Reader Lance J. Reha sent us this photo of his grandparents in their business, 'Parise's Deli' on Morningstar Road in Elm Park.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Unless you've been living under a rock, you've already heard: Mom & Pop are getting squeezed out. Rents are jacking up. Flashy rich "relations" are swooping in to take over their hard-earned, humble spaces.

#SaveNYC founder and Vanishing New York blogger Jeremiah Moss put it best: "This is how you kill a city."

That's why we're lucky here on Staten Island. Sure, we've lost plenty of beloved M&Ps in the last few years, but we still have some of these endangered species surviving — and thriving — among us.

But we need your expertise to declare the "Best of Staten Island Award" winners for best corner market, best hobby shop, candy store, boutiques & more. You supplied hundreds of "Best M&P" nominations last week — now it's time to vote for your favorites in these polls:

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DeLuca's Hardware (Staten Island Advance/Bill Lyons)

BEST MOM & POP HOME IMPROVEMENT SHOP

When it comes to maintaining your home, S.I. still has it all: Family-owned hardware stores, a locksmith, a chandelier shop — and so much more — without having to brave the Big Box.

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&amp;lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/9804562/"&amp;gt;VOTE: Best Mom &amp;amp; Pop Home Improvement Store on Staten Island&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

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Vintage candy rack at Egger's (Staten Island Advance)

BEST MOM & POP CANDY SHOP

You can still find retro-candies at these sweet Mom & Pops.

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&lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/9804720/"&gt;VOTE: Best Mom &amp; Pop Candy Shop on Staten Island&lt;/a&gt;

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Toy airplane at Brownie's Hobby (Staten Island Advance)

BEST MOM & POP HOBBY SHOPS: Comics, cameras, fishing, model trains

From comics to cameras to fishing cages — there are decades of history behind these beloved, diverse hobby shops.

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&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/9804572/"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;VOTE: Best Mom &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; Pop Hobby Shop on Staten Island&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

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Rocco Balestriere, owner of Rocco and Loreto's Deli on Woodrow Road in Annadale, stands behind the counter. (Staten Island Advance/Ryan Lavis)

BEST MOM & POP MARKETS

Seems everyone has a different name for these invaluable one-stop shops: Deli, salumeria, corner market, bodega, etc. Full disclosure: Yes, Pastosa is missing from this list. It's become such a borough mainstay/powerhouse, that it didn't seem fair to pit the mini-chain against these other Mom & Pops.

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<a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/9804579/">VOTE: Best Mom & Pop Market on Staten Island</a>

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A display at ETG Thrift & Vintage in St. George (Staten Island Advance)

BEST MOM & POP APPARREL SHOP: Clothing, shoe repair, thrift, etc.

From multiple dress shops to a one-of-a-kind shoe hospital, these Mom & Pop apparel/accessory shops help keep Staten Islanders looking super fly.

&amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/9804568/"&amp;amp;amp;gt;VOTE: Best Mom &amp;amp;amp;amp; Pop Apparel Shop: Clothes, shoe repair, thrift, etc.&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt;

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&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/9804568/"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;VOTE: Best Mom &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; Pop Apparel Shop: Clothes, shoe repair, thrift, etc.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

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Flowers by Bernard in Dongan Hills celebrates 43 years in business (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

BEST MOM & POP FLOWER SHOP

Mmmmm, smell that? It's the unmistakable, intoxicating aroma of a family-owned flower shop.

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&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/9804584/"&amp;amp;gt;VOTE: Best Mom &amp;amp;amp; Pop Flower Shop on Staten Island&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

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Rob Bailey | bailey@siadvance.com

BEST MOM & POP MUSIC SHOP

Yes, we lost the iconic Mandolin Brothers music store this year — but we still have valuable indie instrument stores throughout the borough. Use 'em or lose 'em, folks.

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&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/9804585/"&amp;amp;gt;VOTE: Best Mom &amp;amp;amp; Pop Music Shop on Staten Island&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

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Scarf from SIPS + Maker/T-shirt from Richmond Hood

BEST NEW GENERATION MOM & POP SHOP: Small business trailblazers

These businesses don't have decades of service under their collective belt — yet — but they play a vital role in helping extend this borough's rich history of small business ownership into the next generation of Staten Islanders.

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&amp;lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/9804592/"&amp;gt;VOTE: Best Next Generation Mom &amp;amp; Pop Shop on Staten Island&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

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Marguerite Spagnuolo of Bulls Head with her Grandmas 2 Share (ABC)

BEST ONLINE MOM & POP SHOP: Digital small businesses making their mark

These online retailers are continuing Staten Island's rich history of small business innovation — without the always-rising expense of brick and mortar rents.

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&amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/9804593/"&amp;amp;amp;gt;Vote: Best Online Mom &amp;amp;amp;amp; Pop on Staten Island&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt;

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Messina's Market at 560 Bay St. was demolished to make way for the Paramount Theater, circa 1923. (Courtesy Candelora Paolercio)

HOW THE BEST OF STATEN ISLAND AWARDS WORK

By now you probably know the drill: It's up to you to nominate and elect the borough's best of everything that makes life entertaining, delicious, sometimes challenging, but always culturally enriching.

Nomination phase: After the call for nominees is posted on SILive.com, you share your nominations for one week. Nomination phase for "Best Mom & Pops" runs from Monday, July 31, through (midnight) Monday, Aug. 7.

Voting phase: After finalists are announced, the poll phase runs Tuesday to Tuesday, Aug. 8-15 Help us get out the word out: Share the poll! Blast social media with calls to vote. Make sure your finalists get their share of the love.

Go old school with flyers and distribute them at your fave business. Stump door to door for your candidates. Whatever it takes — within legal and moral reason, of course — to get S.I. some much-deserved recognition is fine with us.

Winner announcement: We feature your top picks for two weeks starting Tuesday, Aug. 22, on SILive.com, with feature stories, photo galleries and video profiles. The next 2017 Best of S.I. Awards category launches Monday, Sept. 4, on SILive.com.

In the coming weeks: After each nominate-vote-win category cycle, we follow up with a series of additional voting categories celebrating many aspects of life on S.I.

So, dine out. Catch some live music and theater. Get a tattoo. Belly up to a dive bar, cocktail lounge or dance club. Whatever. Just determine the borough's best.

Then nominate your picks as their respective categories are announced, one by one, on SILive.com. Nominees with the most votes in each category become the finalists for the individual (i.e. Best Pub Grub, Best Sushi, Best Mom & Pop Shop, etc.) polls.

QUESTIONS? Post them in the comments section here or hit me up at bailey@siadvance.com. I'll answer them ASAP.

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