Post by ferryfast admin on Oct 25, 2011 14:02:18 GMT -5
Friendships flourish among a group of commuters catching the ferry to work each day
Published: Tuesday, October 25, 2011, 4:47 AM
Updated: Tuesday, October 25, 2011, 6:02 AM
By Elise G. McIntosh Staten Island Advance
www.silive.com/relationships/index.ssf/2011/10/friendships_flourish_among_a_group_of_commuters_catching_the_ferry_to_work_each_day.html
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Staten Island Ferry isn’t just a means of transportation. It also can be a place where relationships blossom.
Unlike the subway or bus where commuters perpetually hop on and off, the ferry ride is a 25-minute trip during which passengers have nowhere else to go, providing them with ample opportunity to chat with other riders with whom they cross day in and day out.
It often begins with a casual comment about the weather or news and, over time, can morph into a daily conversation and a genuine friendship.
In some instances, a relationship can involve upwards of 15, 20, 25 people — as is the case with one eclectic group that meets religiously every weekday morning on the 8 a.m. ferry, upper deck, where they occupy the same two rows.
It started off small, over a decade ago, with just Florence St. Laurent of Annadale and Tony Savoca of Westerleigh, who both worked at the New York Stock Exchange.
Then along came Camille Esposito, who recognized Ms. St. Laurent from Our Lady Star of the Sea, where both of their children went to school.
When Michelle Currao of Annadale spotted Ms. St. Laurent, whom she knew from OLSS, sitting in the next row, she joked, “What? You’re too good to sit with us?”
The comment prompted Ms. St. Laurent and her group to move next to Ms. Currao and her friend, Karen Boresky of Tottenville, for good.
Later, Nancy Ginsberg of Huguenot and Barbara Collura of Eltingville also were added to the mix.
WHAT THEY DISCUSS
Their easy conversations drift from chitchat about what they did over the weekend and venting about their personal lives and work to giving each other advice.
“It’s like therapy,” Ms. Boresky said.
“We definitely get deep at times,” Ms. Currao agreed.
Other times, it’s hysterical.
“We’d have mornings where people were in tears from laughing so hard,” Ms. Currao said.
One such instance involved an older gentleman sitting a row behind them. Impressed with the dapper way the stranger dressed, Ms. Boresky jokingly would refer to him as her boyfriend.
Though he made it seem like he was reading the newspaper each day, the women knew he was eavesdropping on their conversation.
“We would ignore him on purpose just to see what he would do,” Ms. Currao remembered.
That went on for a few weeks, until Ms. Esposito spotted the man’s photo in the Advance and arrived on the boat one morning, boasting, “I know his name! Charlie LaGanga!”
In Ms. Esposito’s way (and she does have a way, the others say), she tapped him on the shoulder and said she knew who he was.
“Once Camille opened the door, he never left,” Ms. Currao said of how he joined the group.
LaGanga, a Todt Hill resident and community activist and volunteer who frequently is featured in the Advance, has since gotten Ms. St. Laurent and Ms. Boresky involved in his charity efforts.
"The three of us are attached at the hip,” said Ms. St. Laurent.
GETS EVEN BIGGER
All the while, sitting next to them was another sizable crew — Rocco Corigliano of New Dorp, John LaPutka and Gary Warner, both of Tottenville, Gloria Brandon of Great Kills and Patrick Grillo of Dongan Hills.
Also in the mix was Angelo Arcario, of Annadale, who’d ask Eltingville’s Frank Petrizzo a trivia question each morning about his favorite team, the Yankees.
Observing this daily ritual, a few in the other group voiced how impressed they were with the way Petrizzo always supplied the correct answer. The two groups merged.
Just as there have been additions, group members said, there also have been losses.
“Between retirement and layoffs, there have been changes in the group,” Petrizzo observed, adding some people also had to switch ferries due to schedules shifting.
Numbering about 20 now, the group is on the smaller side. Even in a circle this size, though, some stand out.
LaPutka has earned the moniker “Johnny Stats” because of his hobby of keeping sports scores with the colored pens he stows in his breast pocket. He’s also called “Mr. Page Six” for his interest in the New York Post’s gossip page.
Petrizzo is known as “Uncle Cheech.”
“All Italian guys named Frank are called Cheech,” he said of his nickname.
Toni Turco of Tottenville and Lisa of Oakwood (who prefers not to give her surname) are the youngest, a distinction, Ms. Currao said, that upsets Ms. Esposito who used to own that title and tries to appear younger than she really is. (“Yes, Camille, you do know who Columbo is.”)
The close-knit group has taken their friendship off-ship, going to dinner, karaoke nights and sporting events together.
Ms. Boresky often invites the “boat people,” as she refers to them, to her house for backyard barbecues.
“Sometimes there will be 50 to 60 of us by the time we bring all of our kids, spouses and friends,” she said.
Of the daily meetups on the ferry, Petrizzo said, “We just have had a ball. Every morning with the trivia, talking about what we did over the weekend. We’ve really have become great friends.”
“It’s almost like going to your family’s house for the holidays,” Lisa of Oakwood commented. “There’s camaraderie going on and you talk about your issues, good or bad. It’s an extension of your family; it seriously is.”
Published: Tuesday, October 25, 2011, 4:47 AM
Updated: Tuesday, October 25, 2011, 6:02 AM
By Elise G. McIntosh Staten Island Advance
www.silive.com/relationships/index.ssf/2011/10/friendships_flourish_among_a_group_of_commuters_catching_the_ferry_to_work_each_day.html
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Staten Island Ferry isn’t just a means of transportation. It also can be a place where relationships blossom.
Unlike the subway or bus where commuters perpetually hop on and off, the ferry ride is a 25-minute trip during which passengers have nowhere else to go, providing them with ample opportunity to chat with other riders with whom they cross day in and day out.
It often begins with a casual comment about the weather or news and, over time, can morph into a daily conversation and a genuine friendship.
In some instances, a relationship can involve upwards of 15, 20, 25 people — as is the case with one eclectic group that meets religiously every weekday morning on the 8 a.m. ferry, upper deck, where they occupy the same two rows.
It started off small, over a decade ago, with just Florence St. Laurent of Annadale and Tony Savoca of Westerleigh, who both worked at the New York Stock Exchange.
Then along came Camille Esposito, who recognized Ms. St. Laurent from Our Lady Star of the Sea, where both of their children went to school.
When Michelle Currao of Annadale spotted Ms. St. Laurent, whom she knew from OLSS, sitting in the next row, she joked, “What? You’re too good to sit with us?”
The comment prompted Ms. St. Laurent and her group to move next to Ms. Currao and her friend, Karen Boresky of Tottenville, for good.
Later, Nancy Ginsberg of Huguenot and Barbara Collura of Eltingville also were added to the mix.
WHAT THEY DISCUSS
Their easy conversations drift from chitchat about what they did over the weekend and venting about their personal lives and work to giving each other advice.
“It’s like therapy,” Ms. Boresky said.
“We definitely get deep at times,” Ms. Currao agreed.
Other times, it’s hysterical.
“We’d have mornings where people were in tears from laughing so hard,” Ms. Currao said.
One such instance involved an older gentleman sitting a row behind them. Impressed with the dapper way the stranger dressed, Ms. Boresky jokingly would refer to him as her boyfriend.
Though he made it seem like he was reading the newspaper each day, the women knew he was eavesdropping on their conversation.
“We would ignore him on purpose just to see what he would do,” Ms. Currao remembered.
That went on for a few weeks, until Ms. Esposito spotted the man’s photo in the Advance and arrived on the boat one morning, boasting, “I know his name! Charlie LaGanga!”
In Ms. Esposito’s way (and she does have a way, the others say), she tapped him on the shoulder and said she knew who he was.
“Once Camille opened the door, he never left,” Ms. Currao said of how he joined the group.
LaGanga, a Todt Hill resident and community activist and volunteer who frequently is featured in the Advance, has since gotten Ms. St. Laurent and Ms. Boresky involved in his charity efforts.
"The three of us are attached at the hip,” said Ms. St. Laurent.
GETS EVEN BIGGER
All the while, sitting next to them was another sizable crew — Rocco Corigliano of New Dorp, John LaPutka and Gary Warner, both of Tottenville, Gloria Brandon of Great Kills and Patrick Grillo of Dongan Hills.
Also in the mix was Angelo Arcario, of Annadale, who’d ask Eltingville’s Frank Petrizzo a trivia question each morning about his favorite team, the Yankees.
Observing this daily ritual, a few in the other group voiced how impressed they were with the way Petrizzo always supplied the correct answer. The two groups merged.
Just as there have been additions, group members said, there also have been losses.
“Between retirement and layoffs, there have been changes in the group,” Petrizzo observed, adding some people also had to switch ferries due to schedules shifting.
Numbering about 20 now, the group is on the smaller side. Even in a circle this size, though, some stand out.
LaPutka has earned the moniker “Johnny Stats” because of his hobby of keeping sports scores with the colored pens he stows in his breast pocket. He’s also called “Mr. Page Six” for his interest in the New York Post’s gossip page.
Petrizzo is known as “Uncle Cheech.”
“All Italian guys named Frank are called Cheech,” he said of his nickname.
Toni Turco of Tottenville and Lisa of Oakwood (who prefers not to give her surname) are the youngest, a distinction, Ms. Currao said, that upsets Ms. Esposito who used to own that title and tries to appear younger than she really is. (“Yes, Camille, you do know who Columbo is.”)
The close-knit group has taken their friendship off-ship, going to dinner, karaoke nights and sporting events together.
Ms. Boresky often invites the “boat people,” as she refers to them, to her house for backyard barbecues.
“Sometimes there will be 50 to 60 of us by the time we bring all of our kids, spouses and friends,” she said.
Of the daily meetups on the ferry, Petrizzo said, “We just have had a ball. Every morning with the trivia, talking about what we did over the weekend. We’ve really have become great friends.”
“It’s almost like going to your family’s house for the holidays,” Lisa of Oakwood commented. “There’s camaraderie going on and you talk about your issues, good or bad. It’s an extension of your family; it seriously is.”