Graniteville Neighborhood Feature: PS 22 Tops the Youtube Charts

Photo by Gianni Cipriano [NY Times]

I want to hand it to Mr. Breinberg and the chorus group at PS 22 for cultivating something so special that they have been garnering a lot of attention from big media sources, famous music celebrities and business people in the music industry. It all started with the passion for music, a persons desire to teach music to others, a group of talented kids, some Coldplay and Tori Amos songs and a YouTube channel that brought a spotlight to the Staten Island community. What more do you need, all the essentials for success are right there. As soon as celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton got a hold of their videos, he was instantly amazed and posted their YouTube version of the "Flying Dutchman" by Tori Amos on his blog. I'm not surprised that with Perez's enormous following these kids went from being stars in their small local community on Staten Island to being the talk of the town within the mainstream world. With the huge reach of the internet you see things like this happening now more than ever, but you never think it will happen to you and when it does it is so surreal.

Within such a short period of time the chorus group has built an incredible size resume that others spend several years trying to accomplish and most people never do. To date they have received millions of views on YouTube, are constantly being mentioned in the press, performed for Tori Amos, performed at political events, performed live at Irving Plaza, some members have been casted in TV shows, potential record deals and they are now doing renditions of other modern artists. Whatever the reason is for their success, whether it's just pure luck, the right person stumbling upon it, amazing talent, a community story that the media flocks to...yada yada yada these kids are bringing the right type of attention to Staten Island and highlighting the Islands greatness. Big ups to everyone!

Staten Island School Chorus Finds Fame on YouTube [NY Times]
PS 22 Official Blog

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Neighborhood Spotlight - Grasmere

Mary DiBiase Blaich for The New York Times

Just by looking at the picture above, it feels as if you are looking at a serene setting in Pennsylvania or something. What you're actually seeing is one of New York City's unhidden gems, called Brady's Pond, located in Grasmere on the North Shore of Staten Island. When I was a little rug rat, I use to come here with my family sporting my cool little floaties as I swam around the fresh water pond. Grasmere is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Staten Island, which I'm going to breakdown for you right now. One of the most frustrating things about living in Staten Island is the commute to Manhattan. Unlike the rest of the boroughs and even some parts of New Jersey, Westchester and Long Island who all have their own public train stations/subways that run to Manhattan, Staten Island's only means of transportation into Manhattan are via express bus, ferry or car. I love living on Staten Island, but this is one of my biggest pet peeves about living here. Fortunately if you live in this area you're very close to the Verrazano Bridge that goes to Brooklyn and it's only a 10 minute ride on the Staten Island Railway to St. George, which is the closest stop to the ferry.

According to the NY Times, Grasmere's convenience has helped it endure the economic slowdown, and housing in this area is considered very stable. Although Grasmere's average home prices fell to $437,500 in the first half of 2008, compared to an average price of $505,800 in the first half of 2007, average days on the market remained relatively consistent. The neighborhood has always been one of the most prestigious communities on Staten Island, with the zone around Brady's Pond being particularly affluent. Houses in this area can go for more than $1 million.

How many of you guys actually new about this lovely pond on SI???

Living In Grasmere, Staten Island - Bucolic and Bustling, All at Once [NY Times]

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