Police arrested a man who stole a New Jersey police vehicle Saturday night and led officers on a chase through Staten Island and Brooklyn before crashing into a parked car, authorities said.The incident began in Bayonne around 11:30 p.m., when an officer left his marked police vehicle at an intersection to block traffic during a crash investigation, according to police.When the investigation was over, the officer went to retrieve his vehicle only to find that it had been stolen, authorities said.Police departments in the surrounding area, including the Port Authority Police Department and NYPD ..read more

There is no secret ingredient at Enoteca Maria on Hyatt Street in Staten Island.But someone special is always in the kitchen. The restaurant closed its dining room with the rest of the city in mid-March.It seats about three dozen people in the St. George section of Staten Island. Since opening in 2007, it has featured a rotating special menu prepared by the women along with an Italian menu.It’s known as the Nonna Project, which is Italian for “grandma.”To create an revenue stream and protect the health of the grandmothers and staff, they have not reopened.The women head to the kitchen one at a ..read more

New York’s 11th congressional district includes all of Staten Island and parts of South Brooklyn.Freshman Democratic Rep. Max Rose was ushered into office two years ago as part of a blue wave in the House of Representatives.However, the Army platoon leader, who is still with the New York Army National Guard, marches to the beat of his own drum. During the campaign, he produced a 15-second ad attacking not his opponent, but New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, also a Democrat. Rose has stressed his bipartisan tendencies."We don't know if Donald Trump or Joe Biden will be the next president, but ..read more

The candidates for Congress in New York City’s only swing district are slugging it out in campaign ads that direct much of their fury at a man who isn’t on the ballot — Mayor Bill de Blasio. First-term Democratic Congress member Max Rose and his Republican opponent Nicole Malliotakis have released ads attacking each other as well as the mayor, who is unpopular in the congressional district that includes Staten Island and part of Brooklyn. Rose is a veteran who defeated a Republican incumbent in 2018. Malliotakis is a member of the state Assembly who was first elected in 2010 ..read more

With the 20th anniversary of 9/11 coming up next year, the children of 9/11 first responders are coming together to share their stories for the first time in a new book due out next year."Even though we all experienced the day, we wall experienced it differently," said Susan Fiorentino, daughter of NYPD Retired Detective Pete Fiorentino, who responded to the the World Trade Center attacks. "I was 10," said Susan, now 29 years old. It was Fiorentino's idea and she is leading the project to collect stories. "It’s important to raise awareness this is still a community that is suffering and we nee ..read more

A robber punched a 61-year-old Staten Island bagel shop employee in the face, knocking him to the floor, before he made off with thousands in cash, police said Tuesday. The robber attacked the employee behind the counter of Hot Bagels on Arthur Kill Road early on Sept. 29, officials said. While the worker was on the floor, another employee came out from the back of the store, police said. The robber pulled out a screwdriver, punched the second worker in the arm and forced him to open the cash register. He took about $8,800. Police have asked for help identifying the robbert. Submit tips to pol ..read more

Someone in a grey sedan pelted pedestrians with paintball pellets in a series of drive-by Staten Island shootings, police said Wednesday. The shooter first struck Friday night on Lander Avenue near Hirsch Street, officials said. A 37-year old was repeatedly struck. He suffered pain and bruising but refused medical attention at the scene.Just a few minutes later, the shooter fired paintball pellets at a 56-year-old man on Forest Avenue near Burnside Avenue, police said. The victim suffered pain and bruising but refused medical attention at the scene.In the final incident of the night, the shoot ..read more

A Staten Island father is facing murder charges after fatally shooting his own son Sunday afternoon, the NYPD said.Cops responded around 12:45 p.m. to a 911 call of a person shot inside the family's Beverly Road home in the Concord neighborhood, according to police.Officials said responding officers discovered Joseph Smith, 34, with a gunshot wound to the stomach.EMS responded and rushed the victim to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.His father, also named Joseph Smith, 68, was arrested at the scene, police said.Smith is now expected to be charged with second-degree murder ..read more

The principal of Staten Island’s largest high school says students will stick with remote learning, despite the Department of Education’s push to begin blended learning next month.In a letter to parents and students on Saturday, Tottenville High School principal Gina Battista said the decision to go remote was “due to multiple variables out of our control,” including a lack of teachers."To execute the original plan of blended and remote learning, Tottenville High School would need an excess of additional teachers that is just not presently available," Battista wrote. "Therefore, in order to pr ..read more

A Staten Island school has asked "approximately 50" staff members to quarantine after an employee tested positive, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said Thursday. The school where the positive test occurred is IS 51. Nathaniel Styer, deputy press secretary for the DOE said social distancing protocols were not followed by school staff. “It takes the cooperation of everyone working together and closely following safety rules to stop the spread," Styer said. "With citywide transmission hovering at or below one percent, we can stop the spread if commonsense precautions are taken by a ..read more