Staten Island Borough President James Oddo put a burn for the ages on the real estate developers Savo Brothers this week. By Oddo’s choosing, three streets in a new Savo development will be named after rough synonyms for greed, avarice, and deceit.
As borough president, Oddo has the power to decide on names of streets, and presumably chose Cupidity Drive, Fourberie Lane, and Avidity Place in response to Savo’s decision to tear down Mount Manresa, a century-old Jesuit retreat on the Island. Savo Brothers, which purchased the site from the Jesuits, demolished the retreat amidst much public protest. It will be replaced by a condo development.
Savo Brothers took Oddo to court over the street names, calling them “derogatory” and “an abuse of the respondent’s discretion.” Thursday, a judge ruled in Oddo’s favor, writing “it is within Borough President James Oddo’s discretion to decide if the street names of the residents of the Borough of Staten Island should reflect greed, a Lazy Bird or a fallen hero.”
