Staten Island, NY – Borough President Vito Fossella presented the Albert V. Maniscalco Community Service Award to Alice Diamond, a longtime supporter of the cultural arts on Staten Island and one of the key founders of Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden.
The Albert V. Maniscalco Community Service Award, established in 1986, honors our ninth Borough President. Maniscalco’s tenure from 1955 to 1965 saw the creation of the Greenbelt and the construction of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. His namesake award celebrates civic-minded Staten Islanders who have dedicated their lives in service for the betterment of their community
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Alice Diamond is a longtime supporter of Staten Island’s arts and cultural community, who dedicated her life’s work in pursuit of hallmarking and promoting some of Staten Island’s largest celebrations of culture. She was one of the key founders of the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, a rich cornerstone of an institution that plays a central role in preserving and teaching Staten Island artistic and cultural history. Additionally, she was a driving force for the Carousel for All Children at Willowbrook Park, which continues to be fully accessible for the enjoyment of people of all abilities.
Her impact is multiplied across the various boards of cultural and charitable organizations in which Mrs. Diamond has taken part, including, but not limited to, Snug Harbor, the NYC Advisory Commission of Cultural Affairs, the Staten Island Chapter of the Red Cross, the Lynne Robbins Steinman Beautification Foundation, the Historic House Trust of NYC, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Greenbelt Conservancy and the Staten Island Foundation. She is also a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Staten Island Zoological Society, and the 2011 Mayor’s Award for Arts & Culture.
As an appropriate bookend to 40 years of celebrating dedicated community servants, Mrs. Diamond is the wife of the late Richard Diamond, publisher of the Staten Island Advance, who received the first Maniscalco Award in 1986.
For her dedication to the preservation and celebration of Staten Island arts and culture, Alice Diamond will receive the 2026 Maniscalco Community Service Award.
“Alice Diamond is synonymous with Staten Island culture,” said Borough President Fossella during an intimate gathering in his office yesterday surrounded by Mrs. Diamond’s family and friends. “In fact, she is Staten Island culture. Everything that her fingerprints are on has blossomed and made this borough a better place.”
Mrs. Diamond, the wife of Richard E. Diamond, the late publisher of the Staten Island Advance, and the mother of Caroline Diamond Harrison, who succeeded her father as publisher, has been a driving force on various boards of cultural organizations.
In addition to her work at Snug Harbor, Mrs. Diamond has held multiple board positions and played important roles at the NYC Advisory Commission of Cultural Affairs; the Staten Island Chapter of the Red Cross; the Lynne Robbins Steinman Beautification Foundation; the Historic House Trust of NYC; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Greenbelt Conservancy, and the Staten Island Foundation.
She was also instrumental in the creation of the Carousel for All Children at Willowbrook Park, which continues to be fully accessible for the enjoyment of people of all abilities.
Borough President Fossella called Mrs. Diamond “the best that Staten Island has to offer” and in a fitting tribute, she was presented with the Maniscalco Award 40 years after her husband received the first Maniscalco Award in 1986.
“When we choose a recipient for this award, we look at Staten Island’s landscape of a half million people and say, ‘who truly embodies the spirit and virtue of this borough?’” said Borough President Fossella. “Alice does so without ever asking for any attention, without ever giving up. Like a quiet force of nature.”
Mrs. Diamond accepted the award with the dignity and grace she is known for.
“It was Ralph Lamberti who created this award to memorialize Al Maniscalco,” she said. “Both men were my friends. And the first recipient of this award was more than just my friend. Thank you for letting me share this honor with him and with my family.”
At the award ceremony. Image Credit – BP Fossella
At the award ceremony. Image Credit – BP Fossella
At the award ceremony. Image Credit – BP Fossella
At the award ceremony. Image Credit – BP Fossella
Banner Image: At the award ceremony. Image Credit – BP Fossella
The Office of the Borough President has a responsibility to advocate for the entire Borough of Staten Island and all its residents, and represents the Borough's interests within City government.
The Borough President communicates directly with the Mayor and the City Council to emphasize Staten Island’s budget priorities.
In addition, the Borough President is responsible for reviewing major land use decisions and proposing sites for city facilities within the Borough.
As the chair of the Borough Board, the Borough President leads Staten Island’s City Council delegation and Community Board chairs in the process of reviewing and approving the transfer of public properties to private use. The Borough President’s Office houses the Borough's Topographical Bureau, which maintains the borough’s official maps and assigns street addresses.
The Borough President monitors the delivery of city services on Staten Island, and acts as a liaison between residents and city agencies when problems arise to devise solutions. The Borough President is also responsible for appointing one member to the Panel for Educational Policy and one member to the City Planning Commission, as well as some 150 members to Staten Island’s three community boards.
