STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Noticing a reporter photographing the koi pond in his front yard, long-time Oakwood resident Charles Munafo came out to say hello.
"I've had the pond 12 or 13 years, and there's 10 koi in there now -- the five little ones were born last year," he said.
Munafo and his wife, Carol -- "who does all the gardening" on the meticulously landscaped property -- have been living in the same corner house since 1965, raising four children there.
"My father lived next door, and we built this house on his property," Munafo explained. "This is the first house that my friend since high school, Robert Morri, designed as an architect."
'LOVE THE TREES'
A few blocks away, native Islander Jane Parisi, who moved to Oakwood from Dongan Hills five years ago, explained why she values the neighborhood.
"I love the trees -- that's one of the big things. And I like the wide streets, and the neighbors and hearing (Monsignor) Farrell (High School) football games on the loudspeaker.
"After Hurricane Sandy, everyone got together. There was an outpouring of help and kindness," Ms. Parisi recalled.
Parked outside the house was a bright blue 1949 Chevrolet that belongs to her husband, Stephen Myers. "It's won a number of Rat Rod awards," she said, noting that the vintage car attracts attention. "A lot of people stop, knock on our door, and take pictures."
'SUNDAY BREAKFAST ALWAYS BUSY'
At the Oakwood Center shopping plaza on Amboy Road, Mike Jr.'s Oakwood Diner was packed with customers Sunday morning.
Busy owner-chef Michael Moudatsos Jr. took a break for a brief chat in one of the comfortable booths.
"Sunday breakfast is always busy, and Saturday's busy for breakfast, lunch and dinner," said the hard-working father of six children, ages 3 to 14, with a seventh due in February.
Moudatsos said that his typical day at the diner is 14 hours: It's open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. five days a week, and until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Handwritten, posted specials for Sunday dinner included grilled rib-eye steak with portobello mushrooms, stuffed shrimp with crabmeat, and lamb chop/pork chop combo.