North Shore, Staten Island
Encyclopedia
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...
's borough of Staten Island
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...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Boundaries
Generally, the North Shore is deemed to include the communities located within ZIP codeZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
s 10303, 10302 and 10310 in their entirety, along with all of the area covered by 10301 except 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 those parts of 10304, 10305, 10314 that lie north of the Staten Island Expressway. This definition includes Mariners Harbor
Mariners Harbor, Staten Island
Mariners Harbor is a neighborhood located in the northwestern part of New York City, USA's borough of Staten Island. It is bordered by Lake Avenue to the east, Lisk Avenue to the south, Richmond Terrace to the north, and Holland Avenue to the west...
, 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...
, Westerleigh
Westerleigh, Staten Island
-Geography:Westerleigh is located in the northwest quadrant of the borough and is bounded in the east by Manor Road, the west by Crystal Avenue, the south by Victory Boulevard and to the north by College Avenue....
, Meiers Corners
Meiers Corners, Staten Island
Meiers Corners is a neighborhood on Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, USA.-Location:Meiers Corners is sometimes confused with the adjacent neighborhood of Westerleigh; however, Westerleigh is generally understood to mean the area immediately west of Castleton Corners that is...
, Graniteville
Graniteville, Staten Island
Graniteville is the name of a neighborhood in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, USA.-History:Graniteville was originally named Bennett's Corners and Fayetteville...
, Castleton Corners
Castleton Corners, Staten Island
Castleton Corners is an upscale neighborhood of Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City. It is in a region of the island often referred as the North Shore, Staten Island....
, West 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...
, New Brighton
New Brighton, Staten Island
New Brighton, formerly an independent village, is today a neighborhood located on the North Shore of Staten Island in New York City, USA. The neighborhood comprises an older industrial and residential harbor front area along the Kill Van Kull west of St. George.The village of New Brighton was...
, St. George
St. George, Staten Island
St. George is a neighborhood on the northeastern tip of Staten Island in New York City, where the Kill Van Kull enters Upper New York Bay. It is the most densely developed neighborhood on Staten Island, and the location of the administrative center for the borough and for the coterminous Richmond...
, Tompkinsville
Tompkinsville, Staten Island
Tompkinsville is a neighborhood in northeastern Staten Island in New York City in the United States. Though the neighborhood sits on the island's eastern shore, along the waterfront facing Upper New York Bay — between St...
, 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...
, Clifton
Clifton, Staten Island
Clifton or Park Hill is a neighborhood in northeastern Staten Island in New York City in the United States. It is an older waterfront neighborhood, facing Upper New York Bay on the east...
, and Rosebank
Rosebank, Staten Island
Rosebank is a neighborhood in the northeastern part of Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City.Originally called Peterstown, the name "Rosebank" appears to have been first used to denote the neighborhood around 1880...
among the North Shore's neighborhoods. The Staten Island Expressway is considered by many to be a southern border.
Overview
The North Shore is Staten Island's oldest and most densely populated area. Archeological evidence found along its waterfront tells us that the Leni Lenape (common people) Indian Tribe established a settlement there dating back to 2100 B.C. The first white European contact with Staten Island was recorded in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano. In 1609 Henry Hudson established Dutch trade in the area and named the island Staaten Eylandt after the Staten-Generaal, the Dutch parliament.Richmond Terrace
Richmond Terrace
Richmond Terrace is primary east-west artery that runs through the St. George, New Brighton, Randall Manor, Port Richmond, Mariners Harbor, Elm Park, and Livingston neighborhoods of New York City, in the borough of Staten Island, New York....
, running from the Staten Island Ferry
Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation that runs between the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island.-Overview:...
to the Goethals Bridge
Goethals Bridge
The Goethals Bridge connects Elizabeth, New Jersey to Staten Island , near the Howland Hook Marine Terminal, Staten Island, New York over the Arthur Kill. Operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the span was one of the first structures built by the authority...
is the oldest established road in Staten Island. Originally an Indian foot path, it was later developed into a road by British soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Historic buildings such as the first YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
circa 1869; Tompkins Department Store circa 1880; The DeGroot House circa 1810; the Captain Nevielle House circa 1750; and the Greek Revival buildings at Sailor's Snug Harbor still stand along the street today.
Many historic events took place along the waterfront. New York Governor Thomas Dongan established his manor house along Richmond Terrace in 1661 in the area now known as Castleton
Castleton, Staten Island
Castleton is a former town in the U.S. state of New York. It was located in the northeastern part of Staten Island prior to the incorporation of Staten Island into New York City in 1898...
. Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
spoke at the Fountain Hotel; Anna Leonowens
Anna Leonowens
Anna Leonowens was an English travel writer, educator, and social activist. She worked in Siam from 1862 to 1868, where she taught the wives and children of Mongkut, king of Siam. She also co-founded the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design...
of "The King and I" fame, owned a school at the corner of Richmond Terrace and Tompkins Court; Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt, railway tycoon and patriarch of the Vanderbilt family, was born in the area in 1797. In 1836, former Vice President Aaron Burr died in Port Richmond at the St. James Hotel, a prominent hotel which once stood on Richmond Terrace until it was demolished.
Heading south past the ferry, the famed Alice Austen House
Alice Austen House
The Alice Austen House, also known as Clear Comfort, is located at 2 Hylan Boulevard in the Rosebank section of Staten Island, New York City, New York. It was home of Alice Austen, a photographer, for most of her lifetime, and is now a museum and a member of the Historic House Trust...
and historic Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth is a former United States military installation on Staten Island in New York City, situated on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper and Lower halves, a natural point for defense of the Upper Bay and Manhattan beyond. Prior to closing in 1994 it claimed to be the longest...
still stand today.
The North Shore is the most economically and ethnically diverse section of Staten Island. It offers single family homes as well as multi-family dwellings and it is best served by public transportation in that the Staten Island Rapid Transit and all local buses culminate at the ferry terminal.
The North Shore is home to Staten Island Yankees
Staten Island Yankees
The Staten Island Yankees are a minor league baseball team, located in the New York City borough of Staten Island. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers," the Yankees are a Short-Season A classification affiliate of the New York Yankees and play in the New York - Penn League at Richmond County Bank Ballpark...
Stadium as well as the The New York Chinese Scholar's Garden
The New York Chinese Scholar's Garden
The New York Chinese Scholar's Garden 寄興園 is a part of the Staten Island Botanical Garden, located in the Snug Harbor Cultural Center. The garden materials were shipped to Staten Island in the spring of 1998 and the garden opened in June 1999...
.
Politically, the area is registered majority Democrat. It boasts the distinction of electing the first African American as its representative when it voted Debi Rose
Debi Rose
Deborah "Debi" Rose is a Democratic City Council member in New York City. She was elected to the 49th Council District, in northern Staten Island, New York. In the September 2009 Democratic primary, Rose defeated incumbent Kenneth Mitchell by 16 percentage points...
(D) into the New York City Council in November of 2009. Other elected officials serving the area include Congressman Michael Grimm
Michael Grimm (politician)
Michael Gerard Grimm is the U.S. Representative for , which consists of Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is a former FBI agent, businessman, and U.S. Marine, having served in the Gulf War....
(R) District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr.
Daniel M. Donovan, Jr.
Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. is an attorney and elected official from New York City. He currently serves as the district attorney for Richmond County, New York .-Early life:...
(R) Borough President James Molinaro
James Molinaro
James Molinaro is the current Borough President of Staten Island. He was born in the Lower East Side of Manhattan of Italian immigrants. He was one of six children, four brothers and two sisters....
(C) New York State Senator Diane Savino
Diane Savino
Diane Savino is a Democratic elected official from New York City, USA.She currently represents the 23rd Senate District in the New York State Senate, in northern Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn, including Sunset Park and Coney Island. She was elected in 2004.On December 2, 2009, Savino...
(D) New York State Assemblyman Matthew Titone
Matthew Titone
Matthew J. Titone is an American politician and lawyer from Staten Island, New York. A Democrat, he serves as a member of the New York State Assembly from the 61st District, on Staten Island's North Shore.-Early life, education, career:...
(D).
The North Shore is served by Staten Island Community Board 1
Staten Island Community Board 1
Staten Island Community Board 1 is a local government unit of the city of New York, encompassing the Staten Island neighborhoods of Arlington, northern Castleton Corners, Clifton Concord, Elm Park, Fort Wadsworth, northern Graniteville, Grymes Hill, Livingston, Mariners' Harbor, northern Meiers...
Demographics
According to the most current U.S. CensusUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
data estimates, the population in the neighborhoods typically lumped together as the North Shore is almost evenly split among Whites(mostly Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
and Italians), African-Americans and Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
s, which each group comprising slightly more than 30 per cent of the total. They are joined by recent immigrants from such countries as Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Since the late 1990s, the North Shore has seen a large influx of Mexican immigration, many from Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
, and centered around Port Richmond and Tompkinsville.
Transportation
Staten Island Railway
The Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, publicly known as MTA Staten Island Railway or SIR, is the operator of the lone rapid transit line in the borough of Staten Island, New York City, USA...
South Shore Branch has stops in St George, Tompkinsville, Stapleton, and Clifton. The North Shore was previously served by the North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway
Staten Island Railway
The Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, publicly known as MTA Staten Island Railway or SIR, is the operator of the lone rapid transit line in the borough of Staten Island, New York City, USA...
, and may again be served should plans to reactivate the line come to fruition. The North Shore is also home to the Staten Island Ferry
Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation that runs between the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island.-Overview:...
.
Tourism
Important landmarks and points of interest located on the North Shore include the Staten Island FerryStaten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation that runs between the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island.-Overview:...
, Staten Island Borough Hall
Staten Island Borough Hall
Borough Hall is the primary municipal building for the borough of Staten Island in New York City. It is located at 10 Richmond Terrace, opposite the Staten Island Ferry Terminal...
, Alice Austen House
Alice Austen House
The Alice Austen House, also known as Clear Comfort, is located at 2 Hylan Boulevard in the Rosebank section of Staten Island, New York City, New York. It was home of Alice Austen, a photographer, for most of her lifetime, and is now a museum and a member of the Historic House Trust...
, Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth is a former United States military installation on Staten Island in New York City, situated on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper and Lower halves, a natural point for defense of the Upper Bay and Manhattan beyond. Prior to closing in 1994 it claimed to be the longest...
, St. George Coast Guard Station
St. George Coast Guard Station
The Staten Island Coast Guard Station, located adjacent to the Staten Island Ferry terminal, began its life in 1778. It is a complex of 22 historic buildings and was best known for the invention and manufacturing of lighthouse equipment....
, Sailors Snug Harbor
Sailors Snug Harbor
Sailors' Snug Harbor, also known as Sailors Snug Harbor or Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden or referenced informally as Snug Harbor, is a collection of architecturally significant 19th century buildings set in a park located along the Kill Van Kull on the north shore of Staten...
, The New York Chinese Scholar's Garden
The New York Chinese Scholar's Garden
The New York Chinese Scholar's Garden 寄興園 is a part of the Staten Island Botanical Garden, located in the Snug Harbor Cultural Center. The garden materials were shipped to Staten Island in the spring of 1998 and the garden opened in June 1999...
, Staten Island Yankees
Staten Island Yankees
The Staten Island Yankees are a minor league baseball team, located in the New York City borough of Staten Island. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers," the Yankees are a Short-Season A classification affiliate of the New York Yankees and play in the New York - Penn League at Richmond County Bank Ballpark...
Stadium, Garibaldi Memorial
Garibaldi Memorial
The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum, formerly known as the Garibaldi Memorial, is a circa 1840 Gothic Revival cottage in the Rosebank section of Staten Island, New York. It was home to inventor and candle maker Antonio Meucci...
, Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences, the Staten Island Zoo
Staten Island Zoo
The Staten Island Zoo is a small urban zoo in northern Staten Island in New York City in the United States. The zoo is open year round except on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day...
, St. George Theater
St. George Theater
Completed in 1929 for owner Solomon Brill, the St. George Theater is one of the treasures of the north shore of Staten Island.The main architect for the theater was Eugene DeRosa. He was assisted by the "dean of Staten Island architects, James Whitford. The theater's Spanish and Italian Baroque...
, Staten Island Children's Museum
Staten Island Children's Museum
The Staten Island Children's Museum is a children's museum on the grounds of Sailors' Snug Harbor on Staten Island, New York, opened in 1976 following community and government support for the project. The museum stresses a hands-on interactive approach to its exhibits and currently offers visitors...
, Silver Lake Park
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...
, Clove Lakes Park
Clove Lakes Park
Clove Lakes Park is a public park located in the New York City borough of Staten Island, in the neighborhood of Sunnyside.-Brief overview:A protected Forever Wild site because of its valuable ecological assets, Clove Lakes Park has a rich natural history and a few remnants of the past that remain...
and its public golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
course.
Economy
The North Shore is New York City's busiest remaining working waterfront. Companies such as: Howland Hook Marine TerminalHowland Hook Marine Terminal
The Howland Hook Marine Terminal is a container port facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey located in northwestern Staten Island in New York City...
; Cadell Dry Dock; Atlantic Salt; Reynolds Launch; Flagg Container Terminal; Sandy Hook Pilots; Staten Island Ferry DOT Maintenance Facility; United States Coast Guard; Clean Harbors; May's shipyard; Moran', McAllister, Reinauer and K-Sea Towing serve the Kill Van Kull
Kill Van Kull
The Kill Van Kull is a tidal strait between Staten Island, New York and Bayonne, New Jersey in the United States. Approximately long and wide, it connects Newark Bay with Upper New York Bay. The Robbins Reef Light marks the eastern end of the Kill, Bergen Point its western end...
shoreline and the New York Harbor. The upland portion of the waterfront is dotted by quaint restaurants and local taverns that provide local entertainment. Gerardi's produce and the weekly Green Market provide local vendors the opportunity to sell their merchandise. Small businesses located within the Staten Island Ferry
Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation that runs between the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island.-Overview:...
terminal provide low level employment opportunities.
In the early and middle 20th century the North Shore was an important manufacturing district.
Richmond University Medical Center
Richmond University Medical Center
Richmond University Medical Center is a hospital in West New Brighton, Staten Island in New York City. The hospital occupies the buildings that were formerly St. Vincent's Medical Center, which closed in 2006.-History:...
and Staten Island University Hospital
Staten Island University Hospital
Staten Island University Hospital is a major tertiary referral center on Staten Island, in New York City.SIUH is a two-campus, 785-bed teaching hospital consisting of a North Campus, a South Campus, and the now closed Concord Campus....
are Staten Island's largest employers - both of which service the North Shore.
The former HomePort site which is being developed by Iron State, will be home to shops, restaurants and entertainment facilities, providing employment opportunities for local residents.
The St. George Theater
St. George Theater
Completed in 1929 for owner Solomon Brill, the St. George Theater is one of the treasures of the north shore of Staten Island.The main architect for the theater was Eugene DeRosa. He was assisted by the "dean of Staten Island architects, James Whitford. The theater's Spanish and Italian Baroque...
located at the top of Hyatt Street near Staten Island Borough Hall
Staten Island Borough Hall
Borough Hall is the primary municipal building for the borough of Staten Island in New York City. It is located at 10 Richmond Terrace, opposite the Staten Island Ferry Terminal...
is the oldest theater in Staten Island. It has been recently restored and offers weekly live performances providing additional job opportunities for the area.
Old-fashioned shopping districts exist along Forest Avenue, Bay Street
Bay Street
Bay Street, originally known as Bear Street, is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Canada's financial industry since succeeding Montreal's St. James Street in that role in the 1970s...
, Victory Boulevard
Victory Boulevard
Victory Boulevard is a major thoroughfare on Staten Island, measuring approximately 8.0 miles and stretching from the west shore community of Travis to the upper east shore communities of St. George and Tompkinsville. In the late 1940s, the portion of Victory Boulevard between Richmond Avenue and...
and Port Richmond Avenue.