Staten Island

It's OK--nothing you're missing out on at all. It's not worth a visit unless you want some Sri Lankan food. It's pretty unremarkable honestly. And republican.

I don't live there but have visited.

Most of it is middle class, firemen and policemen Much of the housing was built from 1970 and on and is pretty ugly, tract housing looking, small lots, often two houses sharing the same plot (like Siamese houses, they're attached in the middle)

Very very Italian, with some Irish and Jewish, a small Black area too.

There are a couple of very nice areas with a mix of big older houses and teardowns which have been remade into mafia mansions.

In short, Staten Island looks more like what people think New Jersey looks like than actual New Jersey does.

Sounds like my kind of place.

Pete Davidson is the king there.

R2 excellent description. Staten Island is 58-square miles with more than 400,000 residents. Before the Verrazzano Bridge from Brooklyn was built in 1964, 100,000 lived on the island.

Thanks to the of influx of Italians from Brooklyn, Staten Islanders refer to the bridge as "The Guinea Gangplank."

It's lovely, I had a mother who lived there once.

I worked there for 26 years. Just as people above describe it. Not a lot of culture. Some very nice people, but also some awful ones. The accent is disturbing. There are a lot of young teens and young adults who have no direction, but there are others who are wonderful.

I used to work out at one of the gyms there. Lots of hot hung muscled guidos. I sent out signals that I'd be up to sucking them off if their GFs weren't available to service them, but unfortunately I got no takers.

It is NYC’s of Alabama.

The Black population is estimated to be 11%, concentrated on the North Shore were there are several city housing projects. In recent years Orthodox Jews from Brooklyn have moved to areas south of the Verrazzano Bridge.

It is NYC’s Alabama^^

I sometimes forget it’s one of the five boroughs, and I was born and raised here. 😂

A lot of pantsuits and double knits.

R2 here-- quick examples of what I was talking about courtesy of Zillow

This is a "Siamese house"

Semi detached.

I’d call that a duplex

This is a newly constructed $2.2M house that is just shy of a "Tasteful Friends" post

This is good example of the style of architecture (or lack thereof)

Every other dude is named Joey or Mikey.

I am surprised, as I scroll around Zillow looking for examples, at how many houses are priced close to or over $1MM

That may just be the temporary insanity of the NYC real estate market though, especially in areas outside Manhattan

R17 in NYC a duplex means two floors in the same apartment.

R19, that looks like the top part of the house just flew on top of that garage and BAM, you have a whole house now.

When I worked in the Financial District, a 19-year-old from Staten Island said until this job she had never been to Manhattan. Her family went to the Jersey Shore every summer.

Emerson Hill is an upscale area with large homes from the 1930s. Eileen Farrell lived there. Sadly, some have been torn down replaced by ugly McMansions.

Guidos and flea market Gucci.

First on SI and elsewhere two single family homes side by side are a "duplex". They're all over Staten Island and started popping up in the 1970's in wake of SIE and VNB causing a flood of people moving to the Island.

Two, Staten Island actually is a beautiful place (or was) rich in history, very suburban and almost rural in parts. Large parts of SI well into 1970's or 1980's were still undeveloped land. Remember driving out to the SI Mall when it first opened with my parents and much of New Springville was just open land. Where the Mall is now in part was an airport.

Sadly R19 and other real estate like it are what you get for SI built after 1970, and things went down hill by 1990's to point wouldn't touch any of the garbage built.

Most Staten Islanders (native) are packing up and moving to New Jersey, North Carolina or anywhere else to get away from what the Island has become; traffic, congestion, crime and all sorts of odd people where they never once were.

When I was growing up (1980's) at least in our area SI was still like a small town. You didn't need to lock your doors, everyone knew you and or at least your family, the friends you made at school, on your block or in high school you kept up with literally until day you died. Even now when someone's parents or whoever passes on it's not uncommon to see a condolence notice posted in Advance from someone that knew the family or person years ago.

SI was killed by the VNB, and now BdeB and city is doubling down on that bet by forcing yet more multi-family construction onto the Island. Saint George and Tompkinsville look like Queens or Brooklyn.

The gay scene is like many small towns, rather provincial and very incestuous in that everyone usually knows everyone else. So if you want to keep your business out of the grapevine you go to the city. That being said plenty of gays live out on SI, especially in those gorgeous big old houses in New Brighton, or even Emerson or Todt Hill.

Recall seeing the first gay marriage announcement in Staten Island Advance. While it was big news, it didn't create an uproar and the couple received tons of "likes" on FB and elsewhere along with well wishes.

Friends who live out on South Shore told me when a lesbian couple on their block got married neighbors stopped by with gifts, congrats, and of course SI being what SI is, gifts of food!

Northwell has a LGBT health center (part of Richmond University Hospital), and while won't say everyone is enlightened, things are far better than say 1970's.

He married a nice Jewish doctor, R28. What's not to like?

It was named after the statens the original settlers found on the island.

Ummmm...no.

I have always wanted to go. It seems odd to be a New Yorker and not visit there, at least once.

I got laid there once. Just off the ferry. I don't remember if I was the top or the bottom but anal was definitely involved.

I'm surprised at the mild input here. My husband is from Staten Island - he is Irish from a family of cops. I had never been there before meeting him. What I saw in my time visiting was an absolutely disgusting place full of racist dimwit trash. Like horrifying. Whole neighborhoods full of people who are tacky, loud, incurious, bigoted...and categorically stupid beyond belief. Anyone with a future flees to college somewhere else and never returns except to see family (like my husband).

The world would be a better place if Staten Island was nuked off the map.

That said, I've had truly fabulous pizza there. Joe & Pat's!!! Nonna's!!!

Full of closet cases. Guys that wanna sneak over for a booty call at 4am

Because it was isolated until the 1960s, it wasn’t developed until later - hence why it basically looks more Jersey than Jersey. Settled by Italian and Irish Brooklyn escapees, it is now mildly more diverse but completely removed from NYC in almost every way but technically.

[quote] Whole neighborhoods full of people who are tacky, loud, incurious, bigoted...and categorically stupid beyond belief.

So when you were visiting your in-laws you spent your time going door to door in surrounding neighborhoods and polling residents about their beliefs? That must not have gone over well with his family.

They all came over for the potato potluck and booze, r37.

We call it "Statin Island."

I know many think NYC and the surroundings is the end all and be all of the world but I'm so glad I wasn't born there. Those accents....shudder.

This whore lives on Staten Island.

No man is a Staten Island.

And this whore lives in Palm Beach, R41

a trumplandia embarrassment to the rest of NYC, some hot irish and italian cops and firemen looking for DL homosex, whites only need apply

"So when you were visiting your in-laws you spent your time going door to door in surrounding neighborhoods and polling residents about their beliefs? That must not have gone over well with his family."

Oy. Are you stupid. You must be from there.

Honey, I ain't white and I didn't vote for Trump.

I just look at these houses and I can see plastic on the couch already 🤣

There's an unwritten rule that realtors don't show houses to Blacks, south of the Verrazzano Bridge.

I don't know enough people from Staten Island to evaluate how on target this is. But it's funny.

If you’re visiting New York is it worth a visit just to see how the people live there?

Good fuckers. I used to have regular from Staten Island at the East Side Club.

Angelina is best known as the Staten Island dump

R50

Plenty of tourists take the ferry (SI) just for the trip alone as it is a good way to see NYC harbor, statue of Liberty, etc......

There's a new outlet just off the SI ferry in Saint George, and that area in general might be worth a walk around. Normally drive when on SI so haven't been down to the ferry much less taken it in years.

There's always Sung Harbor cultural center which isn't far from ferry by bus.

When I tell you SI is largely suburban and residential that's what I mean. Yes, there are things to do, but compared to the city you might find it boring.

When you see pictures of old SI compared to what's there today it becomes clear why developers flocked to the place.

i remember when SI hospital moved out to Ocean Breeze, mostly empty land surrounded the place. Fast forward twenty or so years and it's all built up.

However the joke (sadly) was on all those people who bought homes south of Hylan blvd, something natives long avoided. Why? Because the area freaking floods from just a light rain. When super storm Sandy hit water not only was south of Hylan, but in some cases crossed the blvd. Even the hospital had to be evacuated..

Thing is people were making same complaints about over development on SI back in 1960's and 1970's which began just soon as VNB was opened.

City had huge plans for SI and was going to use urban renewal (by declaring large sections of SI blighted) to grab land and built out the Island into high density housing. Islanders fought back and for a time managed to stop that nonsense and even scored a few victories. The Greenbelt, and halting further construction of Staten Island Expressway to Richmond avenue.

Never been there except to take the ferry for the view. I got off, got back on, and returned to Manhattan.

I enjoyed the movie "City Island," it was great, it's about a small town on Staten Island, released in 2009. Geographically, the location looked good.

That's the extent of my knowledge except for vague rumors about an over abundance of right-wingers living there.

From 1980's

r56, the movie City Island isn't about Staten Island; it's set on the actual City Island, which is part of the Bronx.

Thanks, R58. Silly me.

Part of Splendor in the Grass was shot on Staten Island. Sadly (as with many other old homes on SI), 4144 Victory Blvd has since been demolished for new construction.

More:

"Mob Wives" was a gossipy reality show that featured a lot of cat fights, bitchiness, and the interiors of many Staten Island homes.

America’s sweetheart Karen Gravano, daughter of Sammy the Bull (the mob version of Meghan McCain) was the star of that dumpster fire show...

R48

That's slowly coming to an end.

In first place the usual suspects are pushing federal and state investigators to do more in fighting discrimination.

Next many on South Shore really don't give a fuck about their block anymore, they just want to sell at their price regardless who buys. Asians, Russians, Latino-Hispanic, coloureds, anyone who shows up.

There are black kids at all the South Shore Catholic high schools like Monsignor Farrell that never happened before. Also since city removed zoning from high schools all the public high schools in that area have black students.

Italians at lest like to live around their own kind, it doesn't take much to start an exodus on a block or area once it tips. Entire areas of North Shore that once were solidly white middle class (West Brighton, Port Richmond, even Saint George and New Brighton) are now mostly minorities because the former packed up and moved. People moved to New Jersey or North Carolina, Florida, etc...

Areas of Monmouth county NJ such as Colts Neck, Marlboro, Manalapan, Middletown, and Matawan are full of former Staten Islanders. So is Old Bridge and few other areas going south.

You're seeing that in Sunnyside, Grasmere and other areas just north of SIE. Various minorities are moving in, and whites are moving out.

Then you have things like this that send yet more residents fleeing....

Again developers and city have big plans for Saint George area, however Islanders don't want any part of large multi-family high density development. That was true in 1960's and has remained rather consistent, so it remains to be seen if this project will get off the ground.

Then there is this as well...

So...racist guidos and irish.

Like the other boroughs including Manhattan aren't full of trash and psychos.

R2, you said exactly what I was going to say, I did a double-take to see if I had written your comment.

The only thing I know about Staten Island is The Goddather was filmed in the Todt Hill neighborhood.

... and Gambino underboss, Frank Cali, lived there (and died there).

Who would have imagined?

Is Long Island classier?

R71

That property is actually on Emerson Hill, but won't quibble.....

Took them years to sell that place, but finally did not to far from original asking.

"Is Long Island classier?"

Long Island has classier areas absolutely.

Just to be clear Staten Island wasn't totally isolated before VNB. Goethals Bridge opened in 1928, Bayonne Bridge followed in 1931, and Outerbridge in 1928. Besides that there were tons of ferries going back to early 1900's if not before that went to Jersey (from spots along Richmond Terrace mostly including Port Richmond at Richmond Terrace and Port Richmond avenue waterfront. Then you had ferries at Saint George that went not just to Manhattan but Brooklyn.

This in part explains why Staten Island has such a strong connection with NJ going back ages. Many families have connections both on SI and say Bayonne or other parts of NJ going back years.

It was the VNB in conjunction with new SIE that did SI in by creating an easier and faster way to reach Brooklyn and thus Manhattan, Queens, Long Island or elsewhere . Again getting to NJ wasn't really a huge problem.

For those interested there is a walkway on Bayonne Bridge if anyone wants to take a stroll over to SI and back.

Long Island is many times the size of Staten Island R74 and contains everything from Gatsby-era suburbs to Levittown to the Hamptons and everything in between.

That's very interesting R64

Assuming with that sort of insiders detail you live there or have close family who do?

Actually before there was "the Hamptons" Staten Island had a fair amount of large summer estates and other housing for well off families that came from Manhattan.

Along Richmond Terrace in Saint George and the hills above in Tompkinsville, and New Brighton many had homes that took advantage of harbor views plus nice cool , clean and crisp country air.

Shore Acres (often confused with being part of Rosebank) is another area that once had great estates.

If you know where to look there are some great old wonderful homes in Shore Acres with killer views....