All about the Staten Island neighborhood Tottenville
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, Tottenville. This neighborhood is home to the South Shore & the zip code 10307. It is the westernmost neighborhood in New York City and the southernmost community in both New York State and New York City. Tottenville is surrounded by water on three sides: the Arthur Kill borders the north and west, and the New York Bight borders the south. The eastern boundary of the neighborhood is formed by Page Avenue, Bethel Avenue, and Nassau Place.
One of the city's early founders, Captain Christopher Billop (1638–1726) who was part of the Royal Navy, called the community Bentley Manor after his own ship. After John Totten and his well-known local family—some of whom fought as Loyalists under Billop during the American Revolutionary War—it was called Tottenville in 1869.
Tottenville was a major stopping station for travelers between New York City and Philadelphia throughout the colonial era and for a considerable amount of time following (until Staten Island officially emerged in 1988.) At the northern entrances to the area are two unique landmarks: the Bethel United Methodist Church, which was established in 1840 and rebuilt on the same location in 1886 after the first building was destroyed by fire.
Christopher Billop erected the Conference House, which gained its name after the where negotiations were held there in 1776 to put an end to the American Revolutionary War. The Tottenville Branch of the New York Public Library, 88 Bentley Street, 24 Brighton Street, 213 Wood Avenue, 115 Bentley Street, 7647 Amboy Road, 7639 Amboy Road, and 24 Brighton Street are the seven Tottenville buildings that have received the Preservation League of Staten Island Award. 88 Bentley Street has been included in Carol M. Highsmith and Ted Landphair's book The Five Boroughs: A Photographic Tour (1997) as an illustration of the meticulously renovated Victorian mansions on Staten Island in New York City.
Numerous tiny industries that previously dot the neighborhood's western the coastline were built during the early stages of industrialization; however, employment has since changed and most of them are now closed. Along the seashore, boat building was also previously quite popular. However, about 1900, steel replaced wood in the construction of ships and commercial boats, making the business obsolete.
The Tottenville neighborhood southeast of Hylan Boulevard, which had been essentially deserted until then, had a significant increase in the construction of new homes throughout the 1990s. near this point, a second business center started to develop near the community's north end, west of Amboy Road and along Page Avenue. In 2005, the neighborhood's north end saw more growth when the former Nassau Smelting facility was redeveloped. The location was mostly used for recycling copper and other metals from old cables; it had become contaminated chemically.
Land developers have begun acquiring the land where some of these mansions formerly stood at the beginning of the twenty-first century with the goal of tearing them down and building townhouses there instead. Built about 1870 as the parsonage of Bethel Methodist Church, 7484 Amboy Road had a huge backyard. In March 2005, the property's future became the center of a heated neighborhood dispute. On March 22, Bloomberg declared his choice during a visit to Tottenville; on April 12, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission formally designated the location. A group led by Bridgewater Capital and the Riseman family of Brooklyn purchased 30 acres of the Nassau Smelting facility from Lucent Technologies in 2016. The community objected to their plans to rezone the property from manufacturing (M) to residential (RX3) so that they could build residential housing units because the heavy metals that were recycled during Lucent Technologies' operation contaminated the soils. It is unclear what will be done with this property in the future.
Tottenville is served by the Staten Island Railway, as well as the S59 and S78. Express Buses include SIM2, SIM25, SIM26. There are no highway passes near the neighborhood but the NY 440 and the Korean War Veterans Parkway are nearby. There is a NY Public Library serving the neighborhood on Amboy Road. There are schools that serve the neighborhood for all ages including P.S. 1, P.S. 6, I.S. 34 and Tottenville High School.
As you may see, Staten Island exudes so much history that is still honored throughout our neighborhoods. Tottenville 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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