Staten Island Friar Attends Interfaith Breakfast with Mayor

Manhattan, New York

Friar Ed Costello has been the chaplain at the Sea View Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Staten Island, New York for about two years. His compassion, faith, and Franciscan dedication to serving others have allayed the pain and fears of countless patients at the hospital.

Noticing his ability to connect with people on a very deep and meaningful level, the administration at Sea View Hospital appointed Friar Ed as the hospital’s representative at New York City’s Interfaith Breakfast with the city’s mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

The Sea View Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, Staten Island, New York

The breakfast took place on the last day of 2009 at the Celeste Bartos Forum in the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan. A limousine fetched Friar Ed at his friary in Staten Island and drove him to Manhattan. At the breakfast, Archbishop Timothy Dolan first delivered an invocation and then Mayor Bloomberg presented his vision for New York City. Key to the city's future is the need to focus on the well being of its residents, to make sure that the most vulnerable are not forgotten.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg

(Sources of related photos on webpage and homepage: Monika Szyma from flickr.com, www.silive.com, www.wikipedia.org, and www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com.)