Blog Posts by Subject: Staten Island

What's Open House New York? It's an invitation to explore the city. Every October, the five boroughs open up for the annual weekend—this year on October 14 and 15, with over 200 buildings and projects. Can't make it? In honor of the festival's fifteenth anniversary, I selected seventeen long-time participants you can explore more through NYPL resources.

Staten Island is an island full of history and culture, with a wide variety interesting people and places. This is evident in the amazing array of literature, movies and music written about, filmed in, or inspired by Staten Island.

Family historian Julia Bruno has lost both of her parents in the past five years. Looking for ways to process her grief and connect with her Italian ancestry, Julia turned to the St. George Library Center on Staten Island.

What better way to discover these Staten Island materials then by taking a historic trip down the Staten Island Railroad, starting at St. George and traveling all the way down to Tottenville. All aboard!

As a longtime Staten Island resident and former curator of the Staten Island Museum, author and historian Patricia M. Salmon knows a great deal about the so-called "forgotten borough" (not a term I subscribe to). From its iconic ferry to its cemeteries and grisly murders, Salmon has a knack for bringing Staten Island history to life...and in some cases, death.

The Staten Island History Collection is an outstanding source of information for researchers and the curious. Comprised of bound periodicals, the Staten Island Advance on microfilm, as well as an extensive array of books and photographs, the collection is the go-to source for those interested in Staten Island, past and present.

For the reader who just can't get enough of those busy city streets, or is just dying to know where exactly in the five boroughs their favorite characters are inhabiting, here is a list of famous New York City-based novels according to the neighborhood in which they take place—complete with an interactive map of nearby landmarks and attractions!

A walk in the woods, a guy with a rake... history uncovered.

"Freedom is not free." —Walter Hithcock "In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved." —Franklin D. Roosevelt

American freedom has been achieved and maintained due to the perseverance and sacrifice of our service men and women. Although we show our support by honoring those in service as well as veterans twice a year, on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, this does not fulfill their daily needs as they once 

I have been anticipating for a long time the arrival of the cicadas that were laid as eggs in the year 1996. I can still remember the wall of white noise that their parents produced 17 years ago. Most people complained that it sounded like a jet engine revving up for takeoff but to me it sounded like a gorgeous and intricate symphony.

I was ecstatic to learn that the cicadas would be returning this year and filling the air with a 7 kHz mating buzz. Predictions stated that cicadas would outnumber people 600 to 1. I couldn't be happier. As time passed though I 

Related Books: Zaida Ben-Yusuf: New York Portrait Photographer by Frank H. Goodyear III. Buffalo Bill's Wild West Warriors: A Photographic History by Gertrude Käsebier by Michelle Delaney. Gertrude Käsebier: The Photographer and Her Photographs by Barbara L. Michaels. Jessie Tarbox Beals, First Woman News Photographer by Alexander 

Green Medicine of the Year: Healing Plants

Going outside for a spring stroll? Watch where you step! That dandelion you're walking on has a distinguished medicinal history dating back centuries. Why not increase your appreciation of nature by learning about the amazing healing properties of plants and how many of our medicines, such as aspirin, originated from plants.

Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places

Who is Harlem Witness? St. George Library Center found out not too long ago when local Staten Island musician Shawn "Harlem Witness" DeBerry performed his Gospel-Rap set to audience full of eager concert goers. Shawn also provided us with a little bit of information about his musical background and the personal aspirations he has for his craft. 

What kind of music do you listen to?

I actually listen to a wide variety of music such as

Greenery and flowers, birds singing and warmer temperatures ... it's a perfect time to venture outside into the nearest natural spot to find respite. New York City's parks and natural spaces provide enjoyment for millions of people and habitats for plants and animals, some of them rare or endangered.

When you think of New York City images, the first thing that comes to mind might be a bit different than the scenery in the photo below. 

No, it's not a photo of an Appalachian forest, but of a wetland in Staten Island. You can bring the Library with you on 

For 100 years, The New York Public Library's landmark Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street and its world-renowned collections have inspired people everywhere to find their futures. In honor of the Centennial Celebration, pioneering game designer Jane McGonigal helped the Library kick off its Weekend Festival with Find 

We are very excited to have many great programs for you this April 2011. From puppet shows, to bilingual celebrations; from Irish dancing to Zumba! Meet a NYTimes Best Seller Author, and come to celebrate Staten Island's 350th Anniversary! Sounds intriguing? Keep reading!

Please note there are downloadable calendars with all the events at the end of this post, so you can make a copy for yourself and pass it along to friends!

Here are some highlights from 

Thomas Matteo, the Staten Island Borough Historian, wrote a nice article in the Sunday, January 16, 2011 Staten Island Advance titled "Their Pens Were Mighty Indeed," about famous writers who have a Staten Island connection. While I was aware that Washington Irving,

In 1947, a Life magazine headline read: “New York Lamasery: a new Tibetan temple bewilders Staten Island.”

An American woman, Jacques Marchais -- a pioneer collector and respected expert on Tibetan art -- had created a uniquely peaceful museum. Nestled into the side of Lighthouse Hill, one of the highest points on the eastern seaboard, Marchais had designed a small complex of fieldstone buildings and gardens resembling a rustic Tibetan mountain monastery; she 

The Staten Island Ferry today remains a lifeline to Staten Island, as it is still heavily traveled by Staten Islanders for work and pleasure. The area of St. George grew up around the ferry. St. George was more or less a rural outpost until the ferry started landing at its present location in the the late 1800s. Other ferry services from Staten Island existed in other locations, but only one