Talk:Staten Island

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Staten Island has had a peer review by Wikipedia editors which is now archived. It may contain ideas you can use to improve this article.

Another site you may want to check out is Staten Island Chat (http://www.sichat.com), where you can find all kinds of information about the greenest borough of New York City. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.237.29.131 (talk • contribs) 08:39, 15 November 2005.

Just spotted this site on the web and thought it might be helpful to know that http://www.statenislandtalk.com/forums provides a forum for former and current Staten Island residents to chat. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 131.107.0.106 (talk • contribs) 13:34, 20 July 2005.

Removed ad that used to be here...

This page doesn't follow the same format as Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Manhattan. I think the map of the county was made by a bot (Anomebot), so I put a message on its owner's page to see if s/he could get the county map. --zandperl 04:39, 22 Mar 2004 (UTC)

The county map is on the page, if you scroll down. It doesn't follow the other boroughs because those pages suck, if you ask me. The county map is particularly poor as it stands, because it seems to show Staten Island as being off the coast of New York, when it is not. Certainly the format could use improvement, but the other boroughs certainly could too. -- Decumanus | Talk 04:42, 22 Mar 2004 (UTC)

oops, my bad! Thanks for pointing out its existance.  :-P --zandperl 04:48, 22 Mar 2004 (UTC)

No problem. My SI pride was showing a little. I'd like to think we can innovate here in this borough. :) -- Decumanus | Talk 04:53, 22 Mar 2004 (UTC)

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The world did not end in 1898, how about some more recent history such as the battle to close the landfill, the unsuccesful bid to secede from New York City and more importantly why, and notable Staten Islander, eg. Emerson, etc. --K2laz 12:46, 2004 May 19 (UTC)

Good point. There should be a brief notice how NAVSTA New York was on Staten Island in the 80's to early 90's. A minor episode, but it should be noted.--Mtnerd 21:28, 28 Jan 2005 (UTC)

--Can anyone clarify why, in 1975, the borough was renamed from Richmond to Staten Island? It may seem trivial, but was there a specific reason for this? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 12.75.197.5 (talk • contribs) 02:32, 26 May 2006.

Off the island, most New Yorkers had no idea it was ever called Richmond County, any more than they knew that Brooklyn was Kings County. On the island, there had been a huge influx of new residents after the Verazzano bridge opened, and they didn't know either. It was just a modernization. A lot of us who were old island families regarded it as yet another indication that things were changing faster than we liked. RossPatterson 23:19, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

I believe this had something to do with the citywide celebration of the 350th anniversary of the founding of New Amsterdam that year. "Staten Island" is of course the old Dutch name, though it wasn't officially used till 1975.--Pharos 08:48, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

That's entirely possible. The name change would have required an act of the New York City Council, so the motivation should be on record with lots of "whereas this and whereas that" language. I'd look it up, but I don't live in town any more and the Council doesn't have anything online before 1990.

Just as a reminder to future readers, what Pharos means is that Staten Island wasn't officially used as the name of the borough until 1975 (and of course has never been the name of the county). The island has been named Staten Island for hundreds of years. RossPatterson 00:27, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

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The image of a typical SI street is blocking part of the section on demographics. Someone should fix it. Sorry, I don't know how. --Boarshevik 01:35, 2004 Oct 10 (UTC)

I removed the picture that infringed upon the Demographics portion of the page. I couldn't read the demographics, so this is the reason I did this. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 198.69.234.93 (talk • contribs) 13:50, 6 November 2004.

Contents 1 Secession efforts 2 Democratic (fake?) majority in Staten Island 3 Disambiguation 4 Famous Staten Islanders? &/or Staten Island in Popular Culture? 5 Cage fighting? 6 "The Sticks" 7 Manor Heights 8 Ganas 9 Lincoln Reference 10 Staten Islander commenting 11 Notable Residents

[edit] Secession efforts

I question the role that Guiliani played in why secession died. Staten Island residents voted 2-1 in favor of secession in November of 2003. However, the New York Legislature decided that secession could not occur without the consent of New York City because of home rule in the state, and court challenges to that legislative determination were rejected in 1996. Local Government Law, 3rd ed., pp. 412-13. Gerald E. Frug, et al. West Publishing Co., 2001. Is there a source somewhere that says that independent of this legal setback, popular support of secession actually waned because of Guiliani? Regardless, the legal information needs to be included. Postdlf 20:24, 5 Apr 2005 (UTC)

• The vote wasn't in November 2003, it was in the early ninties (unless there's been another one I'm unaware of). You are definitely right about the legal issues though; please include it in that section. I think the issue has died down both because of the legal impractibility and the greater satisfaction of Staten Islanders with the state of City Hall and the city in general. I have seen absolutely no evidence of a Staten Island secession movement in the last few years.--Pharos 18:20, 20 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Democratic (fake?) majority in Staten Island

The politics section of the article shows an interesting paradow about SI voters : they are mainly registered as Democrats, bu vote mainly Republican. I think the explanation is that SI is part of NYC, where the traditional american two-party system doesn't exist : Exept for SI legislative seats and borough president, the only competitive election is always the democratic primary. As a way of consequence, we can state that many swing and republican voters actually register themselves as Democratic, in order to vote in these primaries.

Does somebody disagree ?--Revas 22:16, 12 August 2005 (UTC)

Democrate or Republican, SI'ers tend to be a conservative bunch. None-the-less, the stats in this article acknowledge that in the last four presidential elecitons, they've voted for Democratic and Republican candidates equally. In local elections, they vote for whomever performs for Staten Island. Fact is, Staten Islanders felt shut out of City politics for most of our history as New Yorkers. And when New York was financially in the hole, SI'ers felt particularly ignored -- hence the secession movement. And right or wrong, Staten Islanders really felt that the Dinkins Administration did nothing for SI. The Guiliani camp successfully capitolized on this, and so has the Bloomberg administration. (ie: closing the dump, new ferries and terminals, elimiation of 2-fare zones and ferry fare...) Check out the local council races, and you'll see that the North Shore votes consitantly Democratic and the South Shore consistantly Republican. A relatively even distribution of Dems/Reps and a willingness to vote across lines creates the disconnect that you are referring to. Also, do you really think enough voters are willing to register outside their party? Most parties want the "A" column on the ballot and the numbers to show their support. For so many voters to register outside their party would take a concious conspiracy of massive proportions that would be pretty tough to hide, and probably wouldn't be all that effective.EGregory 15:31, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

Hey! I live on the north shore and there is a democratic majority in randall manor, where i reside. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.23.40.63 (talk • contribs) 23:05, 10 March 2006.

[edit] Disambiguation

Does Staten Island really need a dab page? There are only two links there, and Staten Island, New York redirects to this page. Would it be more appropriate to eliminate the dab page and put this at the top of the page?

See Isla de los Estados (Staten Island) for the island off the coast of Tierra del Fuego in Argentina.

EWS23 | (Leave me a message!) 00:41, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

Sounds like a good idea.--Commander Keane 05:29, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Famous Staten Islanders? &/or Staten Island in Popular Culture?

Instead of including the reference to the Wu Tang Clan in the opening description of Staten Island, should there be an article on famous Staten Islanders and/or another article on references in pop culture? Famous SI'ers in entertainment would include: David Johanson, aka Buster Poindexter, singer with the proto-punk band New York Dolls and later known for pop songs like "Hot, Hot, Hot" / Wu Tang Clan, mentioned above / Christina Aguellera (sp?) singer. References in pop culture would also include the fact that SI is featured prominently in the works of author/playwright Paul Zindel (The Pigman, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds...). —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 198.63.16.200 (talk • contribs) 14:43, 17 November 2005. Films shot on Staten Island include Working Girl, Splendor in the Grass, The Godfather, Easy Money... EGregory 18:51, 17 November 2005 (UTC) Thanks for adding this info. NYPL has a great list of films shot on S.I. at http://www.nypl.org/branch/staten/index2.cfm?Trg=1&d1=1390&template=StatenIslandFilms EGregory 21:59, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

um i think vanderbuilt, dorthoy day, elisabeth seaton lived here —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.23.40.63 (talk • contribs) 23:03, 10 March 2006.

[edit] Cage fighting?

Can someone verify if this is a legitimate listing. Even so, seems to be filled with opinionated hyperbole. EGregory 20:01, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "The Sticks"

In these cases, the Island is oftern referred to as "The Sticks," for the reeds common in wetland areas before the Island became built-up residentally.

Can anyone cite a source for this? "The sticks" was often used as a reference by "sophisticated people" to less urban domains, and I doubt it had anything to do with wetlands. In Manhattan of the 1960s and 1970s I know it often was applied to anyplace rural or undeveloped. RossPatterson 23:46, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

I stand corrected. I've removed the reference to reeds. But I'd feel more comfortable if there was a way to point out that the term was applied to SI when it was much less developed and than it is today. And there is virtually no longer any "rural" presence on the Island outside of protected parklands or properties owned by the SI Historical Society. EGregory 21:26, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Manor Heights

Can someone detail the neighborhood of Manor Heights / Lower Todt Hill (North of Brielle Ave. South of 278. East of Bradley Ave. and West of Manor/Todt Hill Road)? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 63.117.201.120 (talk • contribs) 09:52, 11 April 2006.

When I lived nearby about 30 years ago, that was all just called Todt Hill, mostly by folks who wished they had some of the pricier properties further up on the ridge. I see that the Meiers Corners article claims the region as well, although we never called it that. Susan Wagner HS occupies a large chunk of the area. RossPatterson 03:57, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

This neighborhood is not meiers corner nor is it a part of todt hill. It is called Manor Heights! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 63.117.201.120 (talk • contribs) 09:26, 12 April 2006.

OK, so when you create the Manor Heights article, be sure to update the Meiers Corners article and correct that. Happy editting! RossPatterson 00:33, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ganas

Ganas is not the name of a neighborhood of Staten Island. It is the name of a communal group that resides in Tompkinsville/New Brighton and has been in the news due to attempts by a deranged former member on one of the group's leaders. It can be somewhere in the article, but not listed as a neighborhood. Digit LeBoid 21:25, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Lincoln Reference

I've never heard this before: "New Brighton became the summer home of President Lincoln. The man on the penny!" If this is just vandalism, please remove it. If it is true, tell us more. Digit LeBoid 16:16, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm from Staten Island, and I say that this is a nice article. It had very factual info, and yes, it is sometimes called the forgotten borough (which I sometimes find annoying, but factual nonetheless). I did know that Brooklyn is called Kings County, and Staten Island was called Richmond. I'm very pleased overall with this article. SKREAM 02:06, 4 November 2006 (UTC)SKREAM

[edit] Staten Islander commenting

I'm from Staten Island, and I say that this is a nice article. It had very factual info, and yes, it is sometimes called the forgotten borough (which I sometimes find annoying, but factual nonetheless). I did know that Brooklyn is called Kings County, and Staten Island was called Richmond. I'm very pleased overall with this article. Any questions, come to me. I be glad to answer. SKREAM 02:24, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Notable Residents

Perhaps this section should be divided and organized. Actors, Artists, Political and Community Leaders,...Digit LeBoid 20:04, 18 January 2007 (UTC)