New Dorp, Staten Island

New Dorp
Neighborhood of Staten Island
The approximate area of the neighborhood of New Dorp on Staten Island is shown highlighted in orange.
Coordinates: 40°34′26″N 74°06′59″W / 40.57389°N 74.11639°W / 40.57389; -74.11639Coordinates: 40°34′26″N 74°06′59″W / 40.57389°N 74.11639°W / 40.57389; -74.11639
Country United States
State New York
County Richmond
Established 1671
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
ZIP Codes 10306
Area code(s) 917, 718, 347, 929

New Dorp is a neighborhood in the Staten Island borough of New York City, United States. It is located in the east of Staten Island, near the foot of Todt Hill, with Grant City immediately to its north, and Oakwood bordering to the south. New Dorp Beach, bordering to the east, is often listed on maps as a separate neighborhood from Mill Road to the shore, but is generally considered to be a part of New Dorp.

One of the earliest European settlements in the New York City area, New Dorp was founded by Dutch settlers from the New Netherland colony, and the name is an anglicization of Nieuw Dorp meaning "New Village" in the Dutch Language. It was historically one of the most important towns on Staten Island, becoming a part of New York City in 1898 as part of the Borough of Richmond. In the 1960s New Dorp ceased to be a distinct town during New York City's suburbanization, where rapid housing development on Staten Island saw the town added to the city conurbation. Despite this, today New Dorp remains one of the main commercial and transport centers on Staten Island.

New Dorp is often associated with the Vanderbilt family, who had a notable presence in the area and many of whom are buried in the neighborhood at the Moravian Cemetery, the largest and oldest active cemetery on Staten Island.

History

A worker enters a True Value lumberyard in New Dorp. The lumberyard shut down in 2009.
Photograph of a cows standing on a dirt path at a farm in New Dorp, reflecting the area's former agricultural character.

New Dorp was the location of the first county seat of Richmond County. Called Stony Brook, it was located approximately where Amboy Road experiences a sharp bend between the New Dorp and Oakwood train stations. [1]

In 1667, at the end of the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the Dutch Republic ceded their colony of New Netherland to England as a condition of the Treaty of Breda. The colony had been occupied by the English since 1664, and was re-branded as the Province of New York when it was granted as a proprietary colony to James, Duke of York. The areas of New Netherland already settled by the Dutch included the primary settlement of New Amsterdam (now renamed New York City) located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island, and numerous additional lands around the city and along the Hudson River. This included Staaten Eylandt, later anglicized as "Staten Island", a sparsely populated island south-west of New York across Upper New York Bay. In 1670, the local Native Americans, mainly Raritans and other subgroups of the Lenape tribe, ceded all claims to Staten Island to the English in a deed to Governor Francis Lovelace.

New Dorp was founded in 1671 following the English resurveying the pre-existing Dutch settlement of Oude Dorp (now Old Town) and expanded the lots along the South Shore, which were then settled primarily by Dutch families. The new lots became known as Nieuwe Dorp, (meaning "New Village" in the Dutch language) in contrast with Oude Dorp (meaning "Old Village"), and later became anglicized as New Dorp. The new village developed into one of the largest and most important settlements on Staten Island, and during the American Revolution it became a center of activity when it was occupied by British forces in preparation to attack the American-occupied New York City. The Rose and Crown Tavern in New Dorp, owned by the uncle of Cornelius Vanderbilt, temporarily served as the local British military headquarters.

In the late 19th century, New Dorp became the home to members of the prominent Vanderbilt family, many of whom are buried in the Moravian Cemetery, the largest and oldest active cemetery on Staten Island. On January 1, 1898, New Dorp was consolidated as part of New York City along with the entirety of Staten Island as the Borough of Richmond. The Vanderbilt farm was later used by the U.S. Army as Miller Air Field, and in the 1970s became part of Gateway National Recreation Area. New Dorp continued to be one of the primary settlements on Staten Island until the 1960s, when the suburbanization of New York City began to expand into the island. The largely rural character of Staten Island was replaced with the massive development of suburban housing, causing separate towns such as New Dorp to be absorbed into New York City's conurbation and become one of many contiguous neighborhoods. New Dorp retained its distinct character as a town, and is one of the most thriving commercial centers on the Island which in the 1960s spread along Hylan Boulevard from New Dorp Lane and led to the construction of five shopping centers, anchored by supermarkets and department stores, with the largest being Hylan Plaza which opened in 1966.

The 1960 New York mid-air collision, where 134 people were killed and held the highest death toll for a commercial aviation accident until 1968, occurred over New Dorp.

Demographics

The population of New Dorp is predominantly white, with Italian-Americans, Irish-Americans, Albanian-Americans, Polish-Americans and Russian-Americans being the primary groups in the neighborhood.

Education

New Dorp is zoned to Public School (P.S.) 41: New Dorp and Intermediate School (I.S.) 2: George L. Egbert. Other schools in the area include Saint Charles (middle school), P.S.38, and Paul Mitchell's Hair Styling School. Several high schools are located in the area, including Staten Island Technical High School, New Dorp High School, and Richmondtown Preparatory High School. Private elementary schools include Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish Elementary School and New Dorp Christian Academy.

Parks

Dugan Park is a large park in New Dorp, named after Gerard P. Dugan when it was renovated in 1974. The park is often referred to as "Tysens Park" due to the park's location on an intersection of Tysens Lane. The accompanying Tysens Park Apartments, a large housing complex, stands across the street from the park. The park is usually crowded with people from nearby schools as well as people from the apartments nearby. The park contains a large field with 2 baseball/soft fields where leagues come play almost every weekend during the summer. There are 2 basketball courts, handball courts and jungle gyms.

Public services

New Dorp is the home of Engine Company 165 (nicknamed "The Toxic Avengers") and Ladder Company 85 (nicknamed "The Monster Truck") of the Fire Department of New York. Engine 165 is the only Engine Company in Staten Island that has clothing to deal with hazardous materials, and it also has extra hazmat training.

Public libraries

The New York Public Library operates the New Dorp Branch at 309 New Dorp Lane.[2] In recent years, attempts have been made to shut down this library. However the community signed petitions and wrote letters to voice their concerns with shutting down the library.

Transportation

New Dorp is served by the Staten Island Railway's New Dorp station at New Dorp Lane and New Dorp Plaza. New Dorp is also served by numerous express and local bus routes. This includes the S57, S74, S76, S78, S84 and S86 local buses, the S79 Select Bus Service bus, and the SIM1, SIM5, SIM5X, SIM6, SIM6X, SIM7, SIM10 and SIM15 express buses.[3]

Notable residents

References

  1. ↑ Morris, Ira. Morris's Memorial History of Staten Island, New York, Volume 1. 1898, page 40
  2. ↑ "New Dorp Branch." New York Public Library. Retrieved on December 22, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Staten Island Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  4. ↑ Porpora, Tracy (12 November 2014). "Staten Island's 'Godfather' house on the market for $2.89M". Retrieved 15 November 2014.
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