Here you can find specific points of interest on Staten Island. Including commercial centers, cultural attractions, or other places that might just would not typically find. This could also incorporate unusual places, some that are a bit off the beaden path.

When looking at Staten Island's parks, you may notice that some of their names are quite odd. If you're like me, you have probably wondered how they received their names. Well it may not come as a shock to you, but most of these parks were actually named for people. More importantly, a good number of them were named for prominent gaeta_park_2_400residents of Staten Island.

On the North Shore of Staten Island, you will find one of these parks. This would be what is known as Gaeta Park, a triangular piece of land in the neighborhood of Willowbrook. This land is bordered by streets on three sides: to the west you have North Gannon Avenue, to the east is Victory Boulevard, and to the north is Wyona Avenue. The park was named for a politician who was well-known in his day,…

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In 1904, a public school was erected on Pleasant Avenue in the area then known as Bogardus Corners-today's Rossville. On June 28, 1939, the two-classroom school, which was known as P.S. 31, was given over to the New York Citydavis_park_final_400 Board of Estimate. However, by August 25 of that same year, the New York City Board of Education reclaimed the site so that it could be used to store furniture. Being too small to store furniture while still operating as a school, the school closed down.  It wasn't until the middle of the twentieth century that a new building was constructed for P.S. 31. This building, however, was located quite far from the original site. Today, it is located at the northern tip of Staten Island, in the neighborhood of St. George.

On January 22,…

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dongan_playground_1_400Located in the neighborhood of Dongan Hills is the Dongan Playground. It is bounded by streets on three sides and a school on the fourth side. The three streets that border the park are Buel Avenue, Mason Avenue, and Dongan Hills Avenue. The school that is located next to the park is Public School 52.

Dongan Playground became part of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation in 1968. When it first opened it was known as P.S. 52 Playground, for the school located next to it. In 1986, the name of the park changed to Mason Playground, for one of the bordering streets. In 1997, the name of the park changed to what it is known as today, Dongan Playground.

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner renamed the park Dongan…

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lieutenant_john_h._martinson_playground_1_400Over the years, you will find name changes of many areas and locations. This is especially true when major changes, such as construction, occur. Staten Island has had many name changes to its features. In fact, there was one park that had gone through three different name changes in a span of only fifty years.

In 1959, construction began on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Officials believed that the construction of this bridge would allow for a major influx of people moving to Staten Island. If that were to happen, these new residents would need facilities which would cater to their families-such as parks. In 1962, a little parcel of land was acquired by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. It was located between the streets of Koch…

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During the turn of the century, the topic of discussion for many Staten Islanders was over 130 acres of land in the southern portion of the Island.  A debate arose, with one side in favor of building of a shopping center and the other in favor of constructing a school, a park, and less retail.  In 2002, forty-two of the 130 acres were suggested to be used for the shopping center.  By 2005, after having agreed to this, ground was broken by the Blumenfeld Development Group for what would become the Bricktown Centre.

By 2007, the $100 million Bricktown Centre was completed.  That same year, it opened in Staten Island to the still-rural neighborhood of Charleston, at 2700-2900 Veterans Road West.  Within the shopping center are Bed Bath & Beyond, a retail…

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You may recall the reasoning behind the naming of the neighborhood Tottenville, if you have read the historical information we have provided you with on our website. The neighborhood was given its name because of a post office which stood in the area.  In 1861, it was given the name Tottenville Post Office, after the first postmaster, John Totten. There were two factors in tottenville_pool_1_400giving the neighborhood the name of Tottenville.  First of all, the post office served the neighborhood. Second of all, the Totten family had grown to be quite prominent on Staten Island.

The Totten family was not the only well-known family on Staten Island. In fact, during the end of the seventeenth century, many people came to this Island from France and came to be recognized…

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Arbutus Woods Park is approximately two and a half acres of woodlands in the neighborhood of Huguenot. It is located between Arbutus Avenue and Stecher Street, with the entrance to the park being on Stecher Street. Arbutus Woods Park is
named after the trailing arbutus plant, which used to grow all over Staten Island, especially in this area, prior to 1940. It is now extinct due to the fact that many local residents used the plant as a salad vegetable. The trailing arbutus plant grows low to the ground; it has clusters of small pink/white flowers, trailing woody stems, and oval leaves that are smooth on top and slightly hairy on the bottom.

The park is part of the Arbutus Creek watershed. This watershed was given to the Department of Parks and…

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Long Pond Park is one of the lesser-known parks on Staten Island in Richmond Valley. You can probably get away with saying that it is hidden in plain sight. Long Pond Park is quite large, being about one hundred acres in size, but since this long_pond_2_400undeveloped land does not have any arresting entrances, most people do not even know it's designated as parkland.  It has in fact been in possession of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation since the beginning of the twenty-first century. For the most part, Long Pond Park is bounded by the streets of Amboy Road to the north, Hylan Boulevard to the south, Page Avenue to the west, and Richard Avenue to the east. However, there a number of streets interspersed along Page Avenue, which basically jut into…

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If you ever took notice of the brand of pencils you used to use in school, there's a good chance you saw the name Faber on at least one of them. These types of pencils had become quite popular in the nineteenth century. Their origin, however, began dfaberbest_400uring the prior century. In 1761, German cabinet maker Kasper Faber began to manufacture his own brand of pencil in Stein, a town located near Nuremberg, Bavaria. After Kasper Faber's death in 1784, his son, Anton, took over the company. At this time, he changed the company's name to the A.W. Faber Company.  Soon after, the company's name came to be quite prominent.

You're probably wondering why you're being given the history of pencils, but quite frankly, they played a significant role in the history of one…

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About Woodhull Park, Staten Island

In March of 2001, Staten Island lost one of its most recognized activists: Lorraine Sorge.  Lorraine Sorge was greatly involved in the borough. She had been known for speaking her mind on topics such as the closing of the woodhull_park2_400South Shore's Staten Island University Hospital, the construction of a jail on Staten Island, and toll hikes on Staten Island's bridges. In each case, she was very much against each proposal.  At the time of her death, Lorraine Sorge was president of the Staten Island Taxpayer's Association, a non-profit organization made up of Staten Islanders of all communities who are dedicated to improving the whole of the Island.

Aside from being the president of the Staten Island Taxpayer's Association,…

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