{"id":122252,"date":"2026-02-04T03:55:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T03:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/122252\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T03:55:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T03:55:24","slug":"bp-fossella-helps-dig-out-92-year-old-woman-trapped-by-snow-on-staten-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/122252\/","title":{"rendered":"BP Fossella helps dig out 92-year-old woman trapped by snow on Staten Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 A New Springville senior who was snowed in for days after a massive mound blocked her driveway is back on the road, thanks in part to an unlikely group of shovelers \u2014 including Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella.<\/p>\n

Ilene Shiffman, 92, had been unable to leave her Windham Loop home after a U-shaped wall of snow blocked her driveway, trapping her car and leaving her homebound for nearly a week. After a story by the Advance\/SILive.com highlighted her situation<\/a>, Fossella, several members of his office and his son Griffin showed up, shovels in hand to help clear the blockage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho knew there was a 92-year-old woman stranded in her house with no way out? That\u2019s really what a community newspaper is for \u2014 letting people know when someone needs help,” Fossella said<\/p>\n

\"BPBorough President Vito Fosella, several members of his office and son Griffin showed up to shovel a mound of snow that was blocking the driveway of 92-year-old Ilene Shiffman’s New Springville home.(Courtesy of the Staten Island Borough President’s Office)<\/p>\n

Fossella said his son came across the story and urged the group to act rather than wait for assistance to arrive. Within about 30 to 40 minutes, the crew had cleared the snow enough for Shiffman to safely access her vehicle.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe can be free again,\u201d Fossella said. \u201cSometimes you can\u2019t help every situation, but sometimes it works \u2014 and people come together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shiffman said she was stunned when she answered the phone and learned the borough president\u2019s office wanted to stop by. When she stepped outside later that afternoon, she was even more surprised to see Fossella standing in her driveway.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was shocked,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought I was going to see sanitation trucks. I never imagined I\u2019d see the borough president with a shovel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BP(From left) Griffin Fossella, Borough President Vito Fosella, Billy Beale, Director of Emergency Management, Public Safety and Veterans Affairs and Jasin Gjokaj, Community Liaison showed up to shovel a mound of snow that was blocking the driveway of 92-year-old Ilene Shiffman’s New Springville home.(Courtesy of Ilene Shiffman)<\/p>\n

After days of being stuck inside, Shiffman said she was finally able to visit her son Peter, who is recovering from surgery, and run errands she had been forced to put off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was afraid the economy was going to fall on its face,\u201d she quipped.<\/p>\n

Nick Thompson, a communications specialist for the borough president\u2019s office, said situations like Shiffman\u2019s highlight the importance of local reporting and community partnerships.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese stories might not always seem like breaking news, but they matter,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cThey help alert us to what\u2019s happening on the ground and allow us to respond \u2014 Staten Island really is a small town in a big city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fossella echoed that sentiment, urging neighbors to check in on one another \u2014 particularly seniors and residents unable to shovel on their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s easy to complain or wait for someone else to do it, but Staten Island is about helping your neighbor,\u201d he said. \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for the story, she might have been stuck there another five days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BPBorough President Vito Fosella, several members of his office and son Griffin showed up to shovel a mound of snow that was blocking the driveway of 92-year-old Ilene Shiffman’s New Springville home.(Courtesy of the Staten Island Borough President’s Office)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 A New Springville senior who was snowed in for days after a massive mound…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":122253,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-122252","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}