Staten Island National Night Out Event Brings Together Police & Community Members For Fun, Games, Activities; Attendee Scott LoBaido Suffers Cardiac Arrest

Staten Island’s National Night Out event brought together local police precincts and members of the community for a night of fun and games appropriate for families and people of all ages.  This event has been going on for decades in the city and across the country to bring together members of the public with their local police forces.  

According to the National Night Out campaign website, “National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. National Night Out enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community. Furthermore, it provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.

“Millions of neighbors take part in National Night Out across thousands of communities from all fifty states, U.S. territories, and military bases worldwide on the first Tuesday in August (Texas and select areas celebrate on the first Tuesday in October). Neighborhoods host block parties, festivals, parades, cookouts and various other community events with safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, visits from emergency personnel, exhibits and much, much more.”

During the event, which was like a block party/summer concert, local musicians performed for a mixed audience and kids and families participated in fun activities and games, described in more detail below. 

Mayor Mamdani also made an appearance, which was quickly disrupted by local artist and activist Scott Lobaido and a few other residents. The Community Affairs Officers let Scott speak, but would not permit him to advance closer to the stage.

Scott LoBaido is best-known for his patriotic Americana art flag murals on outdoor walls across the Island.

Lobaido is also a performance artist and activist, and has supported Republicans and Conservatives since Ronald Reagan.  Sometimes the issues he brings light to in our community are most widely supported by Islanders on the Right, like his stance on the migrant shelters. But Scott Lobaido’s other efforts, like trying to rein in the speed cameras, are widely supported by everyone.   LoBaido is known for supporting the police and 911 First Responders.

LoBaido, and others, were apparently disgruntled at the Mayor’s recent decision to hold off on hiring an additional 5,000 police officers. Additionally, some protesters reportedly take issue with Mayor Mamdami’s prior statements and associations, and so it’s multiple issues that are cited. 

Lobaido has repeatedly made impassioned pleas for the mayor not attend the Ground Zero memorial event on September 11th.  Mayor Mandami plans to attend, according to his own statements.

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Shortly after this incident with LoBaido yelling at the Mayor while the police held him back, Scott reportedly said he wasn’t feeling well and fell over.

Quick-acting EMTs were able to revive him before taking him to the hospital for emergency heart surgery. 

Assemblymember Pirozzolo reported that he Scott is recovering well. 

Scott LoBaido’s yelling apparently was in relation to a petition asking that the mayor not show up for the official 9/11 memorial event, which has garnered 73,000 signatures. “We felt that having Mamdani there would show a disrespect to our family members because of the people he supports,” Giovanni Galante told Rozner of CBS News.   Galante’s wife died on 9/11, and he is one of the organizers of the petition.

“Mayor Mamdani has assured 9/11 families that he wants to be there to honor our loved ones, and I think he should be allowed to do that,” Elizabeth Miller said. Her father was killed in the September 11th attacks 25 years ago.  Miller is the project director of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, which has over 250 members.

CBS News mentioned in their own report on this matter that the memorial service is a non-partisan event that some survivor family members have said should stay that way.   Mayors and elected officials of every party and policy have always attended. The 9/11 Memorial Museum said in part, “we have intentionally worked to keep the commemoration free of politics because remembering those we lost on 9/11 should never be a partisan issue.” 

Mayor Mamdani said, “I will proudly honor the families, the survivors, the first responders forever impacted by that horrific terror attack by standing alongside them.” 

Families learn about services the city offers while connecting with local politicians and officers

Police Commissioner Tisch and Staten Island’s District Attorney McMahon attended the Night Out event and addressed participants, praising the work of local law enforcement and the importance of building relationships with the community.  DA McMahon said,  “Remember, the police are the people and the people are the police.”

Officers from the 120th, 121st,  122nd, and 123rd Precinct, representing every corner of the borough, were in attendance, along with City and State agency representatives, nonprofit leaders, and businesses from many sectors across the island. 

Bounce houses, rock wall climbing, face painting, and puppet shows were available to attendees, along with arts and crafts and hands-on activities.  Performances by local musicians were peppered with speeches by local elected officials as families enjoyed the fun and festivities, food, drink, and sweet treats. 

FDNY and FDNY EMS offered fire truck and ambulance tours, and there was protective gear to try on supplied by the Secret Service and FBI. Midland Beach was awash in festivities and good vibes during the event. 

Some of the politicians in attendance, besides the Mayor, were State Senator Scarcella-Spanton, Councilmembers Morano and Carr, Assemblymember Pirozzolo, and NYC Parks Borough Commissioner Joseph Homsey. In all, it was a great success, with families having fun while building stronger ties with their local police officers.  

About the event, Senator Scarcella-Spanton said: 

I had a great time at Staten Island’s National Night Out with the 120, 121, 122, & 123 NYPD precincts, community groups, and my partners in government. Special thank you to Josephine Marino for making this event bigger and better each year!

National Night Out event. Image Credit – Sen. Scarcella-Spanton

National Night Out event. Image Credit – Sen. Scarcella-Spanton

National Night Out event. Image Credit – Sen. Scarcella-Spanton

National Night Out event. Image Credit – Sen. Scarcella-Spanton

Banner Image:  National Night Out event. Image Credit – Sen. Scarcella-Spanton