All about the Staten Island neighborhood Tompkinsville
Staten Island is broken down into 14 different zip codes from 10301 to 10314 and into 67 different neighborhoods. Throughout this series of blogs, we will be discussing each and every neighborhood on Staten Island as well as breaking down the history, what stands there today and transportation and what community district it falls into. Staten Island is broken up into three different community districts which are: North Shore, Mid-Island, and South Shore.
Today we will be breaking down all the history about the Staten Island neighborhood, Tompkinsville. This neighborhood is home to the North Shore & the zip code 10301 and 10304.Northeastern Staten Island in New York City has the neighborhood known as Tompkinsville. The neighborhood, named for Daniel D. Tompkins, the sixth Vice President of the United States (1817–1825), is situated on the eastern shore of the island, between St. George and Stapleton on the south, along the waterfront facing Upper New York Bay.
Known as the "Watering Place" during colonial times, Tompkinsville, which is in the Town of Castleton, was the location where early European explorers refilled their supplies of freshwater. In anticipation of the American Revolutionary War, the greatest British expeditionary force at the time, consisting of 32,000 men and 450 ships, landed in Upper New York Bay directly across from the Watering Place. The New York state government built the New York Marine Hospital, a hospital for dangerous diseases and a quarantine station, on 30 acres it had taken up along the shore in 1799. Daniel D. Tompkins, the governor of New York state, founded a community in the area next to the hospital in 1815. The next year, he was chosen vice president. At the base of what is now Victory Boulevard, Tompkins constructed a port in 1817 and started providing steam ferry transport to Manhattan. During a series of incidents known as the Staten Island Quarantine War in 1858, irate locals set fire to the quarantine. The hospital facility was entirely destroyed by the arsonists, despite the fact that no one was killed in the attack.
For long years, the US Navy maintained a Naval Frontier Base at Tompkinsville. The US involvement in World War I saw a lot of activity at the site. Vice President Thomas R. Marshall, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Treasury Carter Glass, Secretary of Labor William B. Wilson, Secretary of War Newton D. Baker, Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane, and Senator Champ Clark boarded the USS Pennsylvania on July 8, 1919, to cruise back to New York with President Wilson. It was called Tompkinsville, SI, New York during World War II.
A portion of Tompkinsville's Bay path was rezoned in 2019 to permit a greater density of residential, business, and office development along the route. The design was divisive since it was opposed by the great majority of members of the Staten Island Community Board 1, many Tompkinsville residents, and the commissioners of the New York City Planning Commission had differing views.
There is a Sri Lankan enclave in Tompkinsville. Along with several live music and art venues, the area is home to the Staten Island LGBT Community Center, Everything Goes Book Café, Deep Tanks Studio, Coyle Cavern, Ink Chyx Tattoo & Art Gallery, and more. These establishments participate in the weekly Second Saturday art walk on the north shore. The region is much more urban than is usual of Staten Island, as seen by the architecture and abundance of shops and restaurants, as is the case with much of the north shore. Its housing stock is primarily made up of single-family homes constructed in the first few decades of the 20th century, in contrast to many other North Shore neighborhoods.
Tompkinsville is served by the Staten Island Railway.
As you may see, Staten Island exudes so much history that is still honored throughout our neighborhoods. Tompkinsville is home to many people from Staten Island. The neighborhood is covered in every corner with many food spots, transportation, parks and schools. This neighborhood is worth learning more about and living.
Looking to buy or sell your home on Staten Island? For all your real estate needs, look no further than Tom Crimmins Realty! Give us a call at (718) 370-3200, and we can provide you with professionally-trained agents who are flexible to all that you’re looking for!
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