There is a condo complex that will be located on the 15-acre property that was once home of Mount Manresa, a Jesuit retreat.

In 2013, the Jesuits property owners decided that they wanted to sell the land. In early 2014, Savo Brothers (developers) purchased the property for $15 million. In an attempt to stop the condo development, community members petitioned for officials and even tried to have the property declared as a landmark.

Unfortunately, none of these efforts panned out and the building were set forth to begin construction, cutting down hundreds of trees, some being 400 years old! That is when Staten Island’s borough president played his card.

James Oddo has been campaigning against the development from the start. As a city councilman in 2010, he tired to have the land rezoned. He even tried to get it turned into a park or school, but both request did not work. So, instead, the borough president renamed the streets: “Cupidity Drive”, “Fourberie Lane”, and “Avidita Place”

Cupidity means lust for wealth; Fourberie is the French word for deceit, and Avidita is the Italian word for greed.

The developers challenged the new naming of the streets to the State Supreme Court, but the judge ruled that Oddo obeyed his rights to name the street. Even though they are in another language, there is no changing them. This means someday, eventually someone will be living on a street named after Greed.


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Posted by Anthony Licciardello on
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