Emerging from the Revolutionary War and the formation of a new nation, Staten Island was poised to enter the nineteenth century ripe for growth and prosperity. Fueled by waves of immigration, Richmond County became a boomtown of industry and transportation. Piloting his first ferry with just two small masts and eighteen-cent fares, Cornelius Vanderbilt built a transit empire from his native shores of Staten Island. When the Civil War erupted, Richmond played a key role in housing and training Union troops as 125 naval guns protected New York Harbor at the Narrows. At the close of the century, Staten Island was swept up in the politics of consolidation, with 84 percent of locals voting to join Greater New York, yet the promised benefits of a new mega-city never materialized. Author Joe Borelli charts the trials and triumphs of Staten Island in the nineteenth century.

What sets Staten Island apart from the rest of New York City? The island’s identity has in part been defined in opposition to the city, its physical and cultural differences, and the perception of neglect by city government. It has long been whiter, wealthier, less populated, and more politically conservative. And despite many attempts over the years, Staten Island is not connected by the subway to any of the other four boroughs. Kenneth M. Gold argues that the lack of a subway connection has deeply shaped Staten Island’s history and identity. He chronicles decades of recurrent efforts to build a rail link, using this history to explore the borough’s fraught relationship with New York City as a whole. The Forgotten Borough ranges from when Staten Island first contemplated joining the city in the 1890s to the opening of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in 1964, highlighting pivotal moments when the construction of a subway appeared possible. The economics and engineering of tunnel construction, the difficulty of uniting Staten Islanders around a single solution, competition from the other boroughs, and resistance from powerful corporations and public authorities all undermined a rapid transit connection. Gold demonstrates that the failure to establish a rail link during this period caused Staten Island to diverge culturally, demographically, and politically from the other four boroughs. Drawing on extensive archival research, The Forgotten Borough shows how transportation infrastructure and politics shed new light on urban history.

Staten Island: Like It or Not! is an unparalleled and unprecedented critical analysis of New York's "forgotten borough" examined through its ethnic history, politics and government, and social dynamics. A compilation of interviews with hundreds of native Staten Islanders, Staten Island: Like It or Not! explores change-inducing phenomena such as land development and immigration on the North Shore, Mid-Island, and South Shore through commentary extracted directly from the anecdotes, memories, and oral traditions expressed by Islanders themselves. Following the opening of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge connecting Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to the Island's east shore, Staten Island underwent a drastic transformation into a rapidly-evolving borough, leaving behind the ruins of a nostalgic past intertwined with that of the country's. Staten Island: Like It or Not! assembles the astonishing never-before-seen narrative of a borough whose community united together in neighborhoods from New Brighton to Rosebank to Tottenville to Port Richmond to achieve the manifestation of the "American Dream." An ideal model of small business America, Staten Island once boasted thousands of locally-owned Italian-American stores and other establishments whose legacies have been nearly erased with the stroke of time. Author Lorenzo Lucchesi has produced the family-held stories and testimony of Islanders ranging from century-old residents to politicians to restauranteurs to bakers to tradesmen to tell the incredible story of New York City's last frontier. As suburbanization increases exponentially throughout the once rural streets paved by the hands of hardworking immigrants and settled in the early-1900s by entrepreneurs seeking a retreat from their city homes at summer bungalows, Staten Island faces the Armageddon for the salvation of its triumphant past battled at the forefront of its industries, innovations, and vibrant personalities. An entertaining yet genuine look at Staten Island, Staten Island: Like It or Not! draws on the Island longed for both past and future by many, and the Island accurately interpreted by few.

Staten Island saw its share of violence and murder as it transformed from a sleepy community to an urban outer borough. The 1920 discovery of a woman's body by two young boys walking their dog remains unsolved. An inmate at Sailors' Snug Harbor--a retirement home for seamen--shot a preacher in cold blood. Shocking and horrific stories of killers and their victims such as these plague Staten Island's otherwise pleasant past. From the handsome soldier convicted of his Russian wife's shooting in New Dorp Beach to the New Brighton guard beaten to death while protecting seized whiskey during Prohibition, local historian Patricia Salmon uncovers Staten Island's most chilling tales of infamous and long-forgotten acts of violence.

Excerpt from History of Richmond County (Staten Island) New York: From Its Discovery to the Present Time The preparation of a history like this invo'lves the employ ment of a great variety of means, drawing from a multitude of sources. The compiler is frequently obliged to accept the statements of others without knowing upon what data those statements are made. The utter impossibility of any one man being able, during the brief term of one human life, to go to the bottom of every fact stated in a work of this kind must be too apparent to need -explanation. There are a. Hundred ways by which errors may creep in. The editor can but use his best judgment as to the reliability of the authorities upon which he depends for statements, and his constant and most careful vigilance in guarding against erroneous statements. This he has done in the preparation of this work, and that vigilance has been rendered more effective by the experience the editor has had heretofore in the preparation of similar works in other fields. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Staten Island: A Report by the President of the Borough of Richmond to the Mayor There was but the smallest measure of home rule allowed to this Borough during the balance of that City Administration. With the advent of January 1, 1918, however, new conditions obtained which have brought about much progress and much encouragement to people desiring to make Staten Island their home, and to business men and leaders of industry desiring to take advantage of the Opportunities our Borough affords. In the summer of 1918 by your orders an end was put to the garbage reduction nuisance on Fresh Kills, and your fatherly assurance was given to your people here that it never would recur. It never will recur. As an aftermath there are remaining two actions at law against me in my official capacity, now pending in the Supreme Court, claiming damages for several hundred thousand dollars, alleging in the pleadings that it was because of violent Opposition by me that the enterprise was ruined, and the objectionable activities suspended. Under new conditions, and with the hearty support of the City Administration, the work of my department has been planned and carried on in a manner gratify ing to our people. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Staten Island and Staten Islanders No doubt there are many omissions and mistakes, but the committee in charge of the work have endeavored to make the book authentic and fairly comprehensive. How well they have succeeded the public may now determine. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.