energy on Bay Street...a volunteer beautification program is underway along the corridor.

STATEN ISLAND, NY – This cleanup event is for restaurant patrons, residents and small businesses along Bay Street.

At the suggestion of business owners on the North Shore, volunteers are beautifying sidewalks, cleaning gutters and trimming tree beds.

A second attempt will take place this Saturday, August 31st, in Stapleton. The time commitment is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and everyone is welcome. The meeting point this weekend is VINUM restaurant in Stapleton, 704 Bay St.

The two hours will focus on a section between Broad Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, where general sweeping and mulching will be carried out. Another section of the Bay Street Corridor From Stapleton to Rosebank, plants are selected for planting every month.

Cleaning up Bay Street — A cleanup on Bay Street in Stapleton in August of this year included weeding, sweeping gutters and picking up trash. The event involved several local residents laying the groundwork for plantings and other improvements along Bay Street. (Courtesy of Veronica Gambon)Silvestri

Beautiful days in the districts

“World-class murals, Michelin-starred restaurants and excellent wine bars are concentrated in a few blocks,” said co-organizer Veronica “Ronnie” Gambon. She added: “In any other city, this would be celebrated.”

Gambon, who lives on the North Shore, is a regular at restaurants in Stapleton and Rosebank, including Lakruwana, VINUM, Seppe and Sofia’s Taqueria.

“Participating in community cleanups along Bay Street fosters a sense of pride and responsibility among residents and small businesses,” Gambon said.

She added that planting flowers and picking up trash should be “a reminder that small, consistent efforts can lead to significant positive change in our community.”

Heather Butts of HEALTH for Youths is another cleanup coordinator. She stressed, “People don’t have to wait for others to do it. It’s important that people feel encouraged in their own community to beautify their own neighborhood. And that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

Connecting gardens with restaurants

One day, Butts dreams of a sprawling garden on the long-abandoned site of Bailey Seton Hospital.

Currently, the abandoned facility’s property borders Bay Street near Vanderbilt Avenue, a strip where Stapleton’s visitors and patrons of his restaurants often park their cars.

Butts said: “Much of the area is abandoned. This is a first step in a process to recreate this area. Clean-up is nice and great. But then people will ask, ‘What benefit am I getting from this process?'”

Skyline Community Garden Celebration — This is what the Lenape Garden in Skyline Park looked like earlier this spring. It is located in New Brighton near tennis courts and a playground. This area was once overgrown with weeds and brush. The gardens are well maintained and provide some of the produce for pop-up markets on Staten Island’s North Shore. (Charlotte Toga for the Staten Island Advance)(Charlotte Togba for the States

She illustrates the bigger picture with cleanup efforts. Butts promotes community farming and other hands-on collaborations to restore neighborhoods. These include the Lenape Garden in Skyline Park and the Westervelt Community Garden, both in New Brighton.

These garden examples are a rich source of produce specifically for youth with pop-up pantries and chef-led community education programs. One of these programs is a cable TV show that has been running for about three years with a cult following and surprise guest appearances – “Cooking with Massimo and Heather” on Channel 57 Verizon and 1997 Spectrum.

Massimo is chef Massimo Felici, owner of Vinuum.

So far “heartwarming” response

This is not the first cleanup on Bay Street. The first one took place on August 11. Massimo said, “The response we saw was heartwarming.”

Gambon admitted he was surprised by the number of volunteers who came to the event, including some from the South Coast.

“This shows cooperation. We are all in the same boat,” said Gambon.

Additional Saturday meetings are planned for September 28, October 26, and November 30. These times are from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Event sponsors include the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office, the YMCA of Greater New York, HEALTH for Youths, Veronica Gambon herself, and Neighborhood STAT.

To put it in context, Neighborhood STAT, also known as NStat, was developed by the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.

According to NYC.gov, “NStat was developed to support NYCHA developments with high crime rates and is a recognition that safe and thriving neighborhoods require resident leadership, community and government support, and resources to create lasting change.”