James Molinaro
Encyclopedia
James Molinaro is the current Borough President
of Staten Island
. He was born in the Lower East Side
of Manhattan
of Italian
immigrants. He was one of six children, four brothers and two sisters.
He is a widower since 1990 when his wife of 28 years, Carol, died of complications relating to scleroderma
. The couple had two sons, Peter and Steven, and lived in the neighborhood of Fort Wadsworth
since 1964.
, with 50 percent of the vote to 43 percent on November 6, 2001. He took office on January 1, 2002. Molinaro won re-election for a third and last term on November 3, 2009, with 46,061 votes (62.7%) compared to 27,356 (37.3%) votes for his challenger John Luisi, who also challenged him in 2005.
His political career began when, in 1964, he joined the New York State Conservative Party. In 1974, he was elected as Chairman of the Richmond County Conservative Party and subsequently as Vice Chair of the State Party. In 1989, he was elected Executive Vice Chair of the New York State Conservative Party, a post he still holds today.
Prior to becoming Borough President, Molinaro served for 12 years as Deputy Borough President to former Borough President Guy V. Molinari. He also served as Chief of Staff to Congressman Guy V. Molinari, representing New York's 14th Congressional District. Molinaro has had two Deputy Borough Presidents while in office. His first was Daniel M. Donovan, Jr.
, who left to become the Richmond County (Staten Island) District Attorney in January 2004 after winning election to that office the previous November. The Deputy post was left vacant until November 2006. After much speculation Molinaro named Ed Burke to the Deputy position. Ed Burke had been Executive Assistant to Guy V. Molinari for twelve years and to Molinaro for nearly five.
Over a 20-year period, he has served on the Board of Directors for the Veterans Memorial Sports Complex, Staten Island Community Television, New York State Regional Organ Transplant and Bayley Seton Hospital. He was also the Chairman of the St. Elizabeth Ann's Health and Rehabilitation Center which he helped to create.
In 1989, Molinaro also helped to establish Staten Island’s first AIDS
day care center and AIDS medical care facility.
Currently, Molinaro serves on the board of the Heart Institute of Staten Island, a modern cardiac care facility. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Sisters of Charity Health Care Corporation. In 1991, in the memory of his late wife, Mr. Molinaro helped dedicate a local dialysis unit in her name. In 2000 St. Elizabeth Ann's Health and rehabilitation Center opened the James P. and Carol E. Molinaro Health Care and Rehabilitation Center Atrium.
Molinaro has been critical of how Italian-Americans and Staten Island residents are both portrayed in the media. In 2010 he penned the introduction of Andrew Paul Mele's Italian Staten Island (Images of America).
laptop computers for all of Staten Island’s Intermediate schools as well as many elementary school
s. He has also worked closely with Mayor Michael Bloomberg
to bring additional schools to Staten Island including P.S. 58 (opened in 2003) and I.S. (scheduled to open in 2007).
Molinaro has also allocated $1,000,000 from Staten Island's capital budget for "electronic" blackboards for each public school on Staten Island.
s and Fresh Kills Park itself, Molinaro has butted heads with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
over their refusal to consider the construction of wind turbine
s for renewable energy
on the site.
New York City Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg, a Molinaro ally, also holds an opinion that the former landfill be a place where renewable be generated but prefers the installation of a photovoltaic system
instead.
roads within the landfill. Molinaro believes that with the opening of these roads that congestion around the Richmond Avenue commercial district, which includes the Staten Island Mall
would be alleviated.
In the past, his predecessor Guy V. Molinari, and former New York State Assemblyman Eric Nicholas Vitaliano
also held an opinion that the roads should be opened.
In April 2011 the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation announced that it would construct a bicycle and pedestrian path
along the park's eastern border.
Borough president
Borough President is an elective office in each of the five boroughs of New York City.-Reasons for establishment:...
of Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
. He was born in the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
of Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
immigrants. He was one of six children, four brothers and two sisters.
He is a widower since 1990 when his wife of 28 years, Carol, died of complications relating to scleroderma
Scleroderma
Systemic sclerosis or systemic scleroderma is a systemic autoimmune disease or systemic connective tissue disease that is a subtype of scleroderma.-Skin symptoms:...
. The couple had two sons, Peter and Steven, and lived in the neighborhood of Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth is a former United States military installation on Staten Island in New York City, situated on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper and Lower halves, a natural point for defense of the Upper Bay and Manhattan beyond. Prior to closing in 1994 it claimed to be the longest...
since 1964.
Career
Molinaro was elected against his Democratic opponent Councilman Jerome X. O'DonovanJerome X. O'Donovan
Jerome X. O'Donovan is a former Democratic Party politician from the New York City borough of Staten Island who served in in the New York City Council representing the North Shore of that borough.-Vietnam Veteran:...
, with 50 percent of the vote to 43 percent on November 6, 2001. He took office on January 1, 2002. Molinaro won re-election for a third and last term on November 3, 2009, with 46,061 votes (62.7%) compared to 27,356 (37.3%) votes for his challenger John Luisi, who also challenged him in 2005.
His political career began when, in 1964, he joined the New York State Conservative Party. In 1974, he was elected as Chairman of the Richmond County Conservative Party and subsequently as Vice Chair of the State Party. In 1989, he was elected Executive Vice Chair of the New York State Conservative Party, a post he still holds today.
Prior to becoming Borough President, Molinaro served for 12 years as Deputy Borough President to former Borough President Guy V. Molinari. He also served as Chief of Staff to Congressman Guy V. Molinari, representing New York's 14th Congressional District. Molinaro has had two Deputy Borough Presidents while in office. His first was Daniel M. Donovan, Jr.
Daniel M. Donovan, Jr.
Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. is an attorney and elected official from New York City. He currently serves as the district attorney for Richmond County, New York .-Early life:...
, who left to become the Richmond County (Staten Island) District Attorney in January 2004 after winning election to that office the previous November. The Deputy post was left vacant until November 2006. After much speculation Molinaro named Ed Burke to the Deputy position. Ed Burke had been Executive Assistant to Guy V. Molinari for twelve years and to Molinaro for nearly five.
Over a 20-year period, he has served on the Board of Directors for the Veterans Memorial Sports Complex, Staten Island Community Television, New York State Regional Organ Transplant and Bayley Seton Hospital. He was also the Chairman of the St. Elizabeth Ann's Health and Rehabilitation Center which he helped to create.
In 1989, Molinaro also helped to establish Staten Island’s first AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
day care center and AIDS medical care facility.
Currently, Molinaro serves on the board of the Heart Institute of Staten Island, a modern cardiac care facility. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Sisters of Charity Health Care Corporation. In 1991, in the memory of his late wife, Mr. Molinaro helped dedicate a local dialysis unit in her name. In 2000 St. Elizabeth Ann's Health and rehabilitation Center opened the James P. and Carol E. Molinaro Health Care and Rehabilitation Center Atrium.
Molinaro has been critical of how Italian-Americans and Staten Island residents are both portrayed in the media. In 2010 he penned the introduction of Andrew Paul Mele's Italian Staten Island (Images of America).
Overdevelopment
Reacting to the development pressure threatening the character of Staten Island, Mr. Molinaro spearheaded the largest down zoning on Staten Island in more than 40 years. It affected more than 41,459 individual properties on 4554 acres (18.4 km²). Ultimately, this down zoning has reduced by 25% the total number of potential new dwelling units on Staten Island.Parks
Since entering Borough Hall, Molinaro has aided in the allotment of nearly 100 million dollars to Park acquisition and maintenance. The renaissance of the South Beach Boardwalk, new recreational fields, an expansion of the Blue Belt and a quarter mile long fishing pier are just some of the parks related actives that have benefited from his capital funding. Currently, 25 percent of Staten Island is protected Parkland, a higher percentage than any other borough. Molinaro is a self-identified environmentalist.Economic Development
Molinaro was instrumental in bringing VISY paper to Staten Island; this is the first manufacturing firm to come to New York City in 50 years creating hundreds of new jobs. Currently, VISY is planning an expansion of this project that will further create new jobs and increase employment of Staten Island. Mr. Molinaro was also involved in the recreation of a freight rail service linking Staten Island to the rest of the Nation for the first time in nearly 20 years.Education
Molinaro has allotted $500,000 from his capital budget to purchase wirelessWireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
laptop computers for all of Staten Island’s Intermediate schools as well as many elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
s. He has also worked closely with Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
to bring additional schools to Staten Island including P.S. 58 (opened in 2003) and I.S. (scheduled to open in 2007).
Molinaro has also allocated $1,000,000 from Staten Island's capital budget for "electronic" blackboards for each public school on Staten Island.
Wind Turbines
Although an advocate for urban parkUrban park
An urban park, is also known as a municipal park or a public park, public open space or municipal gardens , is a park in cities and other incorporated places to offer recreation and green space to residents of, and visitors to, the municipality...
s and Fresh Kills Park itself, Molinaro has butted heads with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
The City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation is the department of government of the City of New York responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecological diversity of the city's natural areas, and furnishing recreational opportunities for city's...
over their refusal to consider the construction of wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
s for renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
on the site.
New York City Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Michael R. Bloomberg, a Molinaro ally, also holds an opinion that the former landfill be a place where renewable be generated but prefers the installation of a photovoltaic system
Photovoltaic system
A photovoltaic system is a system which uses one or more solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity. It consists of multiple components, including the photovoltaic modules, mechanical and electrical connections and mountings and means of regulating and/or modifying the electrical...
instead.
Landfill Roadways
Molinaro has also butted heads with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation over their refusal to open up currently unused former New York City Department of SanitationNew York City Department of Sanitation
The New York City Department of Sanitation, or DSNY, is a uniformed force of unionized sanitation workers in New York City. Their responsibilities include garbage collection, recycling collection, street cleaning, and snow removal...
roads within the landfill. Molinaro believes that with the opening of these roads that congestion around the Richmond Avenue commercial district, which includes the Staten Island Mall
Staten Island Mall
Staten Island Mall is a shopping mall in the Staten Island borough of New York City, United States. It is the only indoor shopping mall in the borough. It is the largest retail center on the island and is the site of the island's second largest public transit hub after the St...
would be alleviated.
In the past, his predecessor Guy V. Molinari, and former New York State Assemblyman Eric Nicholas Vitaliano
Eric Nicholas Vitaliano
Eric Nicholas Vitaliano is a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York....
also held an opinion that the roads should be opened.
In April 2011 the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation announced that it would construct a bicycle and pedestrian path
Greenway (landscape)
A greenway is a long, narrow piece of land, often used for recreation and pedestrian and bicycle user traffic, and sometimes for streetcar, light rail or retail uses.- Terminology :...
along the park's eastern border.