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Staten Island
*** Shopping-Tip: Staten Island
:''For other uses, see
Staten Island (disambiguation)''
'''Staten Island''' is one of the five
Political subdivisions of New York State#Borough boroughs of
New York City, located on an island of the same name on the west side of the
Narrows at the entrance of
New York Harbor. It is
Wiktionary:coterminous coterminous with '''Richmond County''', the southernmost county of the State of
New York.
The existence of the borough dates from the unification of New York City in 1898. Until 1975, however, the borough was officially known as the '''Borough of Richmond'''.
[[http://www.nypl.org/branch/staten/history/timeline5.html New York Public Library Staten Island Timeline], accessed January 16, 2006] [[http://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=45 New York Genealogical Socity - Before the Five-Boro City], accessed January 16, 2006]
Despite having an estimated population of 463,314 in
2004 (as well as being the fastest growing county in New York State), it has often been termed "the forgotten borough," as it is much less well-known than its four sisters,
Bronx,
Queens,
Manhattan, and
Brooklyn. By far the least populated, most ethnically homogeneous, and most remote borough of New York City, Staten Island is sometimes the object of humor by residents of the other boroughs as being somewhat enigmatic and rustically suburban. Indeed, much of the central and southern sections of the island were once dominated by farms, primarily dairy and poultry farms, some of which were still in existence as recently as the early
1960s. Yet the borough's steady rise in population since the opening of the
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge has added to a sharp increase in traffic that plagues the island and are a cause of frequent road repairs and accidents.
Geography
Image:StatenIslandEast.JPG thumb|200px|Vieweing Staten Island's east end from Verazano Narrows Bridge.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the borough / county has a total area of 265.5
square kilometer km² (102.5
square mile mi²). 151.5 km² (58.5 mi²) of it is land and 114.0 km² (44.0 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 42.95% water.
Staten Island is separated from
Long Island by the Narrows and from mainland
New Jersey by the
Arthur Kill and the
Kill Van Kull. It is connected to New Jersey by the
Bayonne Bridge, the
Outerbridge Crossing, the
Goethals Bridge, and to Brooklyn by the
Verrazano Narrows Bridge. The
Staten Island Ferry connects the island to lower
Manhattan. The
Staten Island Railway traverses the island from its northeastern tip to its southwestern tip.
In addition to the main island, the borough and county also include several small uninhabited islands:
*
Isle of Meadow The Isle of Meadow (at the mouth of
Fresh Kills)
*
Pralls Island (in the
Arthur Kill)
*
Shooters Island (in
Newark Bay; part of it belongs to
New Jersey)
*
Swinburne Island (in
Lower New York Bay)
*
Hoffman Island (in Lower New York Bay)
Image:StatenIslandWest.JPG thumb|200px|Railway drawbridge links industrial Elizabeth, NJ with Staten Island (i.e. New York City)
The highest point on the island, the summit of
Todt Hill, elevation 410 ft (125 m), is also the highest point in the five boroughs, as well as the highest point on the
Atlantic Coastal Plain south of
Great Blue Hill in
Massachusetts and the highest point on
East Coast of the United States the coast proper south of
Maine's
Mount Desert Island.
In the late
1960s the island was the site of important battles of open-space preservation, resulting in the largest area of parkland in New York City and an extensive
Staten Island Greenbelt Greenbelt that laces the island with woodland trails.
''See:
List of Staten Island neighborhoods''
History
The bedrock of the island is a
diabase sill formed during the volcanic eruptions that created much of the bedrock of northern
New Jersey, including the
New Jersey Palisades, approximately 200 million years ago. As an island, Staten Island was formed in the wake of the last
ice age. In the late
Pleistocene between 20,000 and 14,000 years ago, the
ice sheet that covered northeastern
North America reached to as far south as present day New York City, to a depth of approximately the same height as the
Empire State Building. At one point, during its maximum reach, the ice sheet precisely ended at the center of present day Staten Island, forming a
moraine terminal moraine on the existing diabase sill. The central moraine of the island is sometimes called the
Serpentine ridge because it contains large amounts of that particular mineral.
At the retreat of the ice sheet, Staten Island and
Long Island were not yet separated by the
Narrows, which had not yet formed.
Geologists reckoning of the course of the
Hudson River have placed it alternatively through the present course of the
Raritan River, south of the island, as well through present-day
Flushing Bay and
Jamaica Bay.
As in much of North America, human habitation appeared in the island fairly rapidly after the retreat of the ice sheet.
Archaeologists have recovered tool evidence of
Clovis culture activity dating from approximately 14,000 years ago. The island was probably abandoned later, possibly because of the
extinction of large
mammals on the island. Evidence of the first permanent
Native Americans in the United States Native American settlements and agriculture date from about 5,000 years ago (Jackson, 1995).
In the
Sixteenth Century, the island was part of a larger area known as
Lenapehoking that was inhabited by the
Lenape, an
Algonquian people also called the "Delaware". The band that occupied the southern part of the island was called the
Raritan (tribe) Raritans. To the Lenape, the island was called "Aquehonga Manacknong" and "Eghquaons" (Jackson, 1995). The island was laced with foot trails, one which followed the south side of the ridge near the course of present day Richmond Road and Amboy Road. The Lenape did not live in fixed encampments, but moved seasonally, using
slash and burn agriculture. The staples of their diet included
shellfish, including the
oysters that are native to both
Upper New York Bay and
Lower New York Bay.
Staaten Eylandt
The first recorded
European contact with the island was in 1524 by
Giovanni da Verrazano who sailed through the
Narrows. In 1609,
Henry Hudson established
Dutch Republic Dutch trade in the area and named the island ''Staaten Eylandt'' after the
States-General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands ''Staten-Generaal'', the Dutch parliament.
Although the first Dutch settlement of the
New Netherlands colony was made on
Manhattan in 1620, ''Staaten Eylandt'' remained uncolonized by the Dutch for many decades. From 1639 to 1655, the Dutch made three separate attempts to establish a permanent settlement on the island, but each time the settlement was destroyed in the conflicts between the Dutch and the local tribes.
In 1661, the first permanent Dutch settlement was established at '''Oude Dorp''' (Dutch for "Old Village"), just south of the
Narrows near '''South Beach''', by a small group of Dutch
Walloon and
Huguenot families.
Richmond County
At the end of the
Second Anglo-Dutch War in 1667, the
New Netherlands colony was ceded to
England in the
Treaty of Breda, and what was now
Anglicisation anglicized as ''Staten Island'' became part of the new English
Province of New York colony of New York.
In 1670, the Native Americans ceded all claims to Staten Island to the English in a deed to Gov.
Francis Lovelace. In 1671, in order to encourage an expansion of the Dutch settlements, the English resurveyed Oude Dorp (which became known as '''Old Town''') and expanded the lots along the shore to the south. These lots were settled primarily by Dutch and became known as '''Nieuwe Dorp''' (meaning "New Village"), which later became anglicized as
New Dorp.
In 1683, the colony of New York was divided into ten counties. As part of this process, Staten Island, as well as several minor neighboring islands, were designated as '''Richmond County'''. The name derives from the title of the illegitimate son of King
Charles II of England Charles II.
In 1687-1688, the English divided the island into four administrative divisions based on natural features, called the North, South, and West divisions, as well as the 5100 acre (21 km²) manorial estate of colonial governor
Thomas Dongan in the central hills known as the "Lordship or Manner of Cassiltown." These divisions would later evolve into the four townships '''Northfield''', '''Southfield''', '''Westfield''', and '''Castleton'''.
Land patents in rectangular blocks of eighty acres (320,000 m²) were granted, with the most desirable lands being along the coastline and inland waterways. By 1708, the entire island had been divided up through this fashion into 166 small farms and two large manorial estates, the Dongan estate as well as a 1600 acre (6.5 km²) parcel on the southwestern tip of the island belonging to
Christopher Billop (Jackson, 1995).
In 1729, a county seat was established at the village of
Richmond Town, located at the headwaters of the
Fresh Kills near the center of the island.
The island played a significant role in the
American Revolution. In the summer of 1776, the British forces under
William Howe evacuated
Boston and prepared to attack
New York City. Howe used the strategic location of Staten Island as a staging ground for the attack. Howe established his headquarters in New Dorp at the ''Rose and Crown'' tavern near the junction of present '''New Dorp Lane''' and '''Amboy Road'''. It is here that the representatives of the British government reportedly received their first notification of the
United States Declaration of Independence Declaration of Independence.
The following month, in August 1776, the British forces crossed the
Narrows to
Brooklyn and routed the American forces under
George Washington at the
Battle of Long Island, resulting in the British capture of New York. Three weeks later, on
September 11,
1776, the British received a delegation of Americans consisting of
Benjamin Franklin,
Edward Rutledge, and
John Adams at the
Conference House on the southwestern tip of the island (known today as
Tottenville) on the former estate of
Christopher Billop. The Americans refused the peace offer from the British in exchange for the withdrawal of the
United States Declaration of Independence Declaration of Independence, however, and the conference ended without an agreement.
British forces remained on Staten Island throughout the war. Although local sentiment was predominantly
Loyalist (American Revolution) Loyalist, the islanders found the demands of supporting the troops to be onerous. Many buildings and churches were destroyed, and the military demand for resources resulted in an extensive
deforestation of the island by the end of the war. The British again used the island as a staging ground for their final evacuation of
New York City on
December 5,
1783. After the war, the largest Loyalist landowners fled to
Canada and their estates were subdivided and sold.
On
July 4,
1827, the end of slavery in New York state was celebrated at Swan Hotel, West Brighton. Rooms at the hotel were reserved months in advance as local abolitionists and prominent free blacks prepared for the festivities. Speeches, pageants, picnics, and fireworks marked the celebration, which lasted for two days.
In 1860, parts of Castleton and Southfield were made into a new town, '''Middletown.''' The '''Village of New Brighton''' in the town of Castleton was incorporated in 1866, and in 1872 the Village of New Brighton annexed all the remainder of the Town of Castleton and became coterminous with the town.
In New York City
Image:Verrazano-Narrows-Bridge.jpg Verrazano Narrows Bridge.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|300px|The [[Verrazano Narrows Bridge connected the island to
Brooklyn and accelerated a new era of development.html" title="Meaning of 300px|The [[Verrazano Narrows Bridge">thumb|300px|The [[Verrazano Narrows Bridge connected the island to
Brooklyn and accelerated a new era of development">300px|The [[Verrazano Narrows Bridge">thumb|300px|The [[Verrazano Narrows Bridge connected the island to
Brooklyn and accelerated a new era of development
All these towns and the villages within them were abolished in 1898 when the City of Greater New York was consolidated, with Richmond as one of its five boroughs.
Except for the areas along the harbor, however, the borough remained relatively underdeveloped until the building of the
Verrazano Narrows Bridge in 1964, which is considered the watershed event in the history of the borough, since it opened up the island to explosive suburban development by giving it direct road access to Brooklyn. The Verrazano, along with the other three major Staten Island bridges, created a new way for commuters and travelers to reach
Brooklyn,
Long Island, and
Manhattan by car from New Jersey, and the network of highways running between the bridges has effectively carved up many of the borough's old neighborhoods. This road expansion was planned initially by
Robert Moses.
Staten Island formerly had a professional football team enrolled in the
NFL called the
Staten Island Stapletons Staten Island Stapes. They were based in Stapleton. Their stadium was called Thompson's Stadium which was located on the site of present
Berta A Dreyfus Intermediate School 49 and the Stapleton Project houses. They faced many other teams that still exist today.
Some of the island's open space and historic areas were incorporated in
1972 into
Gateway National Recreation Area, part of the
National Park System. The Staten Island Unit of Gateway NRA is joined by the Jamaica Bay Unit in Brooklyn and Queens and the Sandy Hook Unit in New Jersey. The Staten Island Unit is comprised of Great Kills Park,
Miller Field,
Fort Wadsworth, as well as
Hoffman Island and
Swinburne Island.
For the last half of the 20th Century, Staten Island was arguably best known as the site of the
Fresh Kills Landfill, the primary destination for garbage from the five boroughs of New York City and the largest single source of
methane pollution in the world. The landfill was closed in early 2001 but was temporarily reopened later that year to receive the ruins of the
World Trade Center after the
September 11, 2001 attacks September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Throughout the 1980s, a movement which had as its goal the
secession of Staten Island from the city steadily grew in popularity, reaching its peak during the mayoral term of
David Dinkins. The movement largely evaporated with
Rudolph Giuliani's election as mayor in 1993, although some pro-secession sentiment remains.
In the 1980's, the
United States Navy had a base on Staten Island, Naval Station New York. Composed of two sections, a home port in Stapleton, and a larger section around Ft. Wadsworth, where the Verrazano Narrows Bridge enters the island. A few
frigates,
destroyers, and at least one
cruiser were based there. It was closed in 1994 through the BRAC process. A hostile political climate and the expense of basing personnel there led to closure
{{seealso|Transportation in New York City}}
Law and government
Like the other counties which are contained within New York City, there is no county government; there is no County
court (judicial) Court as in non-New York City counties. Richmond County is part of a state Supreme Court (general jurisdiction) district shared with Brooklyn, but has its own Surrogate's Court and judges of the Criminal Court, Family Court and the New York City Civil Court, the last having a similar jurisdiction to New York State County Courts for disputes under $25,000, small claims and housing cases. Criminal and Family Court judges are appointed; the others are elected. Others state agencies such as the
district attorney (public
prosecutor), which is held by Republican Daniel Donovan, have offices as well as other government agencies.
Politics
{| align="right" class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor=lightgrey
!Party
!2005
!2004
!2003
!2002
!2001
!2000
!1999
!1998
!1997
!1996
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|
United States Democratic Party Democratic (%)
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|44.70
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|44.76
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|45.19
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|45.39
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|45.63
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|45.47
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|45.51
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|45.60
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|46.38
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|46.15
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="fff3f3"|
United States Republican Party Republican (%)
|align="center" bgcolor="fff3f3"|30.64
|align="center" bgcolor="fff3f3"|30.47
|align="center" bgcolor="fff3f3"|30.77
|align="center" bgcolor="fff3f3"|30.55
|align="center" bgcolor="fff3f3"|30.68
|align="center" bgcolor="fff3f3"|30.76
|align="center" bgcolor="fff3f3"|31.17
|align="center" bgcolor="fff3f3"|31.60
|align="center" bgcolor="fff3f3"|30.80
|align="center" bgcolor="fff3f3"|31.28
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="white"|No affiliation (%)
|align="center" bgcolor="white"|19.00
|align="center" bgcolor="white"|19.10
|align="center" bgcolor="white"|18.46
|align="center" bgcolor="white"|18.54
|align="center" bgcolor="white"|18.67
|align="center" bgcolor="white"|18.84
|align="center" bgcolor="white"|18.67
|align="center" bgcolor="white"|18.25
|align="center" bgcolor="white"|18.43
|align="center" bgcolor="white"|18.48
|-
|align="center"|Other (%)
|align="center"|5.66
|align="center"|5.67
|align="center"|5.58
|align="center"|5.52
|align="center"|5.02
|align="center"|4.93
|align="center"|4.65
|align="center"|4.55
|align="center"|4.39
|align="center"|4.09
|-
|}
A mainly suburban and white Catholic borough, Staten Island politics differ considerably from the rest of the city, being far friendlier to the
United States Republican Party Republicans than other boroughs, although
United States Democratic Party Democrats have a substantial majority in registration. According to the New York State Board of Elections, as of
April 1,
2005, there are 119,601 registered Democrats in Staten Island versus only 82,193 registered Republicans. The main political divide in the borough is between the areas located north of the
Staten Island Expressway, who tend to be more liberal, and the south, who tend to be somewhat conservative.
Local politics
Image:Staten-Island-Ferry.jpg thumbnail|left|The Staten Island Ferry runs between Staten Island and Manhattan.
In city elections, Staten Island has been the base of the city's Republican Party for some time. Borough voters overwhemingly backed
Michael Bloomberg in the
New York City mayoral election, 2001 mayoral election of 2001, with 75.87% (84,891 votes) to only 21.15% (23,664) for Democrat
Mark_J._Green Mark Green. Since Green only lost narrowly citywide, Staten Island provided the margin of Bloomberg's victory.
Moreover, two of the only three Republicans of the 51 member
New York City Council are from Staten Island, namely
James Oddo and
Andrew Lanza. The other city council member for the island is a Democrat,
Michael McMahon, who represents the
North Shore, Staten Island North Shore. The borough president is currently
James Molinaro, a member of the
Conservative Party of New York Conservative Party elected in 2001 and reelected in 2005, with the endorsement of the Republicans. He is the only Republican-supported borough president elected in the city.
In state-level elections, borough voters also tend to vote Republican, but in lesser numbers. Hence, the borough was the only one to vote for Republican
George Pataki in both 2002 and 1998 gubernatorial elections, with 68.42% to 20.92% for his democratic opponent in 2002, and 65.23% to 28.38% in 1998. Staten Island representation in the
New York State Assembly state assembly is equally split between Republicans and Democrats. Hence, the 60th district is represented by Republican Matthew Mirones, and the 62nd, that encompasses most of the south shore of the island, by Vincent Ignizio. But both 61st and 63rd district have elected Democrats, namely John W. Lavelle and Michael J. Cusick. Staten Island is split between two
New York State Senate State Senate District. Most of the island is represented by Republican John J. Marchi, the longest-serving legislator in state history, while the North Shore belongs to the Brooklyn-based district of Democrat Diane Savino.
In order to explain the trend of Staten Island to vote Republican in local elections, most local political scientists cite
Law and order (politics) law and order as the issue that resonates most strongly with island voters.
National politics
{| align="right" border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|+ '''Presidential election results'''
|- bgcolor=lightgrey
! Year
!
Republican Party (United States) GOP
!
Democratic Party (United States) Dems
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
U.S. presidential election, 2004 2004
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''56.4%''' ''90,325
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|42.7% ''68,448
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|
U.S. presidential election, 2000 2000
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|45.0% ''63,903
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|'''51.9%''' ''73,828
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|
U.S. presidential election, 1996 1996
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|40.8% ''52,207
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|'''50.5%''' ''64,684
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
U.S. presidential election, 1992 1992
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''47.9%''' ''70,707
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|38.5% ''56,901
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
U.S. presidential election, 1988 1988
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''61.5%''' ''77,427
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|38.0% ''47,812
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
U.S. presidential election, 1984 1984
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''65.1%''' ''83,187
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|34.7% ''44,345
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
U.S. presidential election, 1980 1980
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''58.6%''' ''64,885
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|33.7% ''37,306
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
U.S. presidential election, 1976 1976
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''54.1%''' ''56,995
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|45.4% ''47,867
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
U.S. presidential election, 1972 1972
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''74.2%''' ''84,686
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|25.6% ''29,241
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|
U.S. presidential election, 1968 1968
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''55.3%''' ''54,631
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|35.2% ''34,770
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|
U.S. presidential election, 1964 1964
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|45.5% ''42,330
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|'''54.4%''' ''50,524
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="fff3f3"|
U.S. presidential election, 1960 1960
|align="center" bgcolor="fff3f3"|'''56.5%''' ''38,673
|align="center" bgcolor="f0f0ff"|43.4% ''50,356
|-
|}
In the national elections, Staten Island is not the Republican stronghold it is in local elections. However, it is not a Democratic stronghold like the rest of the city. It can be considered as a swing county with a slight Republican lean, though it seemed to become increasingly Democratic in the 1990s, like
Long Island and
Westchester County, New York Westchester County.
The island has only voted for the Democratic presidential nominee three times since 1952 — in 1964, 1996 and 2000. In 2004,
George W. Bush received 57% of the island's votes to 42% for
John Kerry; by contrast, Kerry outpolled Bush in the city's other four boroughs cumulatively by a margin of 77% to 22%.
Staten Island is currently in the 13th Congressional District, which also includes part of Brooklyn. It has been held by the GOP since 1981 and is now held by
Vito Fossella, an outspoken conservative. It is the only New York city congressional seat held by the GOP. He has held the seat since winning a special election in 1997. Fossella's seat has always been targeted by Democrats, but he always won with little trouble until 2004, when he lost the Brooklyn portion of the district by seven points. However, he won Staten Island by 26 points, undoubtedly helped by Bush's win in the borough. Before Fossella, Staten Island was represented by
Susan Molinari, a moderate Republican who made the keynote speech at the
1996 Republican National Convention. Her father,
Guy Molinari Guy, held the seat from 1981 to 1990, when he was elected borough president.
The difference between the clear domination of the Democratic Party in registration and the slight domination of the Republican Party at the polls can be attributed to the massive incoming of mostly middle-class Italian American families from the overwhelmingly Democratic inner boroughs, mainly Brooklyn. Those people, although mainly registered Democrats, tend to vote mainly Republican when they settle in the borough, as they become the archetype of the Republican voter: suburban, white and middle-income, quite religious and married with children. However, given the near-total Democratic domination of city politics, they do not bother to change their registration, becoming
Democrat In Name Only Democrats in Name Only (DINOs). One interesting thing to note is that Staten Island tends to vote more Republican then nearby suburban counties of Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island. This is interesting due to the fact that Staten island and Long Island have similar demographics (both have large middle class Italian Catholic populations, though Staten Island's Italian % is slightly higher & Long Island is a little wealthier) and the fact that both Nassau and Suffolk have Republican registration advantages (though the gap is closing fast) while Staten Island has a Democratic registration advantage.
Demographics
{| align="left" border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|align=center colspan=2| '''Staten island
Population by year'''
|-
| align=center |
1900 - 67,021
1910 - 85,969
1920 - 116,531
1930 - 158,346
1940 - 174,441
1950 - 191,555
1960 - 221,991
1970 - 295,443
1980 - 352,029
1990 - 378,977
2000 - 443,728
2004 - 463,314 (est.)
|}
As of the
United States 2000 Census 2000 census, there were 443,728 people, 156,341 households, and 114,128 families residing in the borough / county. The
population density was 2,929.6/km² (7,587.9/mi²). There were 163,993 housing units at an average density of 1,082.7/km² (2,804.3/mi²). The racial makeup is 77.60%
White (U.S. Census) White, 9.67%
African American (U.S. Census) Black or African American, 0.25%
Native American (U.S. Census) Native American, 5.65%
Asian (U.S. Census) Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander (U.S. Census) Pacific Islander, 4.14% from
Race (U.S. Census) other races, and 2.65% from two or more races. 12.07% of the population were
Hispanic (U.S. Census) Hispanic or
Latino (U.S. Census) Latino of any race. 71.3% of the population were Whites not of Hispanic origins.
Some main European ancestries of Staten Island, 2000:
*
Italian American Italian: 44.55 (largest percentage for any U.S. county.)
*
Irish American Irish : 14.54
*
German American German : 7.61
*
English American English : 3.37
According to an estimate by the
U.S. Census Bureau, the population increased to 463,314 in 2004.
The vast majority of the island's African American and Hispanic residents live north of the
Staten Island Expressway, or
Interstate 278. In terms of religion, the population is largely
Roman Catholic, and the Catholic Church exerts strong influence on many aspects of the island's social and cultural life.
There were 156,341 households out of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% are
Same-sex marriage in New York married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.31.
The population is spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.
The median income for a household is $55,039, and the median income for a family was $64,333. Males had a median income of $50,081 versus $35,914 for females. The
per capita income for the borough was $23,905. 10.0% of the population and 7.9% of families were below the
poverty line. 13.2% of those under the age of 18 and 9.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Culture
Staten Island is mentioned frequently in the lyrics of rap artists
Wu-Tang Clan, most of whom were born in the borough which they refer to as Shaolin, Shaolin Island, and sometimes Gattin' Island.
Milk and Cheese cartoonist
Evan Dorkin is a long time resident of Staten Island.
Photographer
Alice Austen lived all of her life on Staten Island. A
Staten Island Ferry is named for her.
Nineteenth century Italian revolutionary and statesman,
Giuseppe Garibaldi, lived for a time on Staten Island, and worked as a candle-maker.
Antonio Meucci, the disputed inventor of the telephone, immigrated to Staten Island, settling in the Clifton area in 1850, where he would live for the remainder of his life.
Henry David Thoreau spent his longest time away from
Concord, Massachusetts on Staten Island in the 1840s. He penned several letters to
Ralph Waldo Emerson while on the island, and Emerson himself spent a significant amount of time on the island as well.
Singers
Joan Baez, Stapes, and
David Johansen (aka
Buster Poindexter) of the
New York Dolls were born and raised on Staten Island.
Actors
Emilio Estevez,
Alyssa Milano, and
Rick Schroeder were all born on Staten Island.
Science fiction author
Theodore Sturgeon and novelist
Paul Zindel were born on Staten Island.
Filmmaker
Jonathan M. Parisen was born and raised on Staten Island
Movies filmed partially or wholly on Staten Island include ''
The Godfather''; ''
Working Girl''; ''
War of the Worlds (2005 film) War of the Worlds''; ''
Sorry, Wrong Number''; ''
Splendor in the Grass''; ''
GoodFellas''; ''Two Family House''; ''
He Knows You're Alone''; and ''
Easy Money''. Also independent films
The Atomic Space Bug(1999),
Stairwell: Trapped In The World Trade Center(2002) and
A Conversation With Norman(2005) were filmed on Staten Island and directed by
Jonathan M. Parisen as well as ''Combat Shock'' (1986) and ''No Way Home'' (1996) by Staten Island director Buddy Giovinazzo.
Television series shot partially or wholly on Staten Island include ''
The Education of Max Bickford'' and ''
The Book of Daniel''. ''
Grounded for Life'' is set on Staten Island.
Banishment to Staten Island was once a common threat in the New York City uniformed services, and is reflected in both film and television. In ''
Arsenic and Old Lace (film)'' an officer is threatened with walking a beat on Staten Island. On ''
Law & Order'' Chris Noth is sent to Staten Island for punching a councilman. The title character in ''
Barney Miller'' dreaded the thought of being transferred to Staten Island. On ''
The Honeymooners'' Ralph resists being reassigned to a Staten Island bus route. And
Dennis Leary's character, Tommy Gavin, on
Rescue Me (TV series) also does time working in a firehouse on Staten Island. In these cases, the Island is often referred to as "The Sticks."
Staten Island is home to a surprising variety of museums: the
Alice Austen House Museum, the
Conference House, the
Garibaldi-Meucci Museum,
Historic Richmond Town,
Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art, the
John Noble Collection,
Sandy Ground Historical Museum,
Snug Harbor Cultural Center, the
Staten Island Children's Museum, and the
Staten Island Museum. It has also been selected to become the future site of the
National Lighthouse Museum.
Staten Island is sometimes jokingly called "Staten Italy" because of its gigantic Italian-American population.
Many young adults in the island's local music community have nick-named Staten Island "The Rock" nemoj srat
Sports
*
Staten Island Yankees,
New York-Penn League baseball
*
Wagner College participates in Division I athletics.
*
Bobby Thomson, the Flying Scot, hit a home run (called
Shot Heard 'Round the World (baseball) "Shot Heard 'Round the World") to win the 1951
National League pennant for the
San Francisco Giants New York Giants. He was a native of
Scotland, and resident of Staten Island.
*
Silvia Fontana, Italian figure skater in the 2002 and 2006
Winter Olympic Games, was born on Staten Island December 3, 1976.
Sources
*Kenneth T. Jackson (editor); ''The Encyclopedia of New York City''; Yale University Press; ISBN 0-300-05536-6 (1995).
*John Waldman; ''Heartbeats in the Muck''; ISBN 1-55821-720-7 The Lyons Press; (2000)
*www.imdb.com
*Famous Staten Islanders page at the New York Public Library site: http://www.nypl.org/branch/staten/index2.cfm?Trg=1&d1=1391
References
External links
-
Association of Hispanic Arts (AHA)
-
NYC MTA Transit Bus Map of Staten Island (
Portable Document Format pdf file)
-
Timeline of Staten Island History on the New York Public Library site.
-
Gallery of photographs (aerial photos)
-
Staten Island Live
-
visit in photographs staten island
{{Mapit-US-cityscale|40.704234|-73.917927}}
-
Prodigal Borough, cultural and arts information for Staten Island.
-
Staten Island Chat, Local Guide with events calendar, links section, classified ads and message forums.
-
Staten island Talk Local Guide with events calendar, discussion forums for current and former residents.
{{New York City}}
{{Staten Island}}
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This category gives an overview of articles linked with '''
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Staten Island
{| class="toccolours" align="center" cellpadding="4" rules="all" style="clear: both; margin:1em auto; width:90%;"
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Image:Us-nycsl.png 60px
!bgcolor="#ccccff" align="center" | Borough of
Staten Island in
New York City
|-
| align="center" bgcolor="#ccccff" style="font-size: 90%; vertical-align: middle;" | '''
List of Staten Island neighborhoods Neighborhoods'''
| align="left" style="font-size: 90%;" |
Arrochar, Staten Island Arrochar |
Annadale, Staten Island Annadale |
Arden Heights, Staten Island Arden Heights |
Bay Terrace, Staten Island Bay Terrace |
Bloomfield, Staten Island Bloomfield |
Brighton Heights, Staten Island Brighton Heights |
Bulls Head, Staten Island Bulls Head |
Castleton, Staten Island Castleton |
Castleton Corners, Staten Island Castleton Corners |
Charleston, Staten Island Charleston |
Clifton, Staten Island Clifton |
Concord, Staten Island Concord |
Dongan Hills, Staten Island Dongan Hills |
Egbertville, Staten Island Egbertville |
Elm Park, Staten Island Elm Park |
Eltingville, Staten Island Eltingville |
Emerson Hill, Staten Island Emerson Hill |
Fort Wadsworth .html">Graniteville, Staten Island
Graniteville |
Grant City, Staten Island Grant City |
Grasmere, Staten Island Grasmere |
Great Kills, Staten Island Great Kills |
Greenridge, Staten Island Greenridge |
Grymes Hill, Staten Island Grymes Hill |
Heartland Village, Staten Island Heartland Village |
Hoffman Island .html">Huguenot, Staten Island
Huguenot |
Isle of Meadow .html">Lighthouse Hill, Staten Island
Lighthouse Hill |
Livingston, Staten Island Livingston |
Mariners Harbor, Staten Island Mariners Harbor |
Meiers Corners, Staten Island Meiers Corners |
Midland Beach, Staten Island Midland Beach |
New Brighton, Staten Island New Brighton |
New Dorp, Staten Island New Dorp |
New Springville, Staten Island New Springville |
North Shore, Staten Island North Shore |
Oakwood, Staten Island Oakwood |
Ocean Breeze, Staten Island Ocean Breeze |
Pleasant Plains, Staten Island Pleasant Plains |
Port Ivory, Staten Island Port Ivory |
Port Richmond, Staten Island Port Richmond |
Pralls Island .html">Prince's Bay, Staten Island
Prince's Bay |
Randall Manor, Staten Island Randall Manor |
Richmond Valley, Staten Island Richmond Valley |
Richmondtown, Staten Island Richmondtown |
Rosebank, Staten Island Rosebank |
Rossville, Staten Island Rossville |
Sailors Snug Harbor Snug Harbor |
Shooters Island .html">Shore Acres, Staten Island
Shore Acres |
Silver Lake, Staten Island Silver Lake |
South Beach, Staten Island South Beach |
South Shore, Staten Island South Shore |
St. George, Staten Island St. George |
Stapleton, Staten Island Stapleton |
Stapleton Heights, Staten Island Stapleton Heights |
Sunnyside, Staten Island Sunnyside |
Swinburne Island .html">Todt Hill, Staten Island
Todt Hill |
Tompkinsville, Staten Island Tompkinsville |
Tottenville, Staten Island Tottenville |
Travis, Staten Island Travis |
Ward Hill, Staten Island Ward Hill |
Westerleigh, Staten Island Westerleigh |
West New Brighton, Staten Island West New Brighton |
Willowbrook, Staten Island Willowbrook |
Woodrow, Staten Island Woodrow
|}
*** Shopping-Tip: Staten Island
