“Mount SI NY!” Just Sounded A Little Strange

I think the Rubenstein people might start by encouraging you to avoid mentioning that your biggest asset is a boat:

Intent on promoting Staten Island as a “great place to visit, work and live,” a group of the Island’s movers and shakers met last night to formally announce the creation of a marketing campaign designed to boost borough pride and erase negative stereotypes.

Under the banner of “SI NY Proud of it,” backers said their goal is to trumpet the Island as the place in New York City with the best schools, most parkland, lowest crime rate, an array of cultural offerings and diverse housing stock.

. . .

Not only is the Island still regarded in some quarters as the former home of the world’s largest landfill — poised to become the biggest urban park — but it is routinely underestimated by outside media, he said.

Along those lines, public relations giant Howard Rubenstein has agreed to promote the SI NY campaign.

Rubenstein’s Pat Smith, who will shepherd the effort, said the Island needs to “project a better image [so] people want to invest here, locate here.”

“Everything in life is perception,” agreed Borough President James P. Molinaro.

Molinaro said, for example, that while the Staten Island Ferry — with its 1.5 million visitors annually — is the No. 3 tourist attraction in New York City, behind the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, more needs to be done to lure them to local attractions like Snug Harbor Cultural Center and the Staten Island Zoo.