A Day In Staten Island
Two weeks ago, my wife, brother-in-law, and I decided to spend a day in Staten Island. We spent most of our time hiking in the Staten Island Greenbelt, a system of contiguous parks in the middle of Staten Island that’s over 1,000 acres in area, the second largest park in the five boroughs. The Greenbelt definitely qualifies as one of those places in New York City that makes you completely forget that you are in New York City .
After our hiking excursion, we enjoyed a lunch at a marina with (non-makeshift!) outdoor seating, and spent the rest of our time driving around a bit. Just like on our hike, there were many cues--particularly the constant suburban-style sprawl and the considerable Trump 2020 signage--that again, belied the reality that we were technically in New York City.
In fact, you could definitely go long stretches of time thinking you’re in New Jersey, Long Island, or really Anywhere, USA—until you get a sudden jolt of the Big Apple upon seeing an MTA bus, or NYC Department of Parks and Recreation signage.
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This wasn’t my first time in Staten Island, but it was really the first time I spent considerable time in the borough with my metaphorical tour guide hat on. Like many New Yorkers, a part of my brain has always been a bit fascinated with the borough as it relates to the rest of the city--Richmond County is a part of New York City, but spiritually, I’ve always thought it much more a part of North-Central Jersey.
Part of this of course is due to its proximity to Bayonne, Elizabeth, and Perth Amboy, but I think it’s fair to make the argument that this is in large part due to the fact that the New York City subway system doesn’t go to Staten Island*. And because of that, you have a borough that never had to orient itself around Manhattan or the other boroughs, and instead became its own self-sustaining entity, instead oriented around the Robert Moses-era highway transportation system that has engulfed much of the tri-state area.
Whether or not it’s “good” or “bad” that the subway system doesn’t incorporate Staten Island is not for me to say, and not something I feel qualified enough to argue about. But I think it’s fair to argue that if there was even one subway line that ran directly into Manhattan and/or Brooklyn, the Island would’ve almost certainly developed in dramatically different fashion--possibly oriented around Manhattan in a way closer to how Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx are.
And it almost happened.
Above is a picture of a proposed “Staten Island tunnel,” intended to connect Staten Island to existing subway lines in south Brooklyn, today’s R train. The project above was voted down in 1913, but a similar project was revived a few years later and actually broke ground 1923—and excavation went on for about two years until the project was discontinued in 1925 due to cost realities.
Although it’s since been covered up, the entrance to the tunnel lies somewhere beneath Bay Ridge’s Owl’s Head park.
Over the ensuing decades there had been plans to revive a Staten Island subway project in some form—including various proposals to connect St. George (the northern area of Staten Island, where the ferry is) to Liberty and Ellis Island, and/or Battery Park, but due to costs and impracticalities, these never really gained any true momentum. And although there’s been some noise in recent decades about improved transit options from Staten Island to the other boroughs, they’ve been almost universally rejected by anyone in a position to move the project forward.
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Thinking about New York in this way is a constant game of what-ifs. What if the 1 train was extended to Red Hook? What if the Lower Manhattan Expressway was rammed through the city, like so many other projects? What if the Staten Island had a subway? Would it be considered the “Forgotten Borough” that the other four boroughs often deem it today?
Maybe, maybe not. But like it or not, Staten Island is part of our New York City family. We’re obligated to keep a seat for it at Thanksgiving, whether or not it still even wants to come.
*The Staten Island Railway System connects to the Staten Island Ferry, which connects to the southern terminus of Manhattan, and there are buses that go to the other boroughs, but I think it’s more than fair to argue that these existing form of transportation are not exactly on par with a direct subway line.