New Dorp Beach
Encyclopedia
New Dorp Beach is along the shore of the neighborhood of New Dorp, on the south shore of Staten Island
, one of the five borough
s of New York City
.
It is between Midland Beach
and Oakwood Beach
.
patented the land to Obediah Holmes, an 86 acres (348,030 m²) parcel of land from the Governor's Lot. A small two room cottage was built along near the shore. This small, colonial home would later be owned by Nathaniel Britton, and be known as the Britton Cottage. This cottage would sit for over 200 years, as the area of New Dorp Beach developed around it, eventually finding itself sitting at the corner of New Dorp Lane and Cedar Grove Avenue.
After the Civil War
, the area began to prosper as a resort, as campgrounds and seasonal bungalows began to develop along the gridded side streets along Cedar Grove Avenue. Along the waterfront, wooden piers and hotels popped up. The New Dorp Beach Hotel, formerly located along the beach, sat on a large lot which fronted both Cedar Grove Avenue and Marine Way, which once extended down to the water. Along the southern end, the Cedar Grove Beach Club grew, with a line of summer bungalows.
In 1879, the St. John's Guild acquired 14 acres (56,656 m²) of land along the shore of New Dorp Beach, and built a hospital, known as Seaside Hospital. This, along with a dock for their boat, would be owned by the St. John's Guild till 1951, when the hospital went up for sale. The hospital and its surrounding buildings would later be demolished.
Britton Cottage would be donated to the Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences by Nathaniel Britton, for the sake of preservation of colonial architecture. The house would be razed and rebuilt at the foot of Richmond Road, in Historic Richmondtown, in 1967. At that point, much of the old resort community and waterfront property on the beach side of Cedar Grove Avenue had been acquired by the city via eminent domain
. The property was demolished to prepare for the Shore Front Drive, part of the master plan of Robert Moses
. But by the 1960s, opposition to Moses' projects had forced the mayor to relieve Moses of his positions, and the city's fiscal crises helped to put a halt to the oncoming new highway, which was never built.
Residents of New Dorp Beach are a much more mixed crowd than the homogeneous blocks above Hylan Blvd. Most houses are converted beach houses with many attached homes mixed in. A large amount of residents are of Italian or Irish descent, but the neighborhood generally is considered diverse.
New Dorp Beach is home to Miller Field, Dugan Park, and the namesake of the neighborhood, New Dorp Beach. Flooding occurs regularly between Marine Way and Tysen's Lane, where the elevation of the land goes to sea level and below to meet the tidal wetlands within Cedar Grove Beach. A small saltwater pond at the foot of Marine Way appears in the 1874 Beers map of Richmond. Alois Peteler built the man-made pond for his hotel, South Beach Pavilion.
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...
.
It is between Midland Beach
Midland Beach, Staten Island
Midland Beach is a Staten Island neighborhood. It lies along the east-central coast of the island, in the area known locally as the "Mid-Island, Staten Island," or, according to some, the "East Shore." To its immediate west is Grant City, south lies New Dorp Beach with Graham Beach and South Beach...
and Oakwood Beach
Oakwood, Staten Island
Oakwood is the name of a neighborhood located in east central Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, USA. It lies near the southern shore, and is bordered by Ebbitts Street ; the Atlantic Ocean ; Great Kills Park ; and the Staten Island Railway...
.
History
The first recorded European settlement in the town of New Dorp occurred by the beach, in 1671, when Governor Edmund AndrosEdmund Andros
Sir Edmund Andros was an English colonial administrator in North America. Andros was known most notably for his governorship of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. He also governed at various times the provinces of New York, East and West Jersey, Virginia, and...
patented the land to Obediah Holmes, an 86 acres (348,030 m²) parcel of land from the Governor's Lot. A small two room cottage was built along near the shore. This small, colonial home would later be owned by Nathaniel Britton, and be known as the Britton Cottage. This cottage would sit for over 200 years, as the area of New Dorp Beach developed around it, eventually finding itself sitting at the corner of New Dorp Lane and Cedar Grove Avenue.
After the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the area began to prosper as a resort, as campgrounds and seasonal bungalows began to develop along the gridded side streets along Cedar Grove Avenue. Along the waterfront, wooden piers and hotels popped up. The New Dorp Beach Hotel, formerly located along the beach, sat on a large lot which fronted both Cedar Grove Avenue and Marine Way, which once extended down to the water. Along the southern end, the Cedar Grove Beach Club grew, with a line of summer bungalows.
In 1879, the St. John's Guild acquired 14 acres (56,656 m²) of land along the shore of New Dorp Beach, and built a hospital, known as Seaside Hospital. This, along with a dock for their boat, would be owned by the St. John's Guild till 1951, when the hospital went up for sale. The hospital and its surrounding buildings would later be demolished.
Britton Cottage would be donated to the Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences by Nathaniel Britton, for the sake of preservation of colonial architecture. The house would be razed and rebuilt at the foot of Richmond Road, in Historic Richmondtown, in 1967. At that point, much of the old resort community and waterfront property on the beach side of Cedar Grove Avenue had been acquired by the city via eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
. The property was demolished to prepare for the Shore Front Drive, part of the master plan of Robert Moses
Robert Moses
Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
. But by the 1960s, opposition to Moses' projects had forced the mayor to relieve Moses of his positions, and the city's fiscal crises helped to put a halt to the oncoming new highway, which was never built.
Present day
The land sits now as parkland of the Parks Department, with many of its old streets now turned into walking paths, and many of the old trees grown over. The remains of any of the hotels or beachfront communities is buried underneath the 10 feet (3 m) tall sand dunes which appeared in the mid-1980s, while the foundations of the old hospital have since been unearthed by the eroding sand.Residents of New Dorp Beach are a much more mixed crowd than the homogeneous blocks above Hylan Blvd. Most houses are converted beach houses with many attached homes mixed in. A large amount of residents are of Italian or Irish descent, but the neighborhood generally is considered diverse.
New Dorp Beach is home to Miller Field, Dugan Park, and the namesake of the neighborhood, New Dorp Beach. Flooding occurs regularly between Marine Way and Tysen's Lane, where the elevation of the land goes to sea level and below to meet the tidal wetlands within Cedar Grove Beach. A small saltwater pond at the foot of Marine Way appears in the 1874 Beers map of Richmond. Alois Peteler built the man-made pond for his hotel, South Beach Pavilion.