Graziano and Orena appeared together on Episode 67 of the show where the group tackled a question Staten Islanders know all too well: Why doesn\u2019t anyone here give directions using actual street names?<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy don\u2019t Staten Islanders give, like, a street and a cross street when giving directions?\u201d Host Chris Dalton asked. \u201cThey always say, \u2018Oh, yeah, it\u2019s right off Amboy by the McDonald\u2019s,\u2019 or \u2018Make a left by the Dunkin\u2019 Donuts.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Dalton took the observation one step further, joking that Staten Islanders \u201cnever tell you exactly where\u201d something is.<\/p>\n
But Orena offered a defense of the borough\u2019s landmark-based navigation system.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you live in a neighborhood where there\u2019s all numbered blocks and everything, it\u2019s easy,\u201d Orena said. \u201cOnce you get out of that area and you\u2019re looking at stores or a gas station or whatever, it\u2019s landmarks.\u201d<\/p>\n
In other words, Staten Islanders may not know the cross street, but they know the pizzeria, gas station or long-gone supermarket that used to be on the corner.<\/p>\n
Graziano, one of the original cast members of VH1\u2019s \u201cMob Wives,\u201d agreed that numbered streets are not always the answer. <\/p>\n
![\"Renee](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/BREXNTN7WBHIRLAL72HEEGHY5E.png\")
That was the tongue-in-cheek takeaway from a discussion featuring \u201cMob Wives\u201d cast member Renee Graziano and Jackie Orena on \u201cThe Voices of Brooklyn,\u201d where the group tackled a question Staten Islanders know all too well: Why does nobody here give directions using actual street names?Dr. Gracelyn Santos<\/p>\n
The video quickly drew responses from viewers who understood the Staten Island system perfectly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t remember every street name, only major street names and landmarks,\u201d one commenter wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it ain\u2019t Victory, Richmond, Hylan or Forest, I don\u2019t need to know its name,\u201d another said.<\/p>\n
One commenter offered a geographical explanation, noting that Staten Island doesn\u2019t follow the kind of predictable street grid found in many other parts of New York City.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not in a grid pattern here,\u201d the commenter wrote. \u201cOur streets are carved into the Greenbelt. We know landmarks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others were less interested in defending the practice, acknowledging that Staten Island directions can leave outsiders hopelessly lost.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would get SO lost every time I went to Staten Island,\u201d one person wrote, adding that relatives would wait for the inevitable phone call asking for help.<\/p>\n
Still, plenty of Staten Islanders insisted the directions make perfect sense, at least to people who live here.<\/p>\n
\u201cStaten Island is all about landmarks,\u201d one commenter wrote. \u201cIf you\u2019re from here, you know the Island.\u201d<\/p>\n
And apparently, if someone tells you to go straight until you hit Carvel, make a left and turn at the deli, that is all the information a Staten Islander needs.<\/p>\n