Celeste Staton IS Atlantic Terminal, she is the life-long advocate of Atlantic Terminal Tenant Association. She is known as a trustworthy, reliable, risk-taking, passionate, collaborative person. She successfully overcame multiple obstacles during her time as president of this association. When she first started, she lacked resources but she quickly learned ways to overcome them. She received little federal funding but it was not enough so she organized and held events to raise funding by hosting Black and White, and Red and White Dances and Family Day Events that included a resident flea market.

Ms. Staton wants the best for the tenants and to keep them safe. She repeatedly said, “I am not willing to accept the things that I cannot change, I will change the things that I cannot accept.” She collaborated with local politicians Laurie Cumbo and Letitia James.

Celeste is a woman who loves to see results. She does what she does because she loves it and is willing to sacrifice her time to see the tenants of Atlantic Terminal satisfied, happy, and living in a beautiful high rise complex, which is also a goal she sees for herself. She takes pride in the Atlantic Terminal African American History Celebration which was co-created by herself and the late ancestor Vice-President Brother James Roberts. Thanks to this successful collaboration, she was able to connect with members of University Settlement Performance Project and BRIC, through which she became one of the founding members of the Intergenerational Community Arts Council and Future Historical Society.

With fellow FHS founding member Ryan Conarro, they co-created a one-of-a-kind walking tour of Atlantic Terminal through the words of three residents who have lived there since it opened in 1976. Listen here: https://nychajournal.nyc/hear-the-voices-of-atlantic-terminal.