The Esposito Family made a tremendous amount of contributions to Staten Island and New York City. Salvatore J. Esposito Sr. and Elena Esposito came to America with nothing but the clothes on their backs through Ellis Island. Like most immigrants, they settled in Manhattan. From the ground up, they started a business known as "Canal Lumber", which was a major lumber supplier in the New York/ New Jersey area. They had 7 first-generation Americans: Joseph, Sophia, Mario, Nancy, Albert, George, and Salvatore Jr. After having their first two children, they settled on The North Shore of Staten Island. From there, their descendants went on to make major contributions to the community in several unique ways.