{"id":1196,"date":"2025-10-14T10:12:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T10:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/1196\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T10:12:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T10:12:10","slug":"after-a-lifetime-of-activism-this-staten-islander-helped-save-the-boroughs-oldest-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/1196\/","title":{"rendered":"After a lifetime of activism, this Staten Islander helped save the borough\u2019s oldest house"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steven LoBaido is a hero to all animals. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe is the type of person that if he sees a dog on the side of the road, he has to take it home,\u201d said his wife, Stephanie LoBaido. \u201cWe have to find the owner; we have to take it to the vet. We have to feed it. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s brought home everything, from dogs to an eagle with a broken wing. He brought home a chicken. He\u2019s saved little baby deer off the Staten Island Expressway. He\u2019s done it all. He\u2019s always saving an animal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hate ants, but I still won\u2019t step on them,\u201d Steven LoBaido said. <\/p>\n

But LoBaido\u2019s altruism is not limited to animals. He has been a passionate advocate of saving parks and historic homes on Staten Island. <\/p>\n

\"lobaido\"Frank Favale, left, Steven Lobaido and former Councilman Jerome X. O\u2019Donovan outside the entrance to Chapin Pond in 2007. A 75-foot long curb was installed by the city to define the border of the pond area.staten island advance<\/p>\n

He championed the preservation of two Dongan Hills parcels of land that became known as Chapin Pond Park and Chapin Woods Park<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Most recently, he was instrumental in the raising of $2 million to restore the Billiou-Stillwell-Perine House,<\/a> the oldest house on Staten Island and one of the oldest houses in New York City, constructed in 1663. <\/p>\n

A magical Staten Island childhood<\/p>\n

LoBaido, 56, grew up in Dongan Hills and had a childhood he classifies as magical. <\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I lived in the Wizard of Oz,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

As a child, LoBaido spent a lot of time in nature. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was constantly climbing trees. I drank water out of the creeks and ice skated on ponds in the winter,\u201d he said. \u201cI never wanted to grow up. I always wanted to be outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StevenSteven LoBaido and Stephanie LoBaidofamily archive<\/p>\n

His mother, Karen, was a real estate broker and his father, Salvatore, was a sanitation worker and a builder. <\/p>\n

LoBaido had two older brothers, Scott and Sal, who often got him into trouble. <\/p>\n

\u201cI got hurt a lot. I got a lot of stitches,\u201d LoBaido said.<\/p>\n

He attended PS 48, I.S. 49, and New Dorp High School. He loved art class and painting backdrops for school plays. He excelled in drawing and dreamed of one day becoming an architect. <\/p>\n

\"lobaido\"Steven spotted this American bald eagle perched in a tree in Chapin Woods. Bands are visible on the bird’s talons. (Photo by Steven LoBaido)Third-Party-Submitted<\/p>\n

As teenager, he had a delivery route for the Staten Island Advance. He did landscaping work and sold shirts at the mall. <\/p>\n

LoBaido graduated in 1985 and was married a few years later to his wife, who he met through mutual friends. The couple lived in New Dorp Beach for several years, before building their Victorian-style home in his childhood neighborhood of Dongan Hills. <\/p>\n

\"lobaido\"From left, Steven LoBaido, Dr. Mohamed Khalid, and Assembly member Joe Borelli at a 2014 fundraiser for the Billiou-Stillwell-Perine House on Richmond Road in Dongan Hills. (Staten Island Advance\/Virginia N. Sherry) Staff-Shot<\/p>\n

He worked at Con Edison for 10 years, reading meters before becoming a lineman, climbing poles to fix transformers. <\/p>\n

Then he became a bus operator for New York City Transit.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor him to be confined to a bus wasn\u2019t easy,\u201d Stephanie LoBaido said. <\/p>\n

LoBaido also worked as a contractor; he taught himself how to do carpentry. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe would do decks, kitchens, bathrooms, any kind of home renovation that anyone needed,\u201d Stephanie said. \u201cHe worked really hard to provide for me and his kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StevenSteven LoBaido and Stephanie LoBaidofamily archive\u2018An unsung hero\u2019<\/p>\n

In 1996, a developer decided to build 16 homes on land in Dongan Hills. LoBaido fought against it. The process took eight years. \u201cIt was a scary time because we didn\u2019t know who we were dealing with,\u201d Stephanie said. \u201cHe went door to door, talking to all the neighbors and getting them to sign a petition.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"64Steven Lobaido speaks at the rally on Annfield Court on June 17,2023, where he maintained a house under construction was damaging the environment. (Steve White for the Staten Island Advance)<\/p>\n

\u201cHe took over that realm of protecting our childhood playground, which was the woods,\u201d said his brother, Scott LoBaido. \u201cHe is an unsung hero and his efforts will live forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Politicians became involved in the fight and in the end, LoBaido succeeded in preserving the land. <\/p>\n

In the days after 9\/11, LoBaido drove his bus through the financial district, exposing himself to toxins in the air. <\/p>\n

\"Billou-StillwellStephanie Lobaido holds granddaughter Meadow as Steven Lobaido is honored for all his work and dedication to restoring the Billou-Stillwell Perine House. (Advance\/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no ventilation in the bus, no masks, no respirators,\u201d Stephanie LoBaido said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t even have anything to clean the windows. He used to take his water bottle and open the side window to clean it from all the dust so he could actually see where he was driving the bus. That\u2019s how bad the dust was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staten Island\u2019s oldest house<\/p>\n

In 2013, LoBaido helped raise funds to repair the roof of the Billiou-Stillwell-Perine House, the oldest home in Staten Island<\/a>. It was the first step in long effort to restore the structure. He was involved every step of the way. <\/p>\n

LoBaido first saw the house on a field trip in the third grade. Decades later, he devoted himself to its restoration. He took it upon himself to rebuild the picket fence in front of the house. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was just desperate to save it,\u201d said his friend and neighbor, Alice Diamond. \u201cHe itched at people; he nagged them until they listened and did whatever it was that he wanted to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe made sure that the people who needed to be reminded that this wasn\u2019t done yet were reminded regularly,\u201d said Jessica Phillips, CEO of Historic Richmond Town. \u201cWhile I found his nudging annoying at time, I value it, because I do believe that without that, we wouldn\u2019t be in this funding position we are in now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StevenSteven LoBaido and Stephanie LoBaidofamily archive<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just truly understands and values the historical significance, the stories that the house can tell, and the value it is to our community,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cAnd he doesn\u2019t want anybody to forget it. He\u2019s got a lot of energy, and he\u2019s laser focused. It\u2019s incredible. Every community needs someone like him to advocate for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe kept on pushing,\u201d said Brian Laline, executive editor of the Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com. \u201cHe was relentless about it. I kept on telling him, this can\u2019t happen overnight. He just would not stop until he got what he thought the house and Staten Island deserved. He wouldn\u2019t take no for an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank God he was pushy because it would never have gotten done without him,\u201d Scott LoBaido said. <\/p>\n

\u2018A beautiful life\u2019<\/p>\n

In 2019, LoBaido and his wife relocated from Staten Island to Brick Township, New Jersey. \u201cIt reminds me of the Staten Island where I grew up. Staten Island changed a lot. That\u2019s why we left.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StevenSteven LoBaidofamily archive<\/p>\n

Recently, LoBaido was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer\u2019s disease. <\/p>\n

Tests have revealed that the Alzheimer\u2019s disease was not genetic. He and his family believe that the illness is a direct result of the months LoBaido spent driving his bus surrounded by the debris left by 9\/11. Studies have shown that 9\/11 first responders are at a significantly higher risk of early-onset Alzheimers. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are dying. People are suffering. People are sick because of 9\/11,\u201d LoBaido said. \u201cIt\u2019s very upsetting. I hope my story will help people and encourage them to find out more information.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"64Steven Lobaido shows photos of the erosion caused by a vacant structure affecting the Chapin Woods Park and pond on Annfield Court on June 17,2023. Dr. Mohammad Khalid stands with him. (Steve White for the Staten Island Advance)<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, I\u2019m very angry about what\u2019s happened to him,\u201d Stephanie LoBaido said. \u201cWe\u2019re living with it on a daily basis. I don\u2019t know what the future is going to be. We take it day by day.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his free time, LoBaido likes to do yard work. He gardens and collects antiques. He loves spending time with his two children and seven grandchildren. \u201cWe\u2019re so proud of them. We have a great family. I would say Steven has accomplished so much in his life,\u201d Stephanie said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI had a great life. I had a beautiful life,\u201d Steven said. <\/p>\n

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