Having grown up on the South Shore, this city councilman takes pride in the improved conditions in his and other island communities

Photos By Amessé Photography

Born and raised on the South Shore of Staten Island, Vincent Ignizio has long been enamored with the charm and old-fashioned appeal of this neighborly borough.

“I grew up in Eltingville, in a neighborhood full of kids and growing families,” the City Council Member said. “There was lots of open land, so we played in the woods, rode our bikes until the street lights came on, and just took full advantage of being out, playing ball, and discovering all of Staten Island’s natural assets.”

A product of PS 42, IS 7, and St. Joseph by the Sea High School, Ignizio, the son of a Port Authority worker, was inspired by his blue collar upbringing to work hard and succeed.

“My dad served in the military, and upon his return, started working for the Port Authority sweeping airport floors,” Ignizio recalled. “He married my mother and put himself through college, taking night classes to complete his degree. He ended up running the heliports in Manhattan, where he got to meet presidents… even the pope! I think it was that sort of drive that created a backdrop for where I am today. He was so dedicated and hardworking in everything that he did and that was the same type of life and career that I wanted to create to make my father proud.”

So, Ignizio earned his bachelor’s degree in communications and journalism from Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ.

“I wasn’t one of these kids who was president of the student body,” he said. “I actually attended college on a theater scholarship and majored in journalism and communications because I was interested in the field.”

Right before his graduation, one of Ignizio’s neighbors, Anthony Andriulli, who at the time headed the board of elections for the Republican party of Staten Island and was a campaign guru who ran races for notables like Susan Molinari and Vito Fossella, asked Ignizio if he wanted to meet Stephen Fiala, who was running for office on the North Shore.

“I helped him run an Assembly race against Betty Connelly, which he lost, but I got bit by the political bug in the process,” Ignizio said.

After Fiala’s loss, Ignizio took a job at a small New Jersey PR firm, but quit about a year later when Fossella was running for Congress.

“Susan Molinari was resigning from the House [U.S. House of Reps] to take on a morning talk show, Vito was running for her seat, and Fiala was planning a run for City Council,” he recounted.

At just 22-years-old, Ignizio ran and managed a successful campaign, then signed on to become one of the youngest chiefs-of-staff in New York government history.

“I did a lot of good things with Steve,” Ignizio said.

When Fiala took the County Clerk’s position in 2001, Ignizio went on to serve as chief of staff to Councilman Andrew Lanza. During that tenure, Ignizio co-authored five major downzoning applications for the South Shore, handled over $50 million in capital projects, and was instrumental in building new park-and-rides and adding more than 200 acres of parkland.

In 2004, Ignizio ran and was elected to the New York State Assembly, representing the 62nd district, which includes the South Shore.

“I was dissatisfied with what was happening with our Assembly office, and thought I could do a better job,” Ignizio said of his race against 24-year incumbent Bob Straniere. “I was just a 29-yearold kid from Eltingville Boulevard, but this was a community and a borough that I loved. So I went door-to-door to thousands of homes with my wife, introducing myself and my initiatives. At the end of the day, I won by 11 percent.”

While in Assembly, Ignizio was the ranking member on the Corporations and Authorities Committee, was the first freshman member appointed to the Ways and Means Committee in 20 years, and was elected Chairman of Assembly Republican Review Committee.

“We worked on a host of issues like improving transportation and increasing park land and park projects,” Ignizio said.

Ignizio was elected to the City Council in a 2007 special election to replace Councilman Lanza, who was succeeding the late John Marchi in the Senate. He was re-elected in 2009 and again in 2013, garnering more than 74 percent of the vote. He was also elected City Council Minority Leader by the Republican Delegation earlier this year. As one of the senior statesmen on the Council, Ignizio sits on the Finance, Land Use, Oversight and Investigation, and Rules and Land Use Committees, and is a member of the Council Leadership and Budget Negotiation teams.

“Insuring the cleanup of the Brookfield Landfill was something that we worked hard on, and placing focus on the plight of the Staten Island commuter, who has the longest commute in the country, was another of our goals,” Ignizio said of his City Council tenure.

Ignizio also spearheaded efforts to remove toxic PCBs from city schools, provided help for residents affected by Hurricane Sandy, and expanded requirements for buildings to install early-warning systems for deadly carbon monoxide gas. He’s helped to add nearly 800 park-and- ride spots on the South Shore, and secured historic funding for autism treatment and research on Staten Island.

“Our job in Council is to provide an overall voice for the suburb,” Ignizio said. “We’re here to do great things for our local community, and I think that’s exactly what we’ve been able to accomplish.”

In the future, Ignizio hopes only to continue improving conditions in the community where he was born and raised.

“When I grew up, 13,000 tons of garbage were being shipped here daily, and I can still remember the summertime stench that was ever-present at my own Eltingville home,” he said. “Amboy Road was a flooded nightmare with every major rainstorm, and there was virtually no form of mass transportation and no new schools. But there has been so much change in this community. There are no longer those 13,000 tons of garbage, there are all of these new Blue Belt programs, several new schools, and constant improvements to mass transit. And there are still only better days ahead.”

Those better days include the design and implementation of new and improved roadways, an increase of school seats, and other initiatives that stem the tide of overcrowding.

“Every community has its warts and issues,” Ignizio conceded. “But here on Staten Island, we are constantly improving. I’m proud to say that I live in the safest district in the city with the most amount of parkland, and I’m proud to be a part of all of the wonderful changes and improvements that are ahead.”

Vincent M. Ignizio
3944 Richmond Avenue / 718.984.5151 / vinnyignizio.com