CAB Public Forum - February 2024

Pillar

Comment / Observation

Key Takeaway

Station-wide

We are the borough of possibility

We are the unexpected borough

Our story begins before the Verrazano

The Economics of Eccentricity: we’re not so busy paying rent that we can’t create.

SI is a little bit like a small town in the biggest city in the world

You can affect change here in a way you cannot do as easily in other parts of the city.

SI is much more nuanced and layered that is reflected in WNYC Coverage.

We all want to change the perception. 

We want more of our stories told, and told differently 

No group of forum participants in any part of our listening area spoke with such passion and praise for their communities and their borough. It is important to stay centered in what listeners in the borough value about their communities, the extent to which they hear this reflected in on air content, and all the ways they feel content and coverage undervalues their communities: this was the persistent through line throughout this forum. 

Station-wide

Were often the brunt of jokes, so much negativity comes our way. 

If people took the time to find out who we are, that might lead to uncovering stories organically as well. 

It’s astonishing how many stories there are in SI

When SI does come up it’s usually about politics

It’s like were not getting our word in 

Some coverage (see Gothamist pillar) comes off as contemptuous and lazy. 

The story the station is telling about Staten Island is monolithic, flattening and, in a lot of ways, superficial. This does a tremendous disservice both to our listeners there, and to the listening area as a whole. Like every borough, SI is a microcosm of every issue that impacts the city. Moreover, our listeners there are intensely dedicated to the station, and engaged across all platforms. The CAB, for its part, has had ample opportunity to engage this part of the listenership ourselves but has not done so. There are no easy explanations as to why this is other than that we’ve had no recent representation from the island, and no accessible format for listeners there engage with us. We hope this conversation can help both ourselves and the station re-orient how we engage with the borough. 

Areas of focus that bubble up to the surface: land use; preservation, transportation; arts and culture; politics.

WNYC

Black Angels exhibition was significant exhibition on black tb nurses that was covered by Alison on All of It. 

Segments that allow listeners in community to think about place and identity are invaluable.

WNYC

All of It is so focused on local arts and culture, but very little SI. There’s a vibrant scene of artists. 

“All of It” call-ins often mention Staten Island; One participant texted in recently and Alison Stewart read her comment”—it was so cool to hear :D”

Note to Kate and Alison: go to Staten Island, and keep taking Staten Island call-ins! Also worth parsing the extent to which these call-ins are filling a gap in coverage listeners perceive on the air. 

WNYC

Olmstead House and Sandy Ground both important historical sites with preservation movements around them that can be covered 

History, preservation, and conversation are deeply important to the borough, and lay at the center of a lot of debates about land, use, planning, and histories that have gone largely undocumented. 

WNYC

Staten Island has a strong nonprofit community that does great work. More Stories  of small nonprofits that serve all of the SI community that could bring funding which is desperately needed. 

Is there a way to connect these nonprofits and their communities with station content producers? 

WNYC

Emma’s Place is a grief counseling center for children, whose director was in attendance. Stories of organizations that work in this space can help listeners connect who are similarly impacted. And more Stories  of small nonprofits that serve all of the SI community that could bring funding which is desperately needed

A number of nonprofits and community contacts were mentioned over the course of the forum, but this was the most specific. Possible content for community partnerships. 

WNYC; WQXR

Other non profits that were mentioned: The farm at Snug Harbor; Project Hospitality; Protectors of Pine Oak Woods; Staten Island Children's Theatre; the Nursing Program at Curtis H.S.; other fabulous programs at many other SI schools; the SI Museum; the SI Zoo; SI Protectors Owl Prowl; The Richmond County Orchestra and Riverside Opera Company. 

We have more profit suggestions than we can keep track of. What is best mechanism for getting them on station’s radar for possible future content and coverage? 

WNYC

We have a wonderful historian named Pat Salmon.She’s a guru when it comes to Staten Island history. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to consider connecting with her?

Is there partnership opportunity here? 

WNYC

Indigenous history is unreported; Historic sites connected to current times. And Lenape peoples still gather at them. 

Was there any reporting in November on this? Have we ever reported this? 

WNYC

Staten island has so many superlatives (SI the oldest continually inhabited free black settlement.) Slightest bit of attention would help tremendously. 

Sandy Ground is older than Weeksville. There are stories on Staten Island that not only is the station missing, but the entire city as well. 

WNYC

There has been a lot of community mobilization around restoring the paved over cemetery at Sandy Group. That story is happening right now. The SI Advance has covered it, so why haven’t we? 

https://www.silive.com/news/2024/02/one-year-later-heres-how-a-committed-community-stepped-up-to-save-our-nations-oldest-free-black-settlement.html

WQXR

Classical kids fair hasn’t happened in a while

When did we last have a Staten Island Classical Kids fair? Is it time to go back? We’ve got a lot of contacts just from this forum!

WQXR

More physical presence for QXR, like kids fair

This goes to the point about kids fairs and other programming; a lot of venues were mentioned (St. George’s Theatre; Snug Harbor). Where did we hold it before? 

WNYC

Public Transit in Staten Island is a generation level crisis, and it goes largely unmentioned on the air. Slant is to roll their eyes at Staten Island in local media. 

How much station reportage on transit is hyperlocal? How Staten Island experiences mass transit is very different from how the Bronx experiences it. But both are, in a way, transit deserts. See following comments. 

WNYC

Staten Island has the longest commutes in the country. 

Id. 

WNYC

Connecting to your “thoroughly New York” orientation I believe there is an opportunity to look at all city wide stories and find how it affects each borough.  The mention of the transportation issue is one example that can span the entire city.  The commitment to long-form reporting should allow for a deep investigation into a topic and its impact in each borough.

Id. 

WNYC

The Staten Island railroad has a long history of maintenance that takes it offline for many weekends at a time meaning one’s 2hr trip to Manhattan is now longer. In addition to what Noah is saying, public transportation infrastructure across the borough is abysmal and hardly ever talked about off-island.

Id. 

WNYC

More of a spotlight on conservation issues, especially driven by young people. Staten Island can be one of the boroughs looked to for clean energy initiatives

Conservation and land use issues came up throughout the discussion, and are very central to the borough’s identity. This is the converse of what we heard in the Bronx, where the absence of green space defined life in the borough across a number of metrics (air quality, asthma, lack of performance space.)

WNYC

History of greenbelts very important

We have something to conserve because we used to be forgotten.

Id.

WNYC

We have something to conserve because we used to be forgotten.

Id.

WNYC

We are a treasure to the five boroughs; can’t believe more coverage isn’t given to preservation of green space. 

Landscape architect Ian McHarg did a strategic plan for Staten Island just after the Verrazano went in. He called Staten Island New York’s greatest natural resource…and it’s not too late to save it. That was 1968.

Id. There is real urgency around this issue for borough residents. 

WNYC

Freshkills Park will be the envy of cities worldwide.

Id. 

WNYC

Land use; preservation; affordable; housing, transportation, arts and culture all intersect.

Only trailer park in city is under threat has never been reported. 

This is an example of a story at the very margins of the listening area that intersects with several issues of hyperlocal concern. 

WNYC

There’s a lot of new construction but no new schools; schools are overcrowded. This has gone on for decades. Hochul’s new law impossible. We have so much space, how are we utilizing it. 

The flip side of land use is school overcrowding, these issues may intersect on SI to greater degree than in other parts of listening area given overreliance on land. 

WNYC

We get no pushback on some of the same things local politicians say

WNYC and Gothamist came in for a lot of criticism of its Staten Island political coverage, which listener participants described as flattening, one-sided, and geared towards the loudest and most organized (but perhaps not most representative voices) on the borough. Put another way: we’re excluding a lot of borough residents on the air from the very conversations that they’re leading in their own communities. 

WNYC

On politics, we are always painted as conservative. But these are the loudest and most organized, perhaps, voices, but they do not represent the borough in its entirety. I’d also like to see some attention and a platform given to the younger voters, new voters, etc. that may be coming with a different perspective from what’s often highlighted.

Id. 

Gothamist

Gothamist overemphasizes secession issue in way that flattens narrative about that space. Other boroughs are allowed to heterogeneous. 

Id. 

Gothamist; WNYC

Crazed protestors trying to do evil things to migrants brings out the news cameras that winds up impugning the entire borough. 

Id. 

Gothamist

A lot of registered democrats on SI vote republicans: there are stories there and they’re going unreported. 

There’s nuance to the partisan breakdown in the borough, as well as voting patterns. How do we report it? 

Gothamist; WNYC

There have large demographic shifts in the borough that don’t necessarily get reflected in the sense. More diversity in their restaurants. Large Liberian and Arab-American communities. 

Do we have any reporting on these communities *in the borough?*

Gothamist; WNYC

North Shore Council District is the single most diverse district in the city. 

I’m sure we’ve had this council member on in 2022 (51 in 52). What other stories are there. And what other district level stories have we mined from 51 in 52 citywide?

Gothamist; WNYC

North Shore Council District is the single most diverse district in the city. 

Id. 

Gothamist; WNYC

Gothamist then and now featured used a hooker motel to represent SI, which seemed contemptuous and lazy

This is the Gothamist post in question; whatever the intention it went over poorly: 

https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/then-now-recreating-old-photos-staten-island

Gothamist

Nervous about Staten Island headlines. Bc Staten Islanders don’t read Gothamist we’ll show a hooker motel. They don’t believe the audience comes from Staten Island. Under Jen Chung it was “nothing but Pizza”

Posts like the above reinforce an idea of the station as being at best disinterested in reporting deeper and at worst elitist; both are contrary to the station’s values and journalistic praxis. Moreover, they are deeply hurtful to listeners on the borough and should be avoided as much as possible. 

Gothamist; WNYC

Talk to the Civics; Civic Associations have tremendous reach within the borough and are closer to the ground on a lot of issues. 

This is of value to both the Station and the CAB. Easily half of participants came to us through St. George Civic Association and that’s because one participant notified the listserve about it only a few hours before the forum!

Gothamist; WNYC

Re Gothamist coverage: When Gothamist goes looking for a color quote from SI, they appear to run to the likes of Scott LoBaido, a well-known and surefire fulfiller of SI stereotypes. A quick search of "Gothamist" and that name shows ten items on 1st page. It is so, so lazy to just draw from a known provocateur and treating him like a representative voice. He does not represent Staten Island in any way and should not be treated as such!

This is one of multiple times a polarizing local figure was given a platform by the station to chagrin of borough listeners. When these voices are brought on the air/into Gothamist, how are we presenting them? Is there are pushback or contrast?

Gothamist

With respect, what coverage? Searching for tags: https://gothamist.com/tags/staten-island I see mostly stories about crime, citywide stories that briefly mention SI.

Gothamist has a similar issue with the Bronx, where the tag leads mostly to stories of crime, poverty, and death. These stories are better reported than other media outlets, but they are the only stories we report. 

Gothamist

Amazon built on the racetrack property in the wetlands on the west shore.

One of the largest warehouses in any urban area in the US - and among the highest injury rates for workers.

Gothamist is already doing good reporting on warehouse impacts in the Bronx. What about SI? 

WNYC

If you want to understand the nature of this place, read the Advance. 

SI Is probably the only borough with its own legacy news media; but it is intensely polarizing. What the Staten Island Advance does right, and where it comes up short, is very instructive for the station as far as identifying gaps in coverage and unmet needs. 

WQXR

Advance has no arts and culture writer; no critical coverage of local arts. 

Id. 

WNYC/WQXR

The Advance is very polarizing; including local op-ed writer Tom Robleski

Id. 

WNYC

Tom Robleski is on a lot and he’s anti mass-transit

This is the second time listeners called out a specific person who they believe is getting too much airtime and they believe is not representative of the borough. 

WNYC

Spectacular mismanagement of our spectacular St George waterfront. The largest ULURP in NYC’s history resulted in an unused site, boarded off from the community, directly adjacent to the SI ferry. It’s one of the largest sites managed by EDC.

Waterfront issues was roundly cosigned by everyone on call; intersection of poor land use, elimination of public space, political cronyism and mismanagement. Has station done any reporting on this? 

WNYC

Parking garage erected on Richmond Terrace that exceeded the permitted height and blocks a waterfront promenade for 700 feet.

Id. 

WNYC

So much public and private money went into the Wheel and Outlet developments…only for it to never materialize (and the mall to go bankrupt). It is true, greed seems to have prevailed and this really hasn’t been critically investigated.

Id.

WNYC

Waterfronts are to be celebrated and accessible.  This strife has been going on all of my years here, from 30 years ago when an auto race track was proposed along the water!

Id. 

Gothamist

SI waterfront development reflected truly half-baked ideas about economic development, and no theory at all about how economic development have equitable benefit.

Id.

WNYC

And, speaking to one of the themes of tonight - it was all about using SI’s resources to serve others, nothing for SI or the community.

Listeners see centering of these stories and their communities as advocating for their communities and the issues they hold dear. 

Greene Space

Why haven’t I been there? Is it really for me? It’s like a party invite I wasn’t supposed it. 

This listener was being self-reflective, but also embodies the type of listener Greene Space should be on the radar of: regularly attends live shows at Carnegie and other venues around the city. 

Greene Space

This is first I’ve heard of The Greene Space. Never noticed anything about it in The Gothamist. I’ve signed up for the newsletter. Would have loved the food/culture event.

How does Greene Space expand its visibility? This is something they work on a lot, so this is more data to that effect. 

Greene Space

This is first I’ve heard of The Greene Space. Never noticed anything about it in The Gothamist. I’ve signed up for the newsletter. Would have loved the food/culture event.

There’s gotta be the Staten Island equivalent of a recipe swap, given everything they’d told us here. 

Greene Space

Green Space is presented in a pretty low key way.

Interesting thing here is TGS is relatively convenient to SI bc of proximity to 1 train. Useful to consider ways they may amplify interest on the island. 

Greene Space

There is definitely a lock of affordable performance venues on SI. (Or by necessity the arts take place in historic spaces that need a lot of investment and restoration)

Snug Harbor is also finishing up a renovated Music Hall

Lack of performance venues is an always an opportunity for Greene Space

Greene Space

I hear about the Green Space things, and they sound cool but I have to be selective about what I travel to see because on a work night, or what have you, it’s a trek (even if it’s convenient from the ferry). I should make more of an effort!

how do we get persuadable people like to consider coming to a show? 

Greene Space

Has Green space ever featured a Staten Island performer?  Maybe Maria Rivas?

have they? 

Greene Space

I've been to Green Space a few time and have enjoyed it - Classical Beer Jam. My one problem with it is that there are not enough seats.

has anyone else brought this up? 

Greene Space

Green Space Pop Ups in all the Boroughs.

No one’s suggested this before in our previous listener conversations. Is this something Greene Space has previously considered? 

WQXR

“WQXR presents” type events or events in partnership with organizations from  the borough would help raise the station’s profile.

Virtuous cycle of partnership and visibility is beneficial to both station and borough. 

WNYC

The better coverage we get, the more financial support Staten islanders will. 

See above point about virtuous cycles. 

WQXR; WNYC

If the station can focus on arts and cultures stories, on SI ( not just politics)  it would benefit all 

More All of It stories from Staten Island? Ways QXR and Greene Space can partner with and amplify performers on the borough? 

WQXR

Concerts for Hispanic Heritage Month 

SI gets short hand of tick in terms of artistic funding , is there a way to highlight this? 

An occasional free PSA for events on SI would be great 

Galt MacDermot was famous Broadway composer (Hair; Two Gentleman of Verona) who lived on SI. 

These were general points/suggestions that we’re tossed around at different points I the discussion around arts and culture. “Free PSAs” are probably more in the realm of nonprofit sponsors and how much air time we give them. Who sponsors us on the island? 

WNYC

Sponsorship for Staten Island stories

This came up in NJ public forum as well: the idea of a dedicated listener fund for hyperlocal content specific to a borough or region. Whether or not this is feasible is for the development people to aside but noteworthy that listeners in underreported parts of listener area have suggested it. 

WNYC

Staten Island has been the forgotten borough since 1656 when Adrian Post’s wife asked Gov Stuyvesant  to send some soldiers to SI to protect their settlement and he said no.

Well that was mean of him; we resolve to do better for Staten Island than Peter Stuyvesant.