Coop for racing pigeons in Rosebank
Homes and apartment buildings on Hylan Boulevard in Rosebank

Rosebank is a neighborhood in northeastern Staten Island, one of New York City's five boroughs. It borders Clifton to the north, Arrochar to the south, and the Upper New York Bay to the east.

History

Originally called Peterstown, then Clifton and the Village of Edgewater, the neighborhood appears to have first acquired the name "Rosebank" around 1880.

Before 1880, the area was the "Newport, Rhode Island" of New York, home to great estates. Some of the richest families in the country had mansions along the shore and inland. The New York Yacht Club summer house was built there and still stands beside the Alice Austen House. The Vanderbilts, Aspinwalls, and Townsends built and attended St. John's Episcopal Church. The first baptism there was for Cornelius Vanderbilt II.[1]

Later, the big farms and estates were divided into small parcels, and, soon after 1880, Italian immigrants began settling in the area. Their descendants have continued as its predominant ethnic group, exemplified by the prominence of the Garibaldi Memorial in the community.

The neighborhood once had a federal quarantine station for incoming immigrants (closed in 1971) and was the home of noted photographer Alice Austen, one of Staten Island's best-known historic figures. The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum is co-named for longtime resident Antonio Meucci, who had some claim to the invention of a working telephone. But he was too impoverished to obtain a patent or market his discovery. When Giuseppe Garibaldi, in exile from Italy, visited the United States, he stayed for a time at Meucci's home. That later inspired the museum's name, honoring both men.

Eventually, Rosebank's Eibs Pond Park would serve as a filming location for Womanhood, the Glory of the Nation (1917),[2] as well as an Italian Prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. [3]

Along with the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum, the Elizabeth Alice Austen House, McFarlane-Bredt House, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Grotto are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[4]

Community

In recent years, the neighborhood has experienced an influx of other ethnic groups, including Eastern Europeans, various Hispanic nationalities, as well as Asians, particularly from the Philippines.

The age, density, and architectural style of Rosebank's housing stock resembles most of the island's North Shore neighborhoods, but demographically, Rosebank has more in common with such East Shore communities as New Dorp. As a result, there is considerable disagreement regarding Rosebank's classification within the island's various regions.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Rosebank include:

Education

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York operates Staten Island's Catholic schools, which included St. Mary School in Rosebank. In 2011, its final year, St. Mary's had 224 students, 90 percent of capacity. The archdiocese's decision to close it, despite its relatively high enrollment, had to do with the fact, according to Amy Padnani of Silive.com, that it was one of Staten Island's oldest Catholic educational facilities and therefore, "some speculate, the school was chosen [for closure] because of infrastructure problems".[8] St. Joseph's School in Rosebank, with an enrollment of 167 students, closed in 2013.[9]

Transportation

After elimination of the Bachmann station, the Rosebank station near Clifton Avenue and Tilson Place was the first stop on Staten Island Railway's now-defunct South Beach Branch, following its divergence from the main line at the Clifton station, immediately to the north. Service on this entire branch was halted in 1953. Hylan Boulevard, New York City's longest commercial roadway, begins in Rosebank, en route to Tottenville, about 14 miles (22.5 km) away

Local buses S52 and S78 travel on Tompkins Avenue, S51 and S81 buses serve Bay Street, and SIM1, SIM7 and SIM10 express buses take Narrows Road North to and from Manhattan. SIM30 also provides express bus service to and from Manhattan.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "History of Our Church. St. John's Episcopal Church". Retrieved 2017-07-30.
  2. ↑ Wheeler, Edward Jewett and Crane, Frank. Current Opinion Volume 63, 1917, page 30
  3. ↑ Hughes, C.J. Rosebank, Staten Island: A Little Italy, Trying Not to Shrink. New York Times April 26, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017
  4. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  5. ↑ Wilson, Claire. "Living In | Rosebank, Staten Island: A Quiet Slice of New York Waterfront", The New York Times, March 12, 2006. Accessed November 3, 2007. "In July, the same group holds a picnic and concert with an 18-piece band on the grounds of Clear Comfort, the former home, now a museum, of Alice Austen, a native Staten Islander who was a pioneering female photographer."
  6. ↑ Padnani, Amy (November 3, 2010). "Nicole Malliotakis, an upstart from Rosebank, runs roughshod over Assembly incumbent". Staten Island Advance. SILive.com.
  7. ↑ Staten Island's Gianni Russo to pay homage to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin at Lorenzo's Cabaret Staten Island Advance (March 1, 2012) Archived February 6, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Padnani, Amy (2011-01-11). "Four Staten Island Catholic schools among 27 to close, New York Archdiocese announces". Silive.com. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  9. ↑ Bascombe, Erik (2018-01-10). "A look back Staten Island's Catholic school closures since 2011". Silive.com. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  10. ↑ "Staten Island Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. January 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.

40°36′51″N 74°03′58″W / 40.61417°N 74.06611°W / 40.61417; -74.06611

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