STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — More than 100 people gathered Saturday in Rossville to witness the unveiling of Madison Rochelle Alfano Way, a street co-named in honor of a young woman whose death inspired her family’s mission to improve driving safety.
The ceremony took place at the corner of Winant Avenue and Veterans Road East, where the new street sign was installed. The location holds special significance for the Alfano family, whose home is just a few blocks away.
“We wondered ‘how can we keep her name alive?’” said Lou Alfano, Madison’s father. “What’s something that’s lasting? With her being so young and from the neighborhood, we thought it’d be nice that people could see Madison’s name for years and years beyond this tragedy.”
Madison, 18, was a 2023 graduate of Tottenville High School and a freshman at Monmouth University. On Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, Madison was heading home from school when she was involved in a multi-vehicle collision on the Garden State Parkway near Exit 127. Rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, she succumbed to her injuries the next morning.
The street co-naming process began over six months ago as an initiative of the Madison Rochelle Alfano Foundation. The timing proved fortuitous when the family contacted New York City Councilman Frank Morano, a Republican representing the South Shore.
“A mutual friend of mine knew (Councilman Morano) and his team, and contacted them,” Alfano explained. “They got back to us that evening because they had heard about the story when it happened. They also happened to know that the deadline to submit the application for the street naming was approaching.”
The family submitted the application right on time, and it was approved by the City Council, Alfano said.
Saturday’s ceremony was attended by many who learned about the event through social media. Other attendees included Morano, District Attorney Michael E. McMahon and Michael Colombo, who is running for borough president.
“Total strangers came up to us and said someone had shared this on Facebook,” Alfano said. “They heard about the story when it happened in 2024 and just wanted to come, pay their respects and see the unveiling.”
Alfano said he hopes the street sign will direct people to learn more about his daughter and the foundation’s virtual driving school project. The family is still fundraising, hoping to reach its goal of $125,000 to launch the program.
The program will offer free simulator training for drivers ages 17 to 20, focusing on situations and scenarios that can’t be safely practiced during traditional driver education.
“Our goal is to make the road safer,” Alfano previously explained. “We think this is going to become muscle memory when these kids learn what happens in a dangerous situation and how to avoid it or get out of it.”
Virtual driving school project sessions would include classroom instruction followed by hands-on simulator experience with realistic controls — a steering wheel, gas and brake pedals — similar to those used in immersive driving-themed video games.
Once in the virtual driver’s seat, participants will face varying simulations programmed to replicate experiences such as navigating wet roads and recovering from hydroplaning, reacting when another driver brakes suddenly and handling being cut off by angry drivers.
“It feels like every week I’m reading a new story,” Alfano said, referencing recent traffic fatalities involving young people on Staten Island. “It’s just such a struggle for me being close to the tragedy of my daughter, where I have a potential solution to prevent these accidents and fatalities.”
The family also used the gathering to collect pet food donations for Lou’s Helping Hand, a foundation that operates a free pet food pantry for seniors and low-income residents. The connection is in honor Madison’s love of pets, especially her dog, Leo.
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