Staten Island

Not much to do here, although there are some views of Manhattan that are nice. I took the free ferry to Staten Island, but honestly I shouldn’t have. The boat ride was probably better than the actual island (although I didn’t venture very far). If you’re short on time, definitely skip it.

Staten islands best days have passed. Over run with traffic and bad drivers the small town feel is gone. Many fine restaurants have landed here but living here is something else. The ferry remains free but the tolls are obnoxious. Several good golf courses reside here but a lack of hospitals and other services exists. With the coming of the wheel and outlets traffic is about to become gridlocked.

What can I say about the forgotten island that we all don’t already know. First I must say I use to love Staten Island when I first moved here in 1993. It was nice and quiet and you were able to drive down forest within seconds. However, as years went by, they have been doing lots of constructions and getting so over populated that I am dying to leave this borough. Ugh

Staten Island oh Staten Island. I mean what is there to say? You’re probably the safest of all five Boroughs to be in at all times. Rent is cheaper and the houses are affordable compared to that of Brooklyn.
There’s a lot of greenery that you probably wouldn’t find anywhere else with woods you could get lost in for days. You boast good schools and foster a great family atmosphere.
Sadly you’re becoming overcrowded with the average household parking 3 cars on its streets. Traffic is always terrible as its roads weren’t designed to hold the traffic that it currently does. Let us not forget the condition of these said roads.
You are the home to a huge Italian American enclave and have created the «Staten Island girl» that fits perfect with the «Staten Island guido» and will eventually have a child named Bella.
It’s a nice place right now because the hipsters haven’t found this place yet but give it another 10 years and this island will be much different.

I am reading the reviews here and wonder what pele base their reviews on. It is a place, some will say too far from the city, some will say too close. But they offer great things that the city don’t: cheaper things: maybe even cheaper everything). Less traffic (if we leave the verrazano bridge) and authentic Mexican food.
I hate the fact that you need to pay 15 $ just to get here, but I guess this is the way of NYC to tell you: pay here for what you will save after ;)

A place that gets an unnecessarily bad rap out of pure ignorance. This is an ideal place to raise a family, belong to a community, and live a fulfilling life. Some of the highest quality people I’ve ever met come from the fifth borough. A great deal of potential lies in a place overshadowed by places like Brooklyn and Manhattan (not that they aren’t awesome places). The parks are seemingly endless. The biggest complaint of ‘there’s nothing to do’ is one that is easily remedied if you are ok with leaving you suburban block in Great Kills. The north shore us a great and eclectic mix of hang out spots with about ¾ to ½ the price tag of nearby boroughs.

People move here willingly? I understand the desire to stay somewhere with a tight-​knot community, with free & scenic transportation to Manhattan, with reasonably priced housing, with the ability to say you live in the five boroughs, but I just don’t see the appeal, after driving through countless times and exploring most of SI on foot (which rarely happens).

I need a happy medium… I like to be lazy but I also like going out and doing things!
OK… so this is a much needed updated review… just because i think Staten island deserved a better review from what i have given before… i do take this area for granted… well not anymore… now that i have been living here for almost six years… plus iv been to other awful places… makes me really appreciate staten island even more!
My Unilocal friends… Staten Island is one of the five boroughs that make up the City of New York! It is located in the southwest part of the city and it separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull… and from the rest of New York City by the New York Harbor. Even though Staten Island is closer to the New Jersey mainland than anywhere else in New York… Staten Island is in New York!!! The original charter when NJ and NY were both colonies stated that the islands in New York Harbor were in New York and the water is in New Jersey…
when you are traveling by car to other boroughs… Going back… you pay the toll on the Verrazanno-​Narrows Bridge (leaving Brooklyn)…but not the toll on the Bayonne Bridge (leaving Staten Island)
Staten Island is mostly famous for the Staten Island Ferry… which crosses the Harbor to and from Manhattan in about 30 minutes!!!

Staten Island, it turns out, invented the Hospital Emergency Room. Which is why every time a Doctor or Nurse says «I need an IV Unit. Stat.» What they actually mean is, «Stat-​en Island is the wonderful borough that made all of this quick-​response medicine and surgery possible.» That’s actually what Stat stands for. If you don’t believe me, just ask my brother. He looks exactly like me and has the same name. What say you, bro?
Fox Twin: «It’s true. Stat is for Staten Island.»
So there you have it. Unequivocal irrefutable undeniable irrepressible hard evidence, with the emphasis on hard, because Staten Island residents tend to want, need, and demand it to always be hard.
Staten Island is the borough I know least about. I’ve checked out its beaches once or twice… I’ve driven over all three of its famous (and muy expensivo) bridges too many times to count. The Verrazano-​Narrows is one of the most beautiful bridges in the world, and possibly even in the whole country. Maybe even one of the most beautiful in all of NYC, now that I think about it. Wait a minute… er… but yes. Staten Island, known affectionately to malicious mobsters and maniacal marsupials as «SI.» I’ve been lost in its leafy suburbs on occasion. I’ve seen the YouTube video of the guy getting choked to death by cops on Staten Island. Horrific.
And yet despite all of this intimate knowledge of the Island, there is one piece of information about SI that stands out above all other factoids. And that is: Nadia Z lives here.
Nadia is the only reason I Unilocal.One good friend, two CMs, three turtle doves and a Partridge in a Pear Tree had all encouraged me to «write more», «attend events», «become Elite», «download the app» and «strip naked on webcam», but I had never done any of those things… until I came across Nadia. So to speak. She taught me the ins and outs of Unilocal.So to speak. She persuaded me in her dangerous Russian accent (via typing, and yes you can type in a Russian accent. Da, you can) to get the App, become Elite, and check in every time I cross a bridge or enter a neighborhood or my own house for that matter. Actually she’s the one who told me to stop checking in to my own house for fear of stalkers. Oops. Too late. There they are, all camped outside my window. At least some of them are cute.
So thank you Nadia, for giving me the gift of Unilocal.The gift that keeps on giving. I heard that your KGB codename is «Double 0 Heaven.» It makes perfect sense.
It would be impossible not to give a 5-​star rating to the home of the great and legendary Nadia. Hence, despite my unfamiliarity with SI, it scores 5, as do the other four boroughs as well.
Remember, in the words of the legendary KGB agent herself:
(a) Unilocal is not a dating site.
(b) If you think it is, that is a filament of your imagination.
© Paging _​_​_​_​_​_​ (fill in blank with NYC Unilocaler of your choice).
And all of you who have met Gronks in the Bronx, been Broke in Brooklyn, eaten like Kings in Queens, and checked out the Boys of Man-​Hattan, it’s time to expand your boroughrizons. You should do what Las Vegas and Miami (and New Orleans? and Los Angeles?) have done. You should «CSI.»

I’ve lived on Staten Island my whole life. Whoever says they cannot find something to do obviously isn’t trying. The North and South shore has so many places to go out, depending on your tastes. The restaurants are excellent, especially by the Ferry and now on Page Ave. Forest Avenue isn’t the only place for bars. More and more hotels are being built on Staten Island because people like to come here, raise a family, and visit. You can take the express bus or ferry to get to the city or regular city buses to get into BK. Or… DRIVE around. Everything is accessible.
There are beautiful areas such as Snug Harbor, the Alice Austin or Conference house, or the parks. We are the «Borough of Parks».
Don’t believe the Jersey Shore hype. Staten Island is a great place to live, meet great people and have a great time.

First off a few dates. Staten Island was founded on August 20^th 1661. It became a borough of NYC in 1898.
Some notables that lived or were born here.
1. Alice Austen — pioneering female photographer.
2. George M Cohan — patriotic composer
3. Ralph Waldo Emerson — Author
4. «Buffalo Bill» Cody — Wild West entertainer
5. Gene Simmons — Bass Player of KISS he went to HS on Staten Island.
I remember when the only things to do as a kid was go to the mall or the ice skating rink at Clove Lakes. Fourth of July was always special, we would go to South Beach to watch the fireworks and then go to A & W for a treat.
My how the island has grown. With all the museums and attractions. Even the old ferry terminal has gotten a much needed face lift.
I will admit, I do take it personally when people knock this place. If you don’t like it, then just move. This is coming from a born and raised native.
On a personal note, no matter where I live this place will always be «Home Sweet Home».

Whenever I had to go to Long Island for various reasons, whether it was for picking up and dropping off family members at JFK or visiting some over there, I always ended up driving on the S.I.E. without any intention of getting off somewhere on this island. But recently, because there were two places that I wanted to experience, I just had to come here.
The places where I wanted to visit were okay-​to-​nice (look for my reviews in regards to the gardens). The waterfront here was good to look at in the downtown area. I had to drive through some nice (okay, really nice!), and not-​so-​nice areas in order to get to where I wanted to be at. My biggest gripe, however, was the traffic and road conditions.
A lot of the roads that I went on were quite narrow. If that wasn’t enough, some of them had potholes that I had to dodge. But what really caught my attention was the aggressive driving that was existent on some of the roads that I drove on. A portion of the roads that I drove on had steep curves on them. I know that whenever there’s a steep curve, you had to slow down and turn your wheel in order to drive through. Well, that’s what I did (as always), but the same couldn’t be said for some of the other drivers. Some of them even came close to hitting my car (which was new condition) as a result of the aggressive driving. That was shocking and hazardous. I couldn’t believe those drivers didn’t slow down at those curves. If you turn fast at the curves, you would lose control and hit somebody. Even on a curvy road that was really narrow!
Finally, in regards to the traffic in general. If there are no traffic jams, then obviously it’s okay. But if there are, then you may be in for a long, sluggish ride. I didn’t run into any traffic jams on the streets that I utilized in SI for the gardens and waterfront, but the same couldn’t be said for the S.I.E. in the direction towards NJ. As soon as I got on the Expressway, I drove right into the traffic jam, and took me a while just to get to Goethals Bridge.
Well, at least I can finally say that I visited Staten Island, instead of simply just driving through without any intention of stopping here!

You have to understand that SI is really more like any of those nearby (just across the bridges!) suburban neighborhoods of New Jersey than any of other 4 boroughs of NYC. Admittedly, it has its own charms, which you will fail to appreciate if you won’t try to explore beyond its offerings known to most tourists who just head back to Manhattan after they have taken the ferry boat. Neighborhoods are surprisingly more diverse than those in Manhattan, which is the borough mostly populated by typical characters you see on TV shows that depict the regular NYC. In SI, you’d live with Asians (although there’s really no Chinatown here), black people from Africa, people from the Caribbean Islands, Hispanics & Latinos, Eastern Europeans, among so many other people who have been here for so long.
The major disappointment here is public transportation. It has been designed that way, apparently by the powers that be. You don’t need a car if you live close to the ferry terminal. Beyond this area, you have to be extra creative to manage your transpo needs. After having lived here for at least 5 years, I’m realizing that the powers-​that-​be don’t really want to turn SI into a borough that has the conveniences of the subway. They don’t like SI to be overtaken by people who prefer public transpo over driving their own cars.
Prices here are ridiculously pegged at Manhattan prices, especially those of food & the like. They have built a huge shopping mall, the Staten Island Mall, but you still need a car or take the bus to get there, which is not really convenient for people who don’t have cars. It’s really a no brainer but the designers have missed this point — you have to provide transpo convenience to your customers so they will come to you & create much needed traffic especially if you’re in the retail business. And I have a not-​so-​secret wish they open up a Costco or a Walmart here, then, we regular folks who live in SI, would gleefully sneer at people in the other boroughs where access to these big stores is relatively limited.
Despite what stereotypes most people have in their minds about SI, this borough still surprises me. I’ve seen much more forms of material wealth in households here in SI than in the other boroughs of NYC. Why? It’s basically more expensive to have and maintain a one family-​house, which you can still have here in SI, and hence, that’s why most people think SI is merely a bedroom town, i.e., people come here because they have their houses here. And when we say, one-​family house, it’s usually with a yard and a basement (unless if you’re getting something else because of your limited funds LOL). But if you’re not convinced & if you want to see samples of wealth that you don’t normally see in other NYC boroughs, head off to Todt Hill, for example. And just look at the Verrazano Bridge — haven’t you wondered why it’s that expensive to use it even for SI residents? It’s really designed for those who have the means to come and stay in SI. Note, too, that neighborhoods that are farther from from ferry terminal tend to look more affluent and have that suburban feel. But you’d see ghetto-​like neighborhoods, too, elsewhere, here.
And surprisingly, you’d see more foliage here in SI than in the other boroughs (note that what used-to-be-the-world’s-biggest-dump is now turning into a major park & recreation center). I know that wild deer & other wild animals can still be seen here (head off the College of Staten Island campus, for example), which you won’t experience anymore in the other boroughs (except, most probably, in the Bronx).

My 100^th. Ya all know I HAD to write it.
It called the forgotten borough.
It may not be as glamorous as Manhattan, or as hip as Brooklyn, or as multicultural as Queens, or as tough as Bronx — fifth borough still stands it’s own.
If you never been or not willing to know it, you are missing out. Don’t dismiss something you never tried, or just saw on TV. There are places to see and memories to be made here. To discover. To explore. To enjoy.
They say home is where your heart is. It is not a house or belongings. It’s a feeling right there, in your heart and soul.
There are couple places in the world I call home. Place where I was born, which does not exist as it once was; place where I grew up, now overtaken by wild woods; ol’ good Brooklyn — is always in my heart; and last but not least — Staten Island, Richmond County, New York. Home, for over 15 years now.
More than twice the size of Manhattan and a bit bigger than Bronx, Staten Island population is still lowest in the city, only under half million people. It is the greenest borough, with Greenbelt growing larger every year and new parks opening up. You can find clean sandy beaches, hiking trails, lakes, tennis courts and golf courses all around island.
But enough facts, I better share why do I like Staten Island so much and hopefully inspire you to explore it:
I can never get tired of driving over Verrazano Bridge and getting blown away by the grandiosity of it’s construction. Absolutely have to stop by Fort Wadsworth to appreciate more views of the bridge and panoramic views of NYC and even Jersey.
I adore our beaches, boardwalk and marinas any time of the year, views of majestic ocean, fine sand under your feet, ships passing by and waves hitting the shore…
The countless parks and hiking trails, barbecue pits, play areas — always something to explore.
History behind it all, arts, museums and theatre, from Historic Richmondtown to Snug Harbor, from Alice Austin museum to St. George.
Of course, our hard-​working Staten Island Ferry, going back and forth over 5 miles of water between city and the island, for almost 200 years. Offering best views of Statue of Liberty, free of charge.
I always have fun at our summer festivals, with fireworks almost every week, random music and street snacks.
Relax and reflect on quiet summer nights with fireflies dancing over the garden.
I love small restaurants and pubs around the Island with delicious food and smashing drinks. Best Italian bakeries in whole city. Best cannoli, too.
Places that rock: Adobe Blues and Joe’s Lobster House, Beso and Blue, Piece A Cake and Cookie Jar, Fushimi and Fuji, and many more…
But you know what I like the most? Our Staten Islanders. Standing together at worst times, or the best. Caring, strong, hard working. That’s a community spirit I’ve seen. Proud of it.
If you decide to come and see it, here is my list of «must» places:
I am uploading photo collage of my favorite places — yes, believe it, that is SI.
Transportation note: If you only exploring St. George/​Bay Street area, city buses are good; if you are planning to go further, buses helluva slow. I would suggest either call local car services from the ferry (they inexpensive and reliable), or get a zipcar. Staten Island Railway also runs from St. George to Tottenville, so that is an alternative transportation as well.
Yo, you still reading this? Get on da Ferry!!!