West New Brighton, Staten Island

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

West New Brighton is a neighborhood of New York City, USA situated along the central North Shore of Staten Island. The neighborhood borders New Brighton to the east, Port Richmond to the west, the waters of the Kill Van Kull to the north, and the communities of Sunnyside and Castleton Corners to the south.

Originally known as "Factoryville," islanders now commonly refer to the area as West Brighton. Some parts of the neighborhood closer to the shoreline are referred to as "Livingston". The neighborhood once consisted largely of white working-class families (many of Irish descent), but was transformed in the years immediately following World War II when two large public housing developments — first the Markham Homes, and later the West Brighton Houses — were constructed there. Starting in 2004 tenants in The Markham Homes are being evicted, so the site may be redeveloped. As of 2005, approximately 10% of the tenants still remain. The blocks immediately surrounding these developments — which stand side-by-side in the heart of the neighborhood — were once notorious hotbeds of crime, welfare dependency, and especially, the abuse and sale of illegal drugs, particularly crack cocaine. However, since the late 90's the area has seen a dramatic reduction in crime rates. Richmond Terrace, which is the main thoroughfare along the Kill Van Kull waterfront, is home to several shipyards and tugboat companies.

Notable landmarks include the Staten Island Zoo, and several small abandoned cemeteries in which members of some of the island's founding families are interred. Snug Harbor is also located in West Brighton. It holds baseball fields, a children's museum, a Chinese garden, botanical gardens, the Art Lab and the Staten Island Conservatory of Music. St. Peter's Cemetery, which is still properly maintained and is the oldest Roman Catholic cemetery on Staten Island (opened in 1848), is also located here.

West New Brighton's ZIP Code is 10310, and the territory served by this zip code is virtually coterminous with the boundaries of the neighborhood itself (such boundaries not officially existing for any neighborhoods within New York City). The neighborhood is roughly defined as the area around and to the northeast of the intersection of Clove Road and Forest Avenue, one of the major east-west thoroughfares on the island.

v • d • e

Neighborhoods in the New York City Borough of Staten Island