Staten Island New York

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Staten Island is the third-largest borough of New York City as well as the least populated of the five boroughs. It is the most geographically separate of the city's boroughs connected to Brooklyn by the Verrazanno-Narrows Bridge, and to lower Manhattan by the Staten Island Ferry.

Top Attractions

Alice Austen House Museum & Garden
2 Hylan Boulevard
Staten Island, NY 10305
718-816-4506
Official Web Site
Clear Comfort (a.k.a. The Alice Austen House) was built in 1690. In 1844 it was purchased by John Haggerty Austen, Alice Austen's grandfather. Alice Austen herself moved there as a young girl in the late1860's with her mother, Alice Cornell Austen, after the two were abandoned by Alice's father. She went on to spend most of her life there, until financial problems and illness forced her to move in 1945. In her absence, the house fell into disrepair until a group of concerned citizens saved it from demolition in the 1960's. The house successfully gained status as a historic landmark, and was restored in the mid 1980's. It currently serves as a museum of Alice Austen's life and times.

Blue Heron Park
267 Poillon Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10312
718-967-3542
Official Web Site
The 222 acre Blue Heron Park is home to wetland ponds, swamps, and streams which drain into the Raritan Bay. A naturalist is available to give guided walks at 12n and 4pm, Saturday and Sunday throughout the year.

High Rock Park
200 Nevada Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10306
718-667-2165
Official Web Site
High Rock Park contains five ponds and various wetlands, including Walker Pond and Loosestrife Swamp. There are also six walking trails, along which visitors can see stands of red maples, Highbush blueberries, and patches of skunk cabbage. Wood ducks, Great blue herons, and muskrats all make their homes here along with hawks, owls, migrating colorful warblers, woodpeckers, frogs and turtles. Visitors can also climb Mt. Moses, a 260-foot hill named for City builder and Parks Commissioner Robert Moses. The 360-degree panoramic view offered by the site is considered one of New York City’s most spectacular.

Historic Richmond Town
441 Clarke Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10306
718-351-1611
Official Web Site
Historic Richmond Town is New York City’s living history village and museum complex. Visitors can explore the diversity of the American experience, especially that of Staten Island and its neighboring communities, from the colonial period to the present. The village area occupies 25 acres of a 100-acre site with about 15 restored buildings, including homes and commercial and civic buildings, as well as a museum.

Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art
338 Lighthouse Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10306
718-987-3500
Official Web Site
The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art was founded in 1945 to encourage interest, study, and research in the art and culture of Tibet and the surrounding regions. To this end, the Museum collects art, books, and photographs, and makes them available to the public through exhibitions and educational programs. The Museum’s collection is housed in two fieldstone buildings designed to resemble a Himalayan mountain temple. Terraced meditation gardens and a lotus and fish pond add to the atmosphere of beauty and serenity. The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art is unique in displaying its art collection in a setting especially conducive to its understanding and enjoyment.

John A. Noble Museum for Maritime History
1000 Richmond Terrace
Staten Island, NY 10301
718-447-6490
Official Web Site
The $3.5 million renovation of Building D, the Noble Maritime Collection's home, was completed in 2000. After seven years of an extraordinary partnership between private citizens and government, what was a desolate building is now an exquisite home for one of the country's most significant maritime collections. Gracing the historic grounds of Snug Harbor Cultural Center, the Noble Maritime Collection is a major catalyst for further advancement of the site, for volunteerism to improve community life, and for the preservation and study of art and maritime history.

Snug Harbor Cultural Center
1000 Richmond Terrace
Staten Island, NY 10301
718-448-2500
Official Web Site
One of New York City's most unexpected and extraordinary destinations is located on the north shore of Staten Island, just minutes from the Staten Island Ferry. Snug Harbor is a cultural center set within an 83-acre National Historic Landmark district containing the finest collection of Greek Revival buildings in the United States, plus Beaux Arts, Italianate and Victorian style architecture. Each building has individual merit, but the harmonious effect of twenty-six historic buildings set in acres of parkland is wholly remarkable. Snug Harbor exists today because of the tireless efforts of citizens to save it from destruction a generation ago, and then to transform the deteriorated buildings of a seamen's retirement home into a center for the arts.

Staten Island Botanical Garden
1000 Richmond Terrace
Staten Island, NY 10301
718-273-8200
Official Web Site
A short ferry ride away from Manhattan's powerful downtown financial district sits one of New York City's best kept secrets, The Staten Island Botanical Garden. Nestled within the grounds of the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, The Staten Island Botanical Garden with its Victorian charm and stately elegance is a "must visit" that should be on every tourists' list. Founded in 1977, The Staten Island Botanical Garden is constantly evolving. From its initial plantings of its English perennial border to its newest addition, the New York Chinese Scholar's Garden, this institution is a cultural assimilation of gardens.

Staten Island Children's Museum
1000 Richmand Terrace
Staten Island, NY 10301
718-273-2060
Official Web Site
Housed in Staten Island's famous Snug Harbor Cultural Center, the Museum is a place where children of all ages can use their natural curiosity, creativity and imagination to explore many exciting aspects of the world around us. Since 1976 the Museum has given children the opportunity to enjoy a unique perspective on art, science and the humanities. Naturally, the Staten Island Children's Museum is a lot of fun.

Staten Island Zoo
614 Broadway
Staten Island, NY 10310
718-442-3101
Official Web Site
The Staten Island Zoo was opened in Barrett Park in 1936. Its primary focus was reptiles, especially snakes, and today the Zoo's Rattlesnake Collection remains one of the largest and most complete in the country. With a collection of North American mammals, a new Aquatic Exhibit, and a Children's Center with domestic animals to feed, the Staten Island Zoo offers a full day's enjoyment for individuals, families, and groups alike. In addition families should watch for the many education programs, workshops and events that are offered throughout the year.

The Greenbelt Nature Center
700 Rockland Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10306
718-351-3450
Official Web Site
The Greenbelt Nature Center is open from 11 am - 5 pm, Wednesday through Sunday, November through March. Located at the intersection of Brielle and Rockland avenues, the center, which is FREE and open to all, offers access to the hiking trail system, and a variety of programs and educational opportunities - including the state-of-the-art Richmond County Savings Foundation Exhibits. The center is closed on major holidays and on Easter. The opening of this long-awaited public facility, located on Rockland Avenue at the intersection of Brielle Avenue on Staten Island, fulfills a major part of the Greenbelt's Masterplan. The Masterplan, published by the Greenbelt Conservancy in 1991, describes a park for the 21st century that embodies respect for the Greenbelt's natural systems, sensitivity to its historic and cultural past, and a commitment to the needs of the community. The center is a hub for Greenbelt activities and programs. Visitors can obtain a trail map and access the Greenbelt's trail system, sign up for programs and activities, speak with a Greenbelt representative, or just relax and enjoy the beautiful wooded grounds.