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Place Name
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Staten Island
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Pronunciation
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STA-tuhn
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Place Status (Type)
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island
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Population
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378,977 (1990)
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Location
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Richmond County, New York (NY), United States, North America
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Latitude
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40°33'N
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Longitude
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74°08'W
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Staten Island
(STA-tuhn) (
102 sq mi/264 sq km; 1990 pop.
378,977), SE N.Y., in N.Y. Bay, SW of Manhattan, forming Richmond co.
of N.Y. state and the borough of Staten Isl. of N.Y. city; 40°33'N
74°08'W. It is separated from N.J. by Kill Van Kull and Arthur Kill,
which are crossed by bridges (Goethals, Bayonne, Outerbridge Crossing,
and a RR-lift bridge). Ferries connect the isl. with Manhattan, and the
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge links it with Brooklyn. The hills of NE Staten
Isl. rise to 410 ft/125 m at Todt Hill, the
highest point along the Atlantic coast S of Maine. The industrial area
of Staten Isl. is located in the N, where docks (now mostly abandoned,
but Howland Hook Marine Terminal was reopened in 1994) line the N and E
shores. The availability of open space has made the isl. the site of
large container-handling facilities. Centers of trade include St.
George (Borough Hall) and Port Richmond, as well as Hylan Boulevard
(Clove Road to Tysens Lane) and the Staten Isl. Mall. Beaches and
parks, including part of Gateway Natl. Recreation Area, are found along
the SE coast. The isl. was visited by Henry Hudson in 1609 and was
called Staaten Eylandet by the Dutch. The native pop. drove
off the 1st Eur. settlers, but by 1661 a permanent settlement
had been founded. Though there was considerable industrial activity
here in the 19th cent., its predominant character was semirural,
something which had not changed when it became a borough of N.Y. city
in 1898. The turning point in its recent history was the completion of
the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (1964). Since then Staten Isl. has had an
influx of new residents and industries, including Staten Isl. Teleport
and a containerboard-recycling plant. Changes in the 1980s in the
structure of N.Y. city's govt. led many Staten Islanders to believe
their voting strength was being diminished, and by the 1990s a movement
to secede from the city had gathered considerable strength. In 1993, a
referendum endorsing Staten Isl.'s independence from N.Y. city
received 65% of voter approval. An independent city, opposed by the
N.Y. city govt., is unlikely because the state govt. must approve such
a change. Staten Isl. is the only outer borough with its own newspaper,
the Staten Isl. Advance. Among the extant bldgs. of the
17th-19th cent. is the Billopp, or Conference, House (built before
1688), in which an unsuccessful Amer. Revolution peace conference was
held in 1776. The Richmondtown Restoration, an example of 18th- and
19th-cent. life on the isl., includes Voorlezer's House (built
c.1695). Other points of interest include several old churches,
Sailor's Snug Harbor, the Garibaldi-Meucci Memorial Mus., Fort
Wadsworth, the Staten Isl. Zoo, the Alice Austen House, and the Jacques
Marchais Center for Tibetan Art. Seat of Wagner Col., Col. of Staten
Isl. (of the City Univ. of N.Y.), Silver L. Reservoir and Park, and a
branch of St. John's Univ. Also on Staten Isl. is the Fresh Kills
Landfill.
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