Twenty Miles from Times Square
When people think “the Big Apple,” huge skyscrapers and bright billboards come to mind. Although the nickname refers to the collective New York City as a whole, Manhattan rules when it comes to making impressions on visitors or other people foreign to the Empire state. But New York City has five boroughs – everyone knows plenty about the ever-changing frontier of culture and technology that is the big city, but what about the quieter, less commercial, more isolated areas of NYC? Or, more specifically, for example – what about Staten Island?
Founded in the 17th century but recognized as part of New York in the 19th, Staten Island is the smallest borough and also known as the borough of Richmond County. Three still-standing historic landmarks of Staten Island include the small neighborhood of butter churns and brick houses known as historic Richmond town, the Alice Austen house (now a museum showcasing the female photographer’s life) located in Rosebank at the beginning of the borough-long Hylan Boulevard, and the rumored-to-be-haunted Dutch Colonial Conference House located at the end of Hylan Boulevard.
Staten Island, with its total population nearing 500,000 (a number only a fraction, of, say, Brooklyn’s 2.5 million), accounts for a mere 3 percent of foreign-born citizens of New York City. This has many implications, but the real truth is most people have either lived in Staten Island for decades or have simply moved there from another part of the city. I discovered that the latter is common in the traveling patterns of the people around me: Joseph of eastern Dongan Hills, a 44-year-old Puerto Rican originally from Brooklyn, decided that he was fed up with the crowded streets and terrible parking in his home borough and swore to his months-old son that the family would be living in spacy suburban Staten Island by his first birthday. As for the former case, I learned that Gabriela, a teenage aspiring artist of northern South Beach, is currently living in the house her father lived in as a child. Regardless of Staten Island’s deep roots, however, it has seen a 36% increase in immigrant population in the decade after the turn of the millennium, the largest increase of any borough.
Since Staten Island is so small, natives often divide the borough colloquially by using the terms South Shore, North Shore, West Shore, and East Shore, because, of course, it is an island. To understand even more the appeal and characteristics of suburban life, I took a walk around the upper East Shore, specifically Dongan Hills and South Beach.
Wide streets, quiet residential neighborhoods, a boardwalk, and a beach – the East Shore in a few words.
Slater Boulevard, which transitions Dongan Hills into South Beach, sees many passersby looking to travel along one of Staten Island’s main roads, either Hylan Boulevard or Father Capodanno Boulevard.
The first thing a newcomer would notice in the East Shore residential neighborhoods is the space. There is always a level sidewalk to be found running parallel to a noticeably large street, already making leisurely walks a very real possibility. On a spring day the greenery is easy to spot, from the sidewalk patches to the lawns of the residents to the trees growing between the electrical wires. The houses, either years old or springing up as of late as houses always seem to be doing in South Beach, look beautifully similar as if from a cartoon depicting a “perfect” neighborhood. With a pool in their back yards and a car or two in the front, residents live homely lives in this Staten Island neighborhood very compatible with families.
Caucasians make up the largest percentage of the demographic of Staten Island. From Irish Americans to Polish Americans, the percentage of Caucasians is roughly a whopping 70%. Looking at the overall demographic, Hispanics such as myself make up a mere 7%. However, Rob Fortunato of Dongan Hills, his wife, and their three girls represent the most prevalent nationality on Staten Island – Italian Americans. Totaling 35% of the demographic, Italian Americans have made their presence on Staten Island very evident. Dongan Hills and South Beach combine for at least 6 Italian restaurants, some shockingly in close proximity. The Catholic and private schools on Staten Island, although currently diminishing, have been dominated by Italian Americans.
There are several small businesses along the shore of South Beach – a deli here, a small restaurant there. Most of the space of this area is taken up by residential homes, and it is an area where builders of homes focus their attention because of the large, plain-like area of plant life. The bigger businesses, however, can be found by taking a walk west to Hylan Boulevard running through Dongan Hills. Hylan Boulevard is the busiest street on Staten Island, yet the traffic only gets bad during rush hour – another facet of suburban life. Small businesses also undoubtedly have a presence: A small, worn down Italian deli called Ariemma’s with an outstanding chicken salad sits across from a florist with the same name – the two have been run by the same owner for a few decades now. During the winter months and spring months the people living in or driving by Dongan Hills get a real treat: Towards December 25th, Ariemma’s florist is beautifully lit up with Christmas decorations, including both huge, modern inflatable snow globes and also more traditional wreaths with lighting. And once spring comes around, Ariemma’s showcases gorgeous flowers that shine just as brightly – from carnations to chrysanthemums. It is also important to note when considering work on Staten Island that Staten Island is largely considered a “bedroom community,” that is, a place where people who work elsewhere live for convenience and close proximity to the heart of New York City.
As far as education in Dongan Hills and South Beach, there are several public schools; however, most high schoolers on the island aim to attend Staten Island Technical High School in New Dorp, ranked in the top 50 schools in the country, and most younger kids attend private or Catholic schools including St. John Villa Academy and St. Joseph Hill Academy, located just eight minutes from Dongan Hills (making for one short but stressful ride for parents). If you aren’t driving around Staten Island, as approximately half of its residents own registered vehicles, you’re likely taking the bus – both the s78 and s79 stop at Dongan Hills. South Beach is more for drivers, as Father Capodanno is the main road and also pleasantly paved and broad, and at night sometimes residents of Dongan Hills can hear the groaning engines indicative of the illegal racing habits of young people in South Beach.
South Beach is a term literally used to refer to the scenic beach looking out at the Atlantic Ocean where the famous Polar Plunge has been held, but there is much more to this area than some small businesses and a beach – The Franklin Delano Roosevelt boardwalk, for one thing.
The view of the boardwalk from Father Capodanno Boulevard – if you look closely, you can see a small collection of lightposts, which is a circular resting place for boardwalk bikers, runners, or walkers.
Athletics, both recreational and competitive, have a huge presence on Staten Island – here some boys can be seen playing soccer in a field parallel to the boardwalk in the background and also Father Capodanno Boulevard.
This leaping dolphin fountain is located at one of the main entrances to the boardwalk, and has been a staple in the childhood memories of natives such as myself. In the hotter summer months, the water will emerge and create a constant elaborate array beneath the dolphins.
The boardwalk is a place of recreation and relaxation. Fields, parks, bike routes, food vendors – everything you could ask for on a nice day by the beach is present here. The Vanderbilt hall, located right on the boardwalk, is a snazzy place for a large celebration with dancing and catering – catering, perhaps, by the South Fin Grill, a steak and seafood restaurant attached to the Vanderbilt that receives many positive reviews from its patrons. A flea market will pop up now and again, but the real special gatherings are the “Back to the Beach” Festivals, the first one occurring at the start of summer in June: Performers, food vendors, merchants, and people looking for a fun night gather at the boardwalk to hear music, eat, and have a good time in preparation for the night’s main attraction – the fireworks. People cover the beach with blankets and wait in the dark with anticipation for the heart-pounding, sky-brightening, colorful light show to begin.
All seems quiet and settling in this small area of the East Shore. However, there is a downside to living here that only rears its ugly head once every few months – the flooding. With most homes sitting just five feet above sea level, the sewer system holds great responsibility in filtering rainwater from the streets of Dongan Hills, and it simply doesn’t make the cut. Basements throughout this neighborhood have felt the inadequacies in the piping – in other words,, many residents have had the misfortune of rainwater and sometimes even sewer water entering their homes in everything from puddles to unstoppable streams and have found that they are in charge of preventing this due largely to the sewer system’s weaknesses. This issue has been addressed by the fire department and even the local news on New York 1, but it continues to cause hardship.
Related to this issue, something massive happened recently in this area’s history that led it to show a lot of character. This something was Hurricane Sandy, and living up the street from a beach can cause huge problems when a wildly powerful storm hits. Essentially, living in this area after the storm you were guaranteed several days without electricity, and if you were especially unlucky as my family was, your home would be hit with a four-foot-high wall of ocean water. The water could easily render your car useless, your garage ruined, and your backyard in disarray. The neighborhood in the wake of the storm looked like something from an apocalyptic movie – cars and trees strewn about, people roaming the streets or putting many of their belongings out on the curb for trash collection. Some lost little, some lost everything.
But, the people banded together – and even though the government wouldn’t always offer this neighborhood compensation money directly or buy out homes that shouldn’t be lived in any longer, food was easily found and often generously given and volunteers to help with your cleanup process were plenty. Large dunes were built on South Beach to attempt to keep the ocean water where it belongs. During this time signs such as the one above appeared around Dongan Hills and South Beach and remain there, showcasing some character for the neighborhoods. Now, residents live their quiet suburban lives and hope that a tragedy such as this never happens again, and that the peace and harmony of the East Shore remains.
Bibliography
1. Tumarkin, Laurel, and Jonathan Bowles. “Home | Center for an Urban Future.” Home | Center for an Urban Future. Staten Island Economic Development Corporation, n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.
2. “Staten Island History.” Staten Island History. Staten Island Historian, n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.
3. Lobo, Arun P., and Joseph Salvo. “The Newest New York.” Nyc.gov. Department of City Planning, 2013. Web. 04 May 2014.
