There Is No Truth To The Rumor That Liev Schreiber Has Been Tapped To Play Pony In A Revival Of Eric Bogosian’s subUrbia To Be Set In Great Kills

Staten Island further solidifies its position as the most suburban of the five boroughs:

Teen-agers on Staten Island are abusing alcohol and drugs at a rate substantially higher than their peers in the other boroughs, according to a city Health Department study released yesterday.

In 2005, some 24 percent of Island high school students reported binge drinking, defined as five or more alcoholic drinks on a given occasion, compared with about 14 percent of city teens in general.

While the city’s rate of teen binge-drinking dropped from almost 16 percent in 2003, the Island’s rate stayed flat in the same time span. And Island teens were more likely to smoke marijuana and use cocaine in both 2003 and 2005 than were their other-borough peers.

“The drug use is crazy out here,” said A. K., a 19-year-old from Mariners Harbor who moved to the Island from Brooklyn 12 years ago. “I see more drug dealing and drug use here than in Brooklyn,” he said yesterday, adding that he began selling drugs and smoking pot after arriving in this borough.

. . .

Several young adults blamed the lack of activities for the borough’s high levels of drug and alcohol use.

“There was never anything to do on Staten Island,” said Gary DiBenedetto, 20, of Great Kills. Boredom, he said, led him and his friends to hang out on corners, smoking marijuana and eventually using cocaine.

. . .

John Coleman, [Camelot Counseling Center’s] director of operations, said it’s difficult for young Islanders to get jobs, adding that they face a dearth of constructive, after-hours activities. He also urged the courts to be tougher on youths who abuse substances.

“Boredom is a devil’s playground,” he said. And Island teens “really don’t have much to do.”