Have you actually been to Staten Island ? Likereallybeento Staten Island ? If you ’ve taken the Ferry to St. George only to make a uranium - turn inside the depot and get on the same boat to go back to Manhattan , then NO , you have n’t . Many are guilty of it , but why do we treat Staten Island this room ? Why not leave the pole , walk around a bit , have a bite to eat , and perchance ( defy I say it ) even see for an affordable apartment out there ? Living and working on Staten Island for 10 years has given me some insight into the Forgotten Borough , including why New Yorkers treat it like the redheaded stepchild of the city , and why we should be give a little more attending to it . First , let ’s get the negative out of the way …
Why we’re ignoring it:
pay off to the Island is hardStaten Island is the ONLY borough that does n’t have a subway to Manhattan . The ferry is a dainty drive , but it only makes one stop in St. George , and you have to take a bus or a gear to get to another neighborhood . If you ’re going to the South Shore of the Island , that could take up to another hour after you get off the sauceboat . Want to drive to Staten Island ? You better bring $ 16 cash for the Verrazano Bridge bell ( $ 11.08 if you have an E - ZPass ) . If it constitute you palpate any skillful , it ’s only a one - way toll .
ethnical attractions ca n’t vie with those in other boroughsS.I. has a zoo , some museums , a botanical garden , and a few other nerveless places to visit , but ( going back to the transport issue ) , they ’re laborious to get to without a elevator car , and not closely as impressive as their counterpart in other borough .
There ’s a lack of diversityAs of July 2015 , Staten Island was 76.6 % bloodless according to theU.S. Census Bureau . In add-on to the serious implication of having such a white - prevailing demographic , there ’s also a serious deficiency of diversity in the borough ’s food scene . Pizzerias and Italian restaurants sovereignty supreme on Staten Island , and most have been around for decades ( meaning you wo n’t find the recent food trends or cutting - edge culinary creation here ) . The Italian place on S.I. are mostly honest-to-god - school day , red - sauce joints that got their formula from grandma . While they make fantabulous food , none of them seem to have that Di Fara quality that will get people to make a pilgrimage .
Roman Babakin/Shutterstock
Every now and then , Staten Islanders threaten to secede from the cityIt change by reversal out , # Stexit was the OG # Brexit . In 1993 , Staten Island take a vote and 65 % of the population opted to go out the city of New York . foresightful story light : they were sense underrepresented by then - Mayor Dinkins . Things get secure for them under Giuliani and the talk of leave alone faded away . But now that the UK did it , talks of withdrawal are surfacing againas a possibility , specially since the more conservative parts of the borough are once again feeling ignored by Mayor de Blasio .
Why we shouldn’t ignore it:
It ’s still pretty flashy to live thereIf you ’ve dreamed of roommate - spare keep for the toll you ante up to live with roommates , you could have it on Staten Island . Finding a ( true ) 1 - bedchamber flat for $ 1,200 to have all to yourself is all possible . You might even getsome M space with that .
It ’s great for nature loversStaten Island is the Borough of Parks . More than one - third of its land mass is protected park , so there are plenty of hike trails , scenic bike paths , raving mad cervid , miles of beach , and just unmistakable peace treaty and quiet to be found .
It ’s less crowded than other parts of the cityThere are still less than 500,000 Staten Islanders , while other boroughs have well over a million resident . Restaurant reservation are gentle to follow by . You do n’t have to register your Kid for pre - school day before they ’re even conceive . Parking your car is less stressful ( bonus : there ’s no alternate - side parking on S.I. ) . residential area events and street fair fetch a good gang , but are rarely so packed that it will destroy your honest meter .
Flickr/CJ Oliver
You wo n’t go hungryPeople might not be lining up around the block for food on Staten Island like they do for Cronuts or impossible - to - eat milkshakes in Manhattan , but that does n’t mean the intellectual nourishment is n’t safe . It ’s really dandy . From the pizza pie atGiove , to the tappa bark atBeso , to the potato pancakes atKillmeyer’s– many of SI ’s best dishes are more than worth the trek , but will still never get their due recognition .
The quality of food market depot is also deserving cite . There is no Whole Foods , but the Island does n’t need one . There ’s pile of Brobdingnagian , beautiful , clean supermarket with full bakehouse , butcher counters , and maturate organic selections . If you ’re a Whole Foods shopper , you ’ll cry tears of joy at the Price in a Staten Island Stop & Shop .
It ’s contract a bountiful - ass wheelGround has been broken on theNew York Wheeland it ’s a with child f***ing deal . It ’s estimated to bring more than 3 million visitors to Staten Island every year . This is the borough ’s latest hope of getting visitant to ultimately leave the Ferry terminus and actually spend prison term ( and hopefully , money , too ) in the community . While that labor is getting the most buzz , private investors are spending close to $ 1 billion on other developments near the Wheel– housing , retail , and ethnical . Is this what the North Shore of the Island needs to finally become the next Hoboken or Williamsburg ? It might be hard to imagine now , but every neighbourhood in the urban center that ’s had its Renascence was once ignored , too .
Flickr/jschauma
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