Pf 127 
 I .57 R5 
 
 Copy 1 
 
 THE^ HIGHLANDS 
 
 STATE N 
 
 10 HO *** 
 
 ISLAND 
 
 
 L 
 
 PfimCCS £M> tfr.4f* 
 
VvAPORTAxvr Mr;HOMESEEKER iMPORTAtrt 
 Staten Island Solves the Problem 
 
 OF 
 
 HIGH RENT 
 
 ^ COWPARis^j^ 
 
 "Ybu G^nBuy 
 
 LAND 
 
 FOR Less Money 
 
 Newark 
 
 Lo+s* 5,000 
 
 T7me 50 Minu+es 
 
 Round Trip Fare 
 
 You CaH Reach Your 
 
 WORK 
 
 As Cheaply & Quickly 
 
 And More 
 
 COMFORTABLY 
 
 Bronx 
 
 Lots ^5pOO 
 Time 45 Minuti^s . 
 Round Trip Fare !0<t 
 
 5TATEN Island 
 
 Lo+s ^300 
 
 Time 49 Minu+es 
 
 Round Trip Fare IS^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^OKi Can 
 BUILD 
 
 For Less money 
 
 Queens 
 
 Lots*e,500 
 Time 60 Minu+es 
 Round Trip Fare 
 
 10 <t 
 
 Values Will 
 
 INCREASE 
 
 'tt)UR Investment will 
 
 Be More 
 
 PROFITABLE 
 
^^■.-V.-.■^v■^ N 'I (\^rrn:L.o.y 
 
 BOROUGH OF RICHMOND'S 
 
 SOLUTION OF HOUSING 
 
 PROBLEM 
 
F7z7 
 
 FOREWORD. 
 
 Six miles south of City Hall, Manhattan, or an equal distance south as 100th 
 street is north, are 36,000 acres of New York City, almost three times the size of 
 Manhattan, which on account of natural advantages are unequalled for residential, 
 business or industrial purposes. This land is known as Richmond Borough, or 
 Staten Island, the most southerly part of New York City and State. By looking 
 at the map on the outside cover of this book you will see the important position it 
 occupies. Not only is it opposite the gateway from the Atlantic Ocean to the 
 world's greatest port, but it also lies at the mouth of the great inland waterways 
 of New York and New Jersey, viz., the East River, the Hudson River, the 
 Hackensack River, the Passaic River, and the Raritan River. 
 
 One-half of the ocean-going commerce of the United States, in addition to 
 the immense traffic contributed by the waterways just enumerated are continually 
 passing along its shores to reach harbors at a greater distance and less advan- 
 tageous than those offered by our island. The time is not far distant, however, 
 when this great mass of business will be diverted to the splendid waterfront of 
 Staten Island. 
 
 The United States engineers have recognized the destiny of Staten Island by 
 approving the dredging of a channel 30 feet deep, 400 feet wide, and 31 miles 
 long, the largest project of its kind ever undertaken in this country. 
 
 The Hon. John F. Hylan, Mayor of The City of New York, and his fellow 
 members of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment and other City officials, 
 particularly Hon. Murray Hulbert, Dock Commissioner, and formerly a member 
 of the Congressional Committee on Rivers and Harbors, have recognized this 
 island as the future seaport borough of Greater New York by authorizing the 
 construction of the largest group of 1,000-foot piers in the world along its easterly 
 shore, upon which work has already been commenced. The Dock Commissioner's 
 letter, on another page, will tell you that when completed these docks will accom- 
 modate forty-two 500-foot overseas steamers, yet these piers take up only 2 per 
 cent, of our waterfront. When they are completed the total docking facilities of 
 our eastern shore will accommodate eighty-five 500-foot overseas steamers, or 
 more than the entire Borough of Manhattan. 
 
 The interior of our Borough is ideal for homes, a gradual rise from the shore 
 to a height unequalled for many miles, with superb views, perfect highways, ample 
 public schools, with sufficient seating accommodation for every child, private 
 schools and academies, churches of every denomination, theatres and other 
 amusements, including many miles of the safest bathing beaches, make it a most 
 healthful and desirable place to live. 
 
 Transportation facilities are excellent, including in addition to the steam and 
 trolley roads, a new municipal bus line, whose route will open up those parts of 
 
 n. ctf; B. 
 
 AUG '^ST 1920 
 
our Borough which have hitherto been furthest from traffic Hues. No overcrowd- 
 ing; a seat for every passenger. The PubHc Service Commission is also preparing 
 plans for a subway, which will increase the value of property tenfold. 
 
 Land in Richmond Borough is cheaper to-day than in any other part of the 
 Greater City, but this condition may change to-morrow. 
 
 The TIME to move to Staten Island is NOW. 
 
 The TIME to buy land there is NOW. 
 
 Why live in another man's house when you may so easily own your own ? 
 
 No other investment, in my opinion, will bring equal rettirns. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 President of the Borough of Richmond. 
 
City of New York 
 
 Office of the Mayor 
 
 March 27, 1920. 
 
 The Hon. Calvix D. \'an Name, 
 
 President of the Borough of RicJunond, 
 
 Staten Island. X. Y. : 
 
 My Dear President — There is no subject which to-day concerns our people so 
 intimately as the housing and rent situations. The City Administration and the 
 Mayor's Committee on Rent Profiteering are endeavoring with ail the means at 
 their command to give a new impetus to an extensive building program through 
 the co-operation of all parties concerned in the construction of new homes. 
 
 Attention has been directed to the great enhancement in values that has come 
 to real property in Greater Xew York. The possibilities of future enhancement is 
 unquestioned. 
 
 The Borough of Richmond must inevitably become one of the most desirable 
 for residential purposes. The City Administration is behind all plans for better 
 and quicker connections, both freight and passenger, between that borough and 
 the other boroughs of the City. This fact alone should appeal to those who 
 hesitate to build homes on Staten Island. The isolated spots in the far reaches 
 of the island will receive added attractiveness when the City-owned bus lines are 
 in full operation and reach remote corners hitherto untouched by the trolley lines. 
 The splendid advantages of Staten Island's vast water front being so greatly 
 benefited by the gigantic municipal dock improvements now under way, need no 
 further appeal to the manufacturing and commercial interests. 
 
 Any campaign carried on to arouse interest in the necessity of owning one's 
 home is deserving of the heartiest support, for it will be of great aid to the City 
 Administration in its efforts to solve the vexatious housing problem by creating an 
 interest in the erection of homes, upon which, after all, the stability of any com- 
 munity must rest. 
 
 \''ery truly yours, 
 
 ?v^ ^yf~^^^4f^cL^*'\^ 
 
 Mayor. 
 
MAYOR HYLAN 
 
ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS 
 TO COMMISSIONER OF DOCKS 
 
 City of New York 
 Department of Docks 
 
 OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER 
 
 Pier A, North River, April 7, 1920. 
 
 The Hon. Calvin D. Van Name, 
 
 President of the BorougJi of Richmond, 
 
 Staten Island, N. Y. : 
 My Dear President : 
 
 1. In making a survey to increase the overseas steamship wharfage available 
 within the Port of the City of New York, I was greatly impressed by the unde- 
 veloped waterfront between Arrietta street, Tompkinsville, and the Pouch 
 Terminal, Clifton. 
 
 2. This waterfront is located on the main entrance channel of the harbor. 
 It has a direct main line connection with the rest of the continent, and, by virtue 
 of the high hills which rise up directly behind it, it is well sheltered from the 
 severe northwesterly winds of the winter. Convinced of the great advantages to 
 be obtained by the construction of a steamship terminal in the Borough of Rich- 
 mond, I am happy to say that the administration of The City of New York sup- 
 ported me and the actual construction of these piers is now under way. At its 
 completion, the Borough of Richmond will have added to the efifective side wharf- 
 age available for the berthing of overseas steamships 26,000 linear feet, capable 
 of berthing at one time forty-eight 500-foot steamers, and an aggregate of 
 2,250,000 square feet of pier space will have been created. This in itself will give 
 to the Borough of Richmond a greater pier area and a greater length of wharfage 
 room for overseas steamships than is used for this same purpose on the entire 
 Island of Manhattan. Nor is this all. As a natural consequence of an improve- 
 ment of this magnitude there will doubtless follow a warehousing and manufactur- 
 ing development on the upland connected with these piers, which, when completed, 
 should make Staten Island the foremost steamship terminal in the world. 
 
 3. The direct advantages should be : 
 
 I. — The necessary housing of thousands of persons incidental to 
 the vast business that will be carried on at and through this 
 terminal ; 
 II. — The expansion and improvement of the ferry service to Staten 
 
 Island, and eventually, 
 III. — The connecting up of Staten Island physically as a part of the 
 greater City of New York by means of a subway. 
 
 Commissioner of Docks. 
 
CITY OF NEW YORK 
 
 Department of Plant and Structures 
 
 MUNICIPAL BUILDING 
 
 April 14, 1920. 
 
 The Hon. Calvin D. Van Name. 
 
 President of the Borough of Richmond, 
 
 Staten Island, N. Y. : 
 
 Dear Mr. President — The records of the Department of Plant and Structure.s 
 indicate a remarkable increase of population in the Borough of Richmond. In 
 1919 the Staten Island Division of the Municipal Ferries carried 19,579,271 pas- 
 sengers, an average of 53,943 per day, the increase over 1918 being about 11^ 
 per cent. In addition, there were 566,962 vehicles. 
 
 The figures, supplemented by my personal observations of the ferry traffic, 
 have led me to make every possible provision for the handling of the traffic. I 
 have augmented the repair forces and have directed that the utmost efforts be 
 made to put the plant in such condition as to have available at all times two slips 
 at each terminal and the whole fleet of six fast boats. 
 
 I have extended the rush-hour service over an additional hour morning and 
 evening, and I have arranged to provide extra boats between the regular scheduled 
 runs, when needed, so far as the boats at my disposal will permit. 
 
 Looking to the future, I am having plans prepared for new ferryboats and 
 hope to have these in operation next year. 
 
 In connection with the emergency bus service that I instituted on Staten 
 Island in January, I have observed the possibility of making accessible the vast 
 undeveloped areas of Staten Island. I hope to be able to render service along 
 this line by establishing bus service in various sections of the Island, when this 
 Department is permitted to proceed with the plans of the Hylan Administration 
 for the purchase and operation of buses. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 Commissioner of Plant and Structures. 
 
•o 
 
 
 t^ 
 
 fi 
 
 
 
 «0 
 
 
 /7 
 
 
 c -^ 
 (0 _ 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 ' 1 
 
 I\ 
 
 
 
 \9 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 H 
 p 
 
 o 
 
 H 
 
 z: 
 
 H 
 U 
 
 h 
 
 * » 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (— 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 i^ 
 
 .|e 
 
 .9 1 .sr 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 to 
 
 1^1 
 
 n 1 
 
 ^*U' 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 ,1 
 
 "1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 jj 1 
 
 ill 1 ~" ' 
 1 1 1 ; "".'1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ] 
 
 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 < 
 
 
 
 
 ,ez 
 
 
 
 
 
 ( 
 
 
 
 u 
 h 
 
 
 
 
 
 "a\ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ( 
 
 -£ 
 
 V 1 
 
 
 
 yy 
 
 
 
 
 J 
 < 
 
 O 
 
 z 
 
 
 
 
 C 1 ' \ 
 
 0| 1 1 
 
 ^11 1 
 CI 1 
 
 (0 1 
 
 V 
 
 
 _^ 
 
 Is 
 
 V9 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 _ 
 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 
 OJOQjpE 
 
 ^H.tv 
 
 1 
 
 
 i 
 
 s-e 
 
 
 
10 
 
 TELEPHONE 1000 TOMPKINSVILLE 
 
 Slltp Olttg of Nm fork 
 
 3PrfHt&Put of tl)r IBoraugl) of Sirlimonb 
 
 CALVIN D. VAN NAME. PRESIDENT OF THE BOROUGH 
 
 Borough Hall, Staten Island, April 5, 1920. 
 
 To the Honorable Board of Estimate and Apportionuient of The City of New 
 York : 
 
 Gentlemen — The recommendation of the President of the Borough of Man- 
 hattan that the shortage of homes be relieved by this Board furnishing money to 
 erect buildings on City-owned property is, in my opinion, the only way to get 
 immediate action ; but instead of building on City-owned property, homes should 
 be erected in the Borough of Richmond, where they will produce more per dollar 
 invested than in any other locality. 
 
 Buildings erected on City-owned property will cost $6,000 per family. This 
 amount at 6 per cent, will necessitate a monthly rental of $30. 
 
 In the Borough of Richmond we can erect a six-room lj'2-story detached 
 cottage on a lot 25 by 100 feet, with all conveniences, near station, within one 
 hour of Manhattan, round trip fare 24 cents, for $3,000. The monthly rental of 
 this house to produce 6 per cent, would be $15. A large number of these homes 
 could be built in sixty days. The tenant, if he desires, can pay an additional $10 
 per month, and taxes, which this year would be $6.32 per month, or a monthly 
 total of $31.32, less than tenants are paying for rent to-day, and become the 
 purchaser of a modern home situated in the most beautiful part of New York City. 
 
 By this process the City would reduce its investment $120 per year per house, 
 and in addition collect $75.90 per year per house in taxes. No initial payment of 
 a lump sum would be required and the tenant would reduce his rent each year. 
 By expending the money in Richmond less capital would be required ; the invest- 
 ment would pay 6 per cent. ; the return of the principal would commence after 
 sixty days. It would improve living conditions. It would also increase the income 
 of the City by adding to the taxes, which will be lost if built on City-owned 
 property. 
 
 Furthermore, I am prepared to say that if this money is expended in Staten 
 Island, the Borough Government, as its direct contribution to the cause, will 
 undertake without any additional help or expense to supervise, through its Bureau 
 of Buildings, the erection of these homes, to the end that the City and the pur- 
 chasers will get full value for their money. 
 
 For the purpose outlined above I request an issue of corporate stock to the 
 amount of $2,000,000. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 President of the Borough of Richmond. 
 
11 
 
12 
 
 SHORT HISTORY OF STATEN ISLAND. 
 
 Prior to the arrival of the white race on Staten Island it was occupied by the 
 Raritan Indians, commonly called Aquehongas, a branch of the Delaware Nation. 
 There were several large Indian villages throughout the Island, the most important 
 being at Tottenville, Holland's Hook, Greenridge, Great Kills and West New 
 Brighton, the latter being the chief village or council place where all negotiations 
 with the white settlers were later carried on. 
 
 The first white man to visit Staten Island was an Italian named Verrazzani. 
 It was in the summer of 1524, 32 years after Columbus discovered America. The 
 next visit of a white man recorded was on December 3, 1609, when Hendrik 
 Hudson anchored in the Narrows at about the same place as Verrazzani. 
 
 The first settlement of white people on Staten Island was in 1624, by Walloons 
 from Belgium. There was much fighting between the Walloons and the Indians, 
 and the former eventually retired to New Amsterdam, now the Borough of 
 Manhattan. 
 
 A number of Dutchmen under David Pietersen de V'ries came over in the 
 year 1637. and settled at what is now Fort Wadsworth, where was built the first 
 signal station by white men on the North American continent. 
 
 Many battles were fought with the Indians and relics of these wars are 
 picked up even to this day. Not many years ago the skeleton of an Indian, nearly 
 seven feet tall, was found on the Island with arrow heads still sticking in his chest 
 bone. Due to these wars and other causes the Indians gradually disappeared, 
 the last pureblooded Aquehongas living at Greenridge as late as 1826, and are 
 buried there. The Island was heavily timbered in those days, and the Indians 
 called it Aquehonga Alanadnock (the Island of Woods). 
 
 The first permanent white settlement on Staten Island was at Stony Brook, 
 between New Dorp and Oakwood, where the first court house and church were 
 erected, the latter being used as a place of worship by the Waldensians and 
 Huguenots. 
 
 In 1661 Staten Island fell into the hands of the English and became a part 
 of the British colony. 
 
 One of the first acts performed by the English Governor, Richard NicoU, 
 was to take formal possession of Staten Island in the name of the Crown, 
 He made a number of grants of land to settlers, and from these colonial grants 
 most of the land titles took their origin. 
 
 About 1668 Lord Berkeley received a grant from the Crown to all lands west 
 of the Hudson River, which he called Nova Caesarea, or New Jersey. For a 
 time Staten Island was considered a part of New Jersey and paid taxes to that 
 colony. But a dispute arising between the Duke of York and Lord Berkeley as 
 to the ownership of Staten Island, it was decided that all the islands which could 
 be circumnavigated in twenty-four hours should belong to New York, all others 
 
13 
 
 to New Jersey. Christopher Billopp undertook to sail around Staten Island and 
 accomplished this task in his sloop " The Bentley " in a few minutes less than 
 twenty-four hours, thus saving the Island for New York. Billopp was rewarded 
 by a grant of 1,163 acres of land at what is now Tottenville, and on which in the 
 same year he built a home, which is still standing, known as the Billopp House. 
 
 One of the Governors of New York, Thomas Dongan, an Irishman, after- 
 wards the Earl of Limerick, was very fond of Staten Island. He lived in a castle 
 overlooking the Kill von Kull, at what is now known as West New Brighton. 
 He had a shooting lodge in the interior of the Island at Castleton Corners, and 
 the road which led from the castle to the lodge was known as Manor road, and is 
 still so called. 
 
 The Island in 168v^ was divided into four townships, namely, Castletowne, or 
 Castleton, Northfield, Southtield and \\'estfield. An additional town was created 
 in 1866, known as Middletown, composed of parts of Castleton and Southfield. 
 These are the five wards which to-day comprise the Borough of Richmond. 
 
 In 1683 the first census of Staten Island was taken; population, 200 farmers 
 and 2,000 Indians. 
 
 In 1729 the county seat was removed from Stony Brook to Richmond, in the 
 centre of the Island. 
 
 In 1776, the English, under command of General William Howe, took pos- 
 session of Staten Island and fortified all the important points, such as Fort Hill, 
 Richmond, Holland's Hook, Blazing Star (now Rossville), Bentley Manor (now 
 Tottenville) and a number of other places for protection against the Americans 
 who assembled in large numbers on the New Jersey shore. In the Black Horse 
 Tavern, still standing at New Dorp, were quartered General Howe's staff. 
 
 For the purpose of making a last effort to bring about peace General Howe 
 met Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Edward Rutledge, representatives of 
 the American Congress, in the Billopp House aforementioned at Tottenville, but 
 no agreement being reached, the war continued. 
 
 The Americans made frequent attacks on Staten Island, but owing to the 
 large British forces encamped there they were unable to accomplish much. They 
 performed acts of great bravery, however, in the battles of Richmond, such as the 
 storming of St. Andrew's Church in the fall of 1776 and again in August, 1777, 
 the English soldiers having fortified themselves therein on both occasions. This 
 church is still standing in the X'illage of Richmond ; one may attend divine service 
 there any Sunday. A visit to the cemetery adjoining will disclose many old 
 tombstones with interesting epitaphs. The first principal highway on Staten 
 Island ran from this church at Richmond to the watering place at Tompkinsville, 
 and was known as the King's Highway. This watering place was famous among 
 shipping men, who replenished their stock from the spring. The Daughters of 
 the American Revolution have kept alive historic interest in this highway by 
 placing signs at important points. 
 
 Among other interesting episodes of the war was the capture of Lieut.-Col. 
 Christopher Billopp, a loyalist officer, who was taken prisoner at the Manor of 
 Bentley by the Americans who had watched his home for several days from the 
 steeple of a church in Perth Amboy. 
 
14 
 
 After the departure of the EngHsh the Americans organized the local govern- 
 ment of Staten Island, known as Richmond, the most southerly county of the 
 State of New York. 
 
 The beauties of the Island attracted the rich merchants of New York, who 
 erected a number of fine homes on the highway which ran along the north shore, 
 called Richmond terrace. A large hotel was built known as '' The Pavilion," 
 creating a settlement called New Brighton, after the famous seaside resort in 
 England. Staten Island was for a time a fashionable centre frequented by wealthy 
 southerners during the summer season. 
 
 The two artificial islands ofif the shore of Staten Island, known as Hoffman 
 and Swinburne, used for hospitals, were built in 1858, after the citizens had 
 burned the Quarantine Hospital which was located at Tompkinsville. 
 
 In 1860 Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, a native of Staten Island, and the 
 owner of ferries between New York and the east shore, built a railroad from 
 Clifton to Tottenville. Later on, about 1880, Erastus Wiman built the Rapid 
 Transit Railroad from South Beach to Holland's Hook. Through his influence a 
 railroad bridge was built, which spans the Sound, giving direct rail connection 
 between New York City and the west. 
 
 In 1895 the present system of electric street cars was introduced. 
 
 In 1898 Staten Island became a part of the Greater City of New York. 
 
 In 1900 the Municipal Ferry between Staten Island and Manhattan was 
 started. 
 
 Among the many prominent men who lived on Staten Island were Aaron 
 Burr, Vice-President of the United States ; Daniel D. Tompkins, Vice-President 
 of the United States ; Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, railroad pioneer ; Gari- 
 baldi, the Italian Liberator (the little frame cottage in which he lived still stands 
 in Rosebank and is a mecca visited by thousands of Italian-Americans) ; Santa 
 Anna, a former President of Mexico ; Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great American 
 philosopher ; Nathaniel Hawthorne, George William Curtis, Erastus Brooks, Bill 
 Nye ; William Winter, the famous critic ; Erastus Wiman, commercial and in- 
 dustrial promoter ; and others prominent in the history of our country. 
 
 Staten Island is rich in historic lore and those interested would be well repaid 
 by visiting the Museum of Arts and Sciences at St. George and reading Ira K. 
 Morris' Memorial History of Staten Island, and then viewing the localities therein 
 described in our beautiful borough. 
 
15 
 
 BILLOP HOUSE— REVOLUTIONARY HOMESTEAD 
 
 OFF SHORE 
 
16 
 
17 
 
18 
 
 STATEN ISLAND OF TODAY. 
 
 Staten Island to-day is a progressive industrial and residential borough with 
 all the fundamentals of an immense city ; namely : 
 
 Its Great Size — 58 square miles, or 36,000 acres, two miles less than the 
 combined area of Manhattan and The Bronx. 
 
 Location — It occupies the centre of New York Bay, surrounded by the 
 busiest waterway in the United States. It is the nearest point of New York City 
 and the shortest route to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. 
 
 Waterfront — Its vast waterfront of 57 miles borders for much of its 
 distance on existing channels deep enough to accommodate ocean-going steamers. 
 When the approved Government channel is completed its entire shore line will be 
 adjacent to water of sufficient depth to make it desirable for commercial purposes. 
 Along its north and east shores runs a marginal railway, which is to be increased 
 along its west shore, surveys having already been made, afifording unsurpassed 
 facilities for industrial plants. Our present piers will take care of thirty-seven 
 500-foot overseas steamers — when those under construction are completed the 
 total number that can be accommodated will be eighty-five, more than in many 
 European countries. 
 
 Highways — We have almost three hundred miles of improved roads 
 built of concrete and macadam. They are used extensively by auto trucks which 
 run daily between New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and cities as far west as 
 Pittsburgh. This route is many miles shorter than any other. It is also the most 
 popular, direct and shortest route to the Jersey Coast resorts, Asbury Park, 
 Lakewood and Atlantic City. They pass through picturesque scenery, along 
 wooded heights, through thriving villages, within view of the ocean, sound and 
 lakes. 
 
 Transportation — Our Borough is traversed by steam, electric roads, and 
 municipal bus lines which reach to all points and are run in sufficient numbers to 
 give every passenger a seat, for a low rate of fare. We are connected with the 
 other boroughs and New Jersey by six modern ferry lines and a railroad bridge, 
 viz. : The Municipal Ferry from St. George to Whitehall street, Manhattan, the 
 Brooklyn Ferry from St. George to 65th street, Brooklyn, the Tottenville Ferry 
 to Perth Amboy, the Holland's Hook Ferry to Elizabethport, the Port Richmond 
 Ferry to Bayonne, the Linoleumville Ferry to Carteret. The railroad bridge 
 runs from the west shore to the mainland of New Jersey, connecting with the 
 western trunk lines at Cranford Junction. 
 
 Manufactories — We have 170 industrial plants, employing 35,000 persons, 
 covering every branch of manufacture, among which are some of the largest 
 concerns in the country. Our shipbuilding industries are among the foremost of 
 their kind. They were established long prior to the war. There have been as 
 many as five overseas steamers launched within a week from these yards. 
 
19 
 
 Educational — We have 54 of the finest pubhc schools in the City, advan- 
 tageously located, plenty of room for children, no part-time scholars, many public 
 libraries and sufficient high schools, one of them the Curtis, having a very fine 
 athletic field used by the children of public schools in other boroughs. Many 
 private schools, including St. Peter's Roman Catholic High School, the 
 Augustinian Academy, Convent of Notre Dame, Sacred Heart Academy, Staten 
 Island xA.cademy, Miss Blake's Dongan Hall Young Ladies' Academy, and many 
 other high-class private schools. 
 
 Churches — We have 87 churches of every denomination, including ]Mount 
 Manresa Retreat. 
 
 Public Utilities — Our Island is connected with the famous Catskill Water 
 System, insuring the very finest of drinking water ; it is stored in the Silver Lake 
 Reservoir, surrounded by a park. It is distributed through 273 miles of water 
 mains to the various localities. We have over 100 miles of sewers, laid of ample 
 size to safely take care of the vast increase in population which is expected. 
 Electric light is distributed throughout the entire Island and is made easily acces- 
 sible for light and commercial purposes at cheap rates. 150 miles of gas mains 
 of the New York and Richmond Gas Company supply the needs of the consumers 
 at low rates 
 
 To reach Staten Island from Manhattan you take any of the elevated or 
 subway lines, the Sixth and Eighth avenue, or Broadway surface cars to South 
 Ferry. Thence via the Municipal Ferry, with its large, commodious boats, running 
 on 15 minutes schedule during the morning and evening, and 20 minutes during 
 the middle of the day. The trip across the Bay is delightful, landing you at St. 
 George, the principal entrance to the Island. A magnificent approach has been 
 constructed from the ferry house to the main thoroughfare, opposite which stand 
 the Borough Hall and County Court House, containing the borough and county 
 offices. 
 
 Within walking distance of the ferry are thousands of buildings, including 
 handsome residences, modern dwellings and fine apartment houses. You may 
 take the train, trolley, bus or auto from this point along the shores to the beaches 
 and bungalows, or to the interior of the borough, where there are thousands of 
 acres of the finest land ready for homeseekers at less price per acre than a city 
 lot would cost elsewhere. 
 
 Staten Island without doubt is the most beautiful of the five boroughs. 
 In addition to its wooded heights it has many beautiful lakes, a chain of them 
 being located in the Clove Valley within the confines of the New City Park. 
 
 Erastus Wiman said: " Staten Island will be that part of the Port of New 
 York where the products of a continent will meet the tonnage of the world." 
 This prediction was made only a few years ago, yet so much progress has been 
 made in this direction that it has ceased to be a prediction, and is now a certainty. 
 The purchase of land in Staten Island to-day is not a speculation, but an invest- 
 ment which will bring handsome returns. We look forward confidently to a large 
 increase in our population because we offer you more value for your money than 
 anv other section in the vicinitv of New York. 
 
20 
 
 The present City Administration has promised a subway and the Public 
 Service Commission is now surveying routes. Already a movement is on foot to 
 increase the number of bridges between our west shore and the mainland of 
 New Jersey. 
 
 The trend toward Staten Island has commenced. 
 
 Travelers on the Municipal Ferry have increased 11 per cent, over last }ear. 
 
 A booth w\\\ be maintained in the Borough Hall to give general information 
 to those visiting the Borough. 
 
 Buy Staten Island newspapers, which will give the names and addresses of 
 our real estate men. 
 
 In conclusion, Mr. Reader, let me ask you to visit our Island and see for 
 yourself the wonders of which we speak. Go out of the beaten path and stroll 
 through country lanes which speak of the past, and then realize, if you can, that 
 you are in the great City of New York, only as far south of the City Hall as 
 Harlem is north. 
 
22 
 
 OLD VILLAGE HALL, STAPLETON, S. I. 
 
24 
 
26 
 
 HIGHWAYS 
 
 TRESIDENT VAN NAME STARTS CONSTRUCTION OF NEW HIGHWAYS 
 
27 
 
 CURTIS PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL 
 
 ST I'KTKR'S PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL 
 
FXtDtft rCK -PUTNA 
 
 ■ NAIRL ■ APARTMENT. 
 
 STATtN ■ ISLAND • NY 
 
 MODERN APARTMENT 
 
 MODERATE PRK Kl) DWELLTXG 
 
30 
 
 LOOKING OVER " NARROWS " FROM GRYMES HILL 
 
 AMERICAN DOCKS TERMINAL. ST. GEORGE 
 
31 
 
 MEMORIAL TO SOLDIERS AND SAILORS OF WORLD'S WAR 
 
32 
 
Library nc ~~ 
 
 nil