Monthly Update

February 2012

The construction of the Ocean Breeze Indoor Track & Field facility continues at a record pace fueled by warm weather and a desire to see the best Indoor Track in America here on Staten Island.

SITRAC President Vin Gattullo has been meeting with D.D.C. (Dept. of Design and Construction) to discuss building and timeline issues.June 1st steel is being delivered to the site and all foundation and ramp building will be completed. The actual building is pre fabrication and will be brought over from the Garden State where it is now being built after the steel work.

Work sessions have been held with the Dept. of of Parks and Recreation to establish policies and procedures on various aspects of the running of the facility.

Congratulations to Port Richmond girls and Msgr. Farrell boys for winning one of the last Indoor Track & Field Championships to be held off Staten Island.

January 2012

The warm weather has helped construction progress on the Ocean Breeze Indoor Track & Field complex. There is currently over sixty men working six days a week on the best Indoor track in America.

SITRAC presented to the Dept. of Parks/Recreation a "Cost Analysis, Rental and membership comparsion" to begin a dialogue to develop pricing and policies for the facility.

The Annual fundraiser and Triple Crown Awards event is still up in the air and hopefully will be announced this month.

The Staten Island Track & Field Championship will be held on Sun. Jan. 15th at 5PM at the Armory Track & Field Center, in Manhattan. Hopefully in a few years the event will be held where it belongs, Staten Island!

December 2011

SITRAC Board members Jim Grogan, Bob Orazem and Ed Gorman were in St. Louis for the US Track & Field Annual meeting recently. All the movers and shakers from the sport were there and most left knowing that the best track in the US will be located on Staten Island.

SITRAC formally signed a memorandum of agreement with the Dept. of Parks and Recreation to be involved in the management of the Track & Field component of the Ocean Breeze facility. Our attorney's Jeff Giordano and Larry Rampulla are credited in getting that completed.

A committee headed by Randy Horowitz is coordinating the Triple Crown Awards brunch in February. More information will be out soon and all award winners will be notified.

If you haven't been down by the Ocean Breeze construction site lately let me assure you that work is moving along. Over 50 workers are there daily with an assortment of bulldozers, cranes and trucks. Hope for a warm winter!

Stay tuned...

November 2011

It's full steam ahead on the Ocean Breeze Indoor Track & Field facility site. Engineer Jim Mortimer, a SITRAC board of director said "They are putting reinforcing steel in and that's part of the foundation" The second phase after the foundation is bringing in the actual building.

SITRAC is in the final stages of signing an agreement with the Dept. of Parks and Recreation to be part of the management team at the facility. SITRAC lawyer Jeff Giordano has been an instrumental part of these discussions.

Pete Whitehouse and Bob Orazem appeared on The Track Show, a New Jersey based internet running program. The show can be viewed on Therunningshow.com

An awards event to honor the recent Triple Crown winners will be held in winter. Board member Randy Horowitz is directing this event. All winners will be notified with the details.

Stay tuned...

October 2011

SITRAC continues to forge ahead in it's goal of advocating for and managing the Ocean Breeze Indoor Track & Field Center.

The piling situation has been rectified and we hope the see the "rising" of the building during early 2012.

SITRAC is working with the Dept. of Parks on a contractual contract that would allow us to continue our work to insure this facility is marketed locally, regionally and nationally.

SITRAC appointed Bob Orazem to be the "Interim Director of Track & Field" at our meeting on Oct. 4th. Orazem, who founded SITRAC in 1996 has been instrumental in SITRAC's development over the years.

Stay tuned...

June 2011

What a difference a month makes! The pilings for the Ocean Breeze Indoor track & Field facility are done but now have to be done over due to a cement issue. Not good news. But there is good news. Mayor Bloomberg is personally involved in this project and has addressed the issue and assures Staten Islanders that the project "will be back on track soon" Lets hope so.

Our Annual fundraiser "Rulers of the Road" was a huge success at the beautiful Hilton Hotel. Frank Sanchez manager of the Hilton and board member of SITRAC made sure the night was perfect for all the honorees.

The Boardwalk Mile will be held in August and more information will be made public on this site soon.

Stay tuned...

May 2011

We have been advised that the pilings built to support the Ocean Breeze Indoor Track facilty are finished. The bad news is that the project is now six months behind schedule. The next step is the laying of a concrete flooring. That would complete step one.

The 4th Annual Fundraiser was held on May 5th at the Hilton Hotel. The event honored the "Rulers of the Roads" Frank McConville, Jeanine Radice and Kari Proffitt.

Also honored was the winners of the 2010 Triple Crown. SITRAC picked up the ball and ran with it when the Advance dropped the event.

Vin Gattullo chaired the event and it was a huge success.

Stay tuned...

March/April 2011

After a rough winter a lot of work is being done on the Ocean Breeze Indoor Track & Field facility. Cement pilings are now completed in the footprint of the building.

There is no indication when Fitzpatrick & Co. will start bringing the building to Ocean Breeze from New Jersey. Look for lots of work being done this spring as the best Indoor Track in the United States rises from the ocean. Stay tuned...