Staten Island is one of the five boroughs of New York City, in the U.S. state of New York, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is the southernmost part of the both the City and State of New York, with Conference House Park at the southern tip of the island and the state. The borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay. With a 2013 Census-estimated population of 472,621, Staten Island is the least populated of the boroughs but is the third-largest in area at 59 sq mi. The borough is coextensive with Richmond County, and until 1975 the borough was officially named the Borough of Richmond.Staten Island has been sometimes called “the forgotten borough” by inhabitants who feel neglected by the city government.
The North Shore – especially the neighborhoods of St. George, Tompkinsville, Clifton, and Stapleton – is the most urban part of the island; it contains the officially designated St. George Historic District and the St. Paul’s Avenue-Stapleton Heights Historic District, which feature large Victorian houses. The East Shore is home to the 2.5-mile F.D.R. Boardwalk, the fourth-longest in the world. The South Shore developed rapidly beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, and is mostly suburban in character. The West Shore is the least populated and most industrial part of the island.
Staten Island used to claim the Fresh Kills Landfill, which was at one point the world’s largest landfill. It was closed in 2001, then shortly afterward temporarily reopened to receive the debris from the September 11th attacks. The landfill is being made into Freshkills Park, what will be New York City’s second largest public park.
