Grymes Hill, Staten Island
Encyclopedia
Grymes Hill is a neighborhood, situated upon a hill by that name, on Staten Island
, one of the five borough
s of New York City
. The east side of the hill is defined by Van Duzer Street and Richmond Road to the intersection with the Staten Island Expressway, which, with Clove Road, defines the southern side. On the west is Victory Boulevard. Some claim Cebra Avenue for the northern border, while others would stop at Louis Street.
The hill is named after Suzette Bosque Grymes, the widow of Louisiana
's first governor
, William Charles Cole Claiborne, who settled on Staten Island in 1836 (she had remarried a prominent New Orleans lawyer, John R. Grymes, after Governor Claiborne died in 1817).
Grymes Hill is the second highest point on Staten Island, reaching its greatest elevation of 310 feet (94.5 m) above sea level at a point on the Wagner College property behind a parking lot and near the football field. Hero Park, 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) in size, is located at the intersection of Victory Boulevard and Louis Street, abutting the Notre Dame Academy property. A portion of the extremely steep hillside dropping down from Howard Avenue to Van Duzer Street is protected from development by the Hillside Preservation District. Some caves extended beneath Grymes Hill from van Duzer Street. Before Prohibition
these were used for the production of beer. After Prohibition they were incorporated into a popular bar, at which a scene of the movie "Godfather" was shot. The bar has since closed, and a developer has blocked the caves with a cement wall while building a townhouse complex.
Neighborhoods around Grymes Hill include Ward Hill
to the north, Silver Lake
to the west, Sunnyside
and Emerson Hill
to the south, to the southeast is Concord
, and Stapleton
and Stapleton Heights
to the east.
. The neighborhood has many fine homes dating from the 1920s that overlook New York Harbor
.
Grymes Hill is best noted currently for being the home of two institutions of higher learning: Wagner College
, and the Staten Island campus of St. John's University
. The St. Johns campus of 16.5 acres (66,773.2 m²) was originally a small Catholic women's institution, Notre Dame College
, which closed in 1971, when St. Johns University took over the campus. Also on the hill is Notre Dame Academyhttp://www.notredameacademy.org, a Roman Catholic elementary and high school for girls. Adjacent to (and owned by) Wagner College is the site of a former Roman Catholic high school, named Augustinian Academy after the order of monks who ran it; the school closed in 1969. Near the foot of the hill, on Foote Avenue, is P.S. 35, the Clove Valley School. Also located on Grymes Hill is Casa Belvedere
, a center for Italian culture and studies in Italian language and culture.
Much of Grymes Hill consists of private homes, but also included are the Grymes Hill Apartments, constructed in the late 1940s by Fred Trump. These are 423 garden apartments along Howard Avenue and Arlo Road. Grymes Hill Manor Estates was built in 1953 as rental garden apartments, and switched to co-op status in 1983. It has 152 apartments centering on Seth Court, with some on other streets. Two high rise apartment buildings at the foot of Howard Avenue converted to condominiums following a major fire in one. There are several apartment buildings on Victory Boulevard. Two new apartment buildings have been constructed facing the Staten Island Expressway. One was turned into condominiums in 2004. The other is being offered as senior citizen housing.
Grymes Hill includes two cemeteries, both located along Victory Boulevard. Woodland Cemetery dates back to the nineteenth century, and some headstones are in German, reflecting the population of the day. Silver Lake Cemetery also dates back to the nineteenth century, and was the original burial site for the Hebrew Free Burial Association
.
into Brooklyn
. During rush hours, the S93 also goes into Brooklyn. In the opposite direction, the S53 serves the neighborhoods of Sunnyside
and West New Brighton
before terminating in Port Richmond
. The S93 runs to the College of Staten Island
in Willowbrook
via Victory Boulevard.
There are also buses along Victory Blvd. The S61/S91 run to the Staten Island Mall
in New Springville
. The S62/S92 run to Travis
. There are also express buses to Manhattan. The X30 runs along Victory Blvd and Forest Avenue and goes to West Midtown Manhattan via New Jersey. The X14 runs along Clove Road and goes to West Midtown Manhattan via the FDR Drive and Madison Avenue.
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, one of the five borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
s of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The east side of the hill is defined by Van Duzer Street and Richmond Road to the intersection with the Staten Island Expressway, which, with Clove Road, defines the southern side. On the west is Victory Boulevard. Some claim Cebra Avenue for the northern border, while others would stop at Louis Street.
The hill is named after Suzette Bosque Grymes, the widow of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
's first governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
, William Charles Cole Claiborne, who settled on Staten Island in 1836 (she had remarried a prominent New Orleans lawyer, John R. Grymes, after Governor Claiborne died in 1817).
Grymes Hill is the second highest point on Staten Island, reaching its greatest elevation of 310 feet (94.5 m) above sea level at a point on the Wagner College property behind a parking lot and near the football field. Hero Park, 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) in size, is located at the intersection of Victory Boulevard and Louis Street, abutting the Notre Dame Academy property. A portion of the extremely steep hillside dropping down from Howard Avenue to Van Duzer Street is protected from development by the Hillside Preservation District. Some caves extended beneath Grymes Hill from van Duzer Street. Before Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
these were used for the production of beer. After Prohibition they were incorporated into a popular bar, at which a scene of the movie "Godfather" was shot. The bar has since closed, and a developer has blocked the caves with a cement wall while building a townhouse complex.
Neighborhoods around Grymes Hill include Ward Hill
Ward Hill, Staten Island
Ward Hill is the name of a neighborhood located in the northeastern part of Staten Island, which is one of the five boroughs of New York City, the USA's largest city....
to the north, Silver Lake
Silver Lake, Staten Island
Silver Lake is the name of both a reservoir and an adjacent neighborhood on Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, USA.Located inside Silver Lake Park, the first city park to be established on Staten Island, Silver Lake was created in 1917 when water was brought there from the...
to the west, Sunnyside
Sunnyside, Staten Island
Sunnyside is the name of a neighborhood in the Mid-Island region of the New York City borough of Staten Island.Two large city parks—Silver Lake Park and Clove Lakes Park—form the eastern and western boundaries, respectively, of Sunnyside, which is named for a boarding house that was...
and Emerson Hill
Emerson Hill, Staten Island
Emerson Hill is the name of a hilly area, and the neighborhood upon which the hill is situated, in Staten Island, New York, one of the five boroughs of New York City, USA....
to the south, to the southeast is Concord
Concord, Staten Island
Concord is a neighborhood located in the Borough of Staten Island in New York City, New York, United States.Located in northeastern Staten Island, and bordered by the neighborhoods of Grasmere, Clifton, Dongan Hills, Emerson Hill, and Old Town, Concord was named Dutch Farms originally, but was...
, and Stapleton
Stapleton, Staten Island
Stapleton is a neighborhood in northeastern Staten Island in New York City in the United States. It is located along the waterfront of Upper New York Bay, bounded on the north by Tompkinsville at Grant Street, on the south by Clifton at Vanderbilt Avenue, and on the west by St. Paul's Avenue and...
and Stapleton Heights
Stapleton Heights, Staten Island
Stapleton Heights is a neighborhood in northeastern Staten Island, New York, part of New York City in the United States...
to the east.
History
A local developer, Major Charles Howard, built many of the hill's earliest homes, and his name survives in Howard Avenue, the hill's main street; a portion of this street was known for a time as Serpentine Road due to the hill's bedrock consisting of serpentiniteSerpentinite
Serpentinite is a rock composed of one or more serpentine group minerals. Minerals in this group are formed by serpentinization, a hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle...
. The neighborhood has many fine homes dating from the 1920s that overlook New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
.
Grymes Hill is best noted currently for being the home of two institutions of higher learning: Wagner College
Wagner College
Wagner College is a private, co-educational, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 total students located atop Grymes Hill in New York City's borough of Staten Island...
, and the Staten Island campus of St. John's University
St. John's University (New York City)
St. John's University is a private, Roman Catholic, coeducational university located in New York City, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1870, the school was originally located in the borough of Brooklyn in the neighborhood of Bedford–Stuyvesant...
. The St. Johns campus of 16.5 acres (66,773.2 m²) was originally a small Catholic women's institution, Notre Dame College
Notre Dame College (New York)
Notre Dame College was a small Catholic women's college located in the Grymes Hill area of Staten Island, New York. It opened in 1933 and merged with St. John's University in 1971....
, which closed in 1971, when St. Johns University took over the campus. Also on the hill is Notre Dame Academyhttp://www.notredameacademy.org, a Roman Catholic elementary and high school for girls. Adjacent to (and owned by) Wagner College is the site of a former Roman Catholic high school, named Augustinian Academy after the order of monks who ran it; the school closed in 1969. Near the foot of the hill, on Foote Avenue, is P.S. 35, the Clove Valley School. Also located on Grymes Hill is Casa Belvedere
Casa Belvedere
Casa Belvedere is a cultural center devoted to Italian studies, located at 79 Howard Avenue, Staten Island, New York. The building was constructed in 1908 as a mansion. Over the years it housed a number of different families, including for several years being the official residence of the...
, a center for Italian culture and studies in Italian language and culture.
Much of Grymes Hill consists of private homes, but also included are the Grymes Hill Apartments, constructed in the late 1940s by Fred Trump. These are 423 garden apartments along Howard Avenue and Arlo Road. Grymes Hill Manor Estates was built in 1953 as rental garden apartments, and switched to co-op status in 1983. It has 152 apartments centering on Seth Court, with some on other streets. Two high rise apartment buildings at the foot of Howard Avenue converted to condominiums following a major fire in one. There are several apartment buildings on Victory Boulevard. Two new apartment buildings have been constructed facing the Staten Island Expressway. One was turned into condominiums in 2004. The other is being offered as senior citizen housing.
Grymes Hill includes two cemeteries, both located along Victory Boulevard. Woodland Cemetery dates back to the nineteenth century, and some headstones are in German, reflecting the population of the day. Silver Lake Cemetery also dates back to the nineteenth century, and was the original burial site for the Hebrew Free Burial Association
Hebrew Free Burial Association
The Hebrew Free Burial Association was established in 1888 as a free burial society serving the residents of Manhattan's Lower East Side and was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1889. As the need grew in adjacent Jewish communities, HFBA also grew to serve the broader metropolitan area...
.
Transportation
The S66 bus goes from Saint George Terminal to Highland Avenue via Victory Boulevard, then up Arlo Road and down Howard Avenue before returning to Victory Boulevard via Clove Road, allowing it to serve the two colleges mentioned above, as well as the Grymes Hill Apartments and Grymes Hill Manor Estates. The S53 bus, which runs along Clove Road, crosses the Verrazano BridgeVerrazano-Narrows Bridge
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge that connects the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City at the Narrows, the reach connecting the relatively protected upper bay with the larger lower bay....
into Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. During rush hours, the S93 also goes into Brooklyn. In the opposite direction, the S53 serves the neighborhoods of Sunnyside
Sunnyside, Staten Island
Sunnyside is the name of a neighborhood in the Mid-Island region of the New York City borough of Staten Island.Two large city parks—Silver Lake Park and Clove Lakes Park—form the eastern and western boundaries, respectively, of Sunnyside, which is named for a boarding house that was...
and West New Brighton
West New Brighton, Staten Island
West New Brighton is a neighborhood of New York City, Richmond County, USA, situated along the central North Shore of Staten Island...
before terminating in Port Richmond
Port Richmond, Staten Island
Port Richmond is a neighborhood situated on the North Shore of Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, United States. It is along the waterfront of the Kill Van Kull, with the southern terminus of the Bayonne Bridge serving as the boundary between it and Mariners Harbor, the...
. The S93 runs to the College of Staten Island
College of Staten Island
The College of Staten Island is a four-year, senior college of and is one of the 11 senior colleges in the City University of New York. Programs in the liberal arts and sciences and professional studies lead to bachelor's and associate's degrees. The master's degree is awarded in 13 professional...
in Willowbrook
Willowbrook, Staten Island
Willowbrook is a neighborhood in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City. It is located in the region of the island usually referred to as Mid-Island, immediately to the south of Port Richmond, to the west of Meiers Corners and Westerleigh, to the north of New Springville, and to...
via Victory Boulevard.
There are also buses along Victory Blvd. The S61/S91 run to the Staten Island Mall
Staten Island Mall
Staten Island Mall is a shopping mall in the Staten Island borough of New York City, United States. It is the only indoor shopping mall in the borough. It is the largest retail center on the island and is the site of the island's second largest public transit hub after the St...
in New Springville
New Springville, Staten Island
New Springville is a neighborhood in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, USA.-History:Located near the island's geographical center, the neighborhood was founded in 1680 as Karle's Neck Village...
. The S62/S92 run to Travis
Travis, Staten Island
Travis is a neighborhood at the west-central shore of Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City. Some local geographers classify Travis as being on the island's West Shore, while others reckon it as a Mid-Island neighborhood.-Name:...
. There are also express buses to Manhattan. The X30 runs along Victory Blvd and Forest Avenue and goes to West Midtown Manhattan via New Jersey. The X14 runs along Clove Road and goes to West Midtown Manhattan via the FDR Drive and Madison Avenue.