STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — On this episode of the OnSI podcast… Mom-and-pop stores are oftentimes the lifeblood of neighborhoods, and during the pandemic, many have proven just how essential they are. How one local market on the North Shore continues to serve its customers as it closes in on its fourth decade in business.
“I’m not looking to go anywhere,” said Tom Beyar, the owner of Beyar’s Market on Victory Boulevard. “As long as I can spend time with my family, travel a little bit, and still stay involved with the community, I’m fine. It always comes back to Staten Island. Staten Island had, and still has, that uniqueness of a community where everybody knows everybody.”
Also this month, Staten Island is home to cultural treasures, fine restaurants, natural wonders and unique shopping districts, but at times it gets a bad rap from people who may have never even set foot on the borough. Why one Island-based initiative looks to change perceptions of the community by rebranding it from forgotten to unexpected.
“We thought it was important to say to people, look what’s here; look at this gem,” said Jennifer Sammartino, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Staten Island Borough President and First Director of Tourism, Cultural Affairs and the Visit Staten Island campaign.
Plus, this episode’s “Local Hero of the Month” is a Staten Islander whose goal is to lead a community-wide effort to support young athletes with developmental disabilities.
OnSI is made possible with funding from Tom and Suzanne Crimmins, owners of Tom Crimmins Realty, the Staten Island-based real estate firm that has made a name for itself for more than a decade as a local, independent, family-run business that knows the neighborhoods it serves.
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