Staten Island
- For other uses, see Staten Island (disambiguation)
File:Map of New York highlighting Richmond County.png
Staten Island is one of the five 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 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 known formally as Richmond.
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 due to frequent road repairs and accidents.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough / county has a total area of 265.5 km² (102.5 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:
- 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)
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.
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 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 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 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 Algonquin people also called the "Delaware". The band that occupied the southern part of the island was called the 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 trade in the area and named the island Staaten Eylandt after the Staten-Generaal, the Dutch parliament (more precisely: Staten Generaal = House of representatives + Senate).
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 anglicized as Staten Island became part of the new English 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.
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 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 Declaration of Independence, however, and the conference ended without an agreement.
British forces remained on Staten Island throughout the war. Although local sentiment was predominately 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
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.
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 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.
Law and government
Like the other counties which are contained within New York City, there is no county government; there is no County 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
| Party | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (%) | 44.70 | 44.76 | 45.19 | 45.39 | 45.63 | 45.47 | 45.51 | 45.60 | 46.38 | 46.15 |
| Republican (%) | 30.64 | 30.47 | 30.77 | 30.55 | 30.68 | 30.76 | 31.17 | 31.60 | 30.80 | 31.28 |
| No affiliation (%) | 19.00 | 19.10 | 18.46 | 18.54 | 18.67 | 18.84 | 18.67 | 18.25 | 18.43 | 18.48 |
| Other (%) | 5.66 | 5.67 | 5.58 | 5.52 | 5.02 | 4.93 | 4.65 | 4.55 | 4.39 | 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 Republicans than other boroughs, although 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
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 mayoral election of 2001, with 75.87% (84,891 votes) to only 21.15% (23,664) for Democrat 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 The borough president is currently James Molinaro, a member of the 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 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 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 as the issue that resonates most strongly with island voters.
National politics
| Year | GOP | Dems |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 56.4% 90,325 | 42.7% 68,448 |
| 2000 | 45.0% 63,903 | 51.9% 73,828 |
| 1996 | 40.8% 52,207 | 50.5% 64,684 |
| 1992 | 47.9% 70,707 | 38.5% 56,901 |
| 1988 | 61.5% 77,427 | 38.0% 47,812 |
| 1984 | 65.1% 83,187 | 34.7% 44,345 |
| 1980 | 58.6% 64,885 | 33.7% 37,306 |
| 1976 | 54.1% 56,995 | 45.4% 47,867 |
| 1972 | 74.2% 84,686 | 25.6% 29,241 |
| 1968 | 55.3% 54,631 | 35.2% 34,770 |
| 1964 | 45.5% 42,330 | 54.4% 50,524 |
| 1960 | 56.5% 38,673 | 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 anyway. It can be considered as a swing county with a slight Republican lean, though it seemed to become increasingly Democratic in the 1990s, like other suburbs such as Long Island or 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, 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, althrough 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 Democrats in Name Only (DINOs).
Demographics
| Staten island Population by year | |
|
1900 - 67,021 | |
As of the 2000 census, there are 443,728 people, 156,341 households, and 114,128 families residing in the borough / county. The population density is 2,929.6/km² (7,587.9/mi²). There are 163,993 housing units at an average density of 1,082.7/km² (2,804.3/mi²). The racial makeup is 77.60% White, 9.67% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 5.65% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.14% from other races, and 2.65% from two or more races. 12.07% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. 71.3% of the population are Whites not of Hispanic origins.
Some main European ancestries of Staten Island, 2000:
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 are 156,341 households out of which 35.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% are married couples living together, 13.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% are non-families. 23.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.78 and the average family size is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.6 males.
The median income for a household is $55,039, and the median income for a family is $64,333. Males have a median income of $50,081 versus $35,914 for females. The per capita income for the borough is $23,905. 10.0% of the population and 7.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 13.2% of those under the age of 18 and 9.9% of those 65 and older are 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."
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.
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 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.
Movies filmed partially or wholly on Staten Island include The Godfather; Working Girl; War of the Worlds; Sorry, Wrong Number; Splendor in the Grass; and Easy Money.
References
- 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
Sports
- Staten Island Yankees, New York-Penn League baseball
- Wagner College participates in Division I athletics.
External links
- NYC MTA Transit Bus Map of Staten Island (pdf file)
- Timeline of Staten Island History on the New York Public Library site.
- Gallery of photographs (aerial photos)
- Staten Island Live
- Prodigal Borough, cultural and arts information for Staten Island.
