Staten Island: Come and Visit!

Since Sam Brown took us on a tour of her home borough in my last post, I’ve decided to take you around my home borough this one.

So, hop off the Staten Island Ferry and actually dare to wander out of the St. George Terminal for a Weekend in Staten Island!

Friday evening: Here in the summer, the best way to spend your Friday night is at the ballgame! Right next to the ferry terminal is the Richmond County Savings Bank Ball Park, home of the Staten Island Yankees. The Baby Bombers are the minor league team of the New York Yankees and uphold their major league counterpart’s championship tradition. There are no bad seats in the stadium and allows for a great view of the New York skyline and New York Harbor. For less than $20, you can go see a great ballgame. And, win or lose, Friday nights usually end with a fireworks display.

Note: Public transportation on Staten Island is not as good as the other boroughs and we recently suffered cutbacks. Where I live, we only have about two buses that run out here. It’s advised that if you don’t have your own car, you rent one.

Saturday morning: Staten Island is just that—an island. Go enjoy the morning down by the beach—South Beach! Enjoy the view of the Narrows and the Atlantic Ocean as well as the Verrazano Bridge. There are several diners scattered throughout Staten Island, most of them owned by Mike. They are opened 24/7 and just as good for breakfast or lunch as for a late night snack.

Late Saturday morning/Saturday afternoon: Around Staten Island are several cultural and historical things waiting for you to discover. There is the grounds at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center. There the botanical gardens, museums and performances to be found in this center. If you are traveling with children, there is also a Children’s Museum on premises that always provided my friends and I with days of fun. There is the Alice Austen house. Austen was a photographer at the turn of the century who captured New York City as it grew into a modern metropolis. Her house on Staten Island is preserved and houses many of her pictures.

A recommendation for lunch is DeNino’s Tavern for some pizza. Sure Brooklyn has all the well-known pizzerias. But you know what happens to Brooklynites? They move to Staten Island and open more pizzerias! DeNino’s is well known throughout the Island, especially for how thin their pizzas are. I had a slice from there and it was delicious!

Moving down the cultural highlights of Staten Island, there is also Historic Richmondtown. This was the location of the original settlements on Staten Island and now is a collection of houses between 100 to 300 years old. Most were moved from their original locations to the town. Tours are available as well as the ability to just wander through town. While driving along Arthur Kill Road, be sure to stop in to Holtermann’s. Their baked goods are sold in many stores, but the main bakery is here on Staten Island. I get my birthday cake from there every year and my family loves to pick up their cupcakes. Pick up a delicious snack as you continue down the Island.

The last stop in the tour of Staten Island’s history is the Conference House Park, a personal decision of mine since I volunteer there. The house is the oldest stone manor house in New York City and the site of the oft-forgotten Staten Island Peace Conference held on September 11, 1776. The house is open for tours on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays between 1 and 4 PM. The Conference House itself isn’t the only reason to visit the park. There are several other historic houses on property—not yet open to the public, but we have no problems with people peeking in the windows! There is also a gazebo that looks out over the Raritan Bay and on a clear summer day, it is a beautiful sight. You can also walk along the beach and kick around in the surf. You may also find the South Pole, marking the southern most point in the State of New York.

Saturday night: Time for dinner, right? After all that, you’re probably starving. My suggestion for a good meal is to eat at the Marina Cafe in Great Kills. It sits on the water and my mother has eaten there with colleagues many times. You can sit outside (if the weather permits) or inside and enjoy a great meal for reasonable prices. Try to hold off from ordering dessert because I am sending you to a Staten Island institution—Egger’s Ice Cream Parlor (namely the one on Hylan Blvd by Tysen’s Lane). I went there after I graduated from high school to celebrate, even if chocolate ice cream and a white dress wasn’t such a good combination. At some point, Staten Islanders have flocked to the store for some delicious ice cream and is a highlight.

Sunday morning: Staten Island is about 85% Catholic, but I don’t know the percentage of those that are practicing. Either way, areas around churches will be slightly crowded with Sunday church-goers. It might be best to have breakfast in your hotel before venturing out for the day.

For the rest of Sunday, I advise you discover why they call us “the Borough of Parks.” There’s Wolfe’s Pond Park in Prince’s Bay. Lemon Creek Park or Blue Heron Park. There’s Gateway in Great Kills. But I would suggest Clove Lakes Park. My high school track team had practice there during the cross-country season and ran two cross-country races there every year (The Wagner Invitational and Championships). There are several paths to walk, pass the Clove Lakes and Martling Pond. You can find the trails we use for cross-country and walk deeper into the woods, though be careful by Royal Oak as those are often used as soccer fields.

Also located in Clove Lakes Park is the Staten Island Zoo. While it might not be as famous or as grand as the Bronx Zoo or the Central Park Zoo, it still can delight all ages. When I was younger, they used to let the peacocks roam free. I am not sure if they still allow it, but it is pretty awesome. Another attraction at the Staten Island Zoo besides the petting zoo is Charles G. Hogg, better known as “Staten Island Chuck.” Every Groundhog’s Day, he comes out of his little home to predict whether we’ll have an early spring or six more weeks of winter. While his predictions have been off the past few years, he still has a better track record than a more famous groundhog who shall remain nameless.

As the sun sets once again on our island, I hope you enjoyed your little tour of what Staten Island has to offer. Come by and see us!

You CAN Learn Something New

I have started volunteer work at The Conference House, a 17th Century stone manor located at the southern tip of Staten Island. It was home to the Billopp family but is more famous for the events of September 11, 1776. It hosted the only peace conference held during the American Revolution, attended by John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Edward Routledge of South Carolina as well as Lord Richard Howe. The conference wasn't a success and the Billopp house remained a British garrison as the war raged on. The Billopp family, prominent Loyalists, fled New York for Nova Scotia in 1779, though they weren't living in the house after the second abduction of Col. Billopp--from his own bed!

I give tours and was working with another gentleman this past weekend. After our shift was over (a very busy shift, I might add), we were talking and he informed of the Battle of Staten Island. A Revolutionary War battle had taken place on our humble island...and even more surprising to me, it had occurred down the block from my house, on the shores of the Arthur Kill! In August of 1777, Howe was evacuating New York, starting what would be known as the Philadelphia Campaign (resulting in the successful capture of the colonial capital). Gen. John Sullivan led troops across from New Jersey to Blazing Star, now known as Rossville/Charleston. However, their guide across the Arthur Kill was a Tory and ruined their surprise. The enemy met them and a fight ensued. Prisoners were taken and men were killed. The Americans retreated, embarrassed.

Who knew a battle had occurred so close to where I live? I should campaign to have a New York Historic Site blue sign put up to commemorate it.

If you wish to visit the Conference House, go to this website for more information. Tours are given every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Come! It's an interesting house with a fascinating history located in a beautiful park next to the water. The weather is perfect.

The True Crime: That a House Built a Century Ago Didn't Go to Richmondtown

Mac walks at night, spotting a possum by flashlight. Flack shows him Kevin McBride, the mutilated victim. A skateboarding kid found him. Hawkes is going over the body while Mac puts TOD at 36 hours ago. Mac goes upstairs and tries to figure out where the victim was dragged from. Stella finds the crime scene separated by the East River. The house is on a barge.

We’re back on the East River as Danny takes a NYPD boat out to the barge. The house looks old and like its seen better days. He exchanges some banter with Lindsay and notes the house came from Staten Island (HOME BOROUGH!) It was going to a stockbroker and not Richmondtown? That’s a crime, considering how old the house appears. Danny figures Kevin was left behind by an unsuspecting moving crew but Stella wants to know why he was in the house.

Sid gets poor Kevin’s body, pulling trace off it. Kevin’s family comes in to identify the body. Mac asks if there are any tattoos or scars on the body. Daughter tells of a scar on Kevin’s finger. It confirms it is him and Daughter is smart enough to realize it’s because they don’t want to reveal the face. Wife breaks down.

Stella, Danny and Lindsay comb through the house. Stella finds a shell casing, making the others wonder if there’s another victim. Det. Angell interviews Kevin’s assistant, who is upset and had a manicure. Angell then tells Flack she met his sister when her beer bottle collided with the police car’s windshield. Turns out she’s hanging with the wrong crowd and wasn’t hauled in due to being Don’s sister. Flack isn’t pleased.

Sid continues going over Kevin’s body while Lindsay examines some trace, including piece of a picture with words on it. Danny tells Lindsay the moving crew all came back clean. She tells him the picture is of Kevin, spots something and then goes off.

Stella receives a phone call saying the fisherman’s death is an unsolved case and not to be a hero. Meanwhile, Lindsay ruffles through the coffee mugs and notes one has the same code as on the picture. It’s a bar code that brings her to a website. She goes off to explore it as Stella talks about our Rat Fisherman from the Indiana Jones and the Amulet of Rudy Giuliani episode. She remembers our evil friend at the Greek embassy and Danny wants to get to him.

Hawkes discovers Kevin was munched on by a Virginian possum. Sid can’t tell what killed him, just that it was blunt force trauma. Sid has more questions than answers but Hawkes finds marks not from the possum but possibly a murder weapon.

Adam is coughing and reveals the carrot found at the crime scene was turned into a pipe. Talk about organic. The shell was used to make the pipe and not kill another victim. And Adam got DNA off the carrot. Flack goes to meet his sister—who has the worst New York accent ever. He tries to bring up her meeting with Det. Angell but she starts to reminisce about trips to the shore. It doesn’t work. He warns her not to use his name as a “get-out-of-jail-free” card. She makes a joke and tells him to lighten up.

Stella walks into a drug paraphernalia store. He panics but she’s more concerned about his DNA, not his bongs. He toked up in a house on Staten Island that was being moved. Though that shot is more of a Manhattan street than a Staten Island street—trust me on that. Daughter, Ella, cries to Mac about taking her father’s things. He tells her they’ll give it back once they catch the guy.

Flack gives Danny a bloody hammer. And Staten Island cops confirm our druggie’s story about jumping out of a house. Lindsay is frustrated about the code. Flack recognizes it and takes her to Sam’s bar. He reveals that Sam has been fired and it looks like someone has a drinking problem!

FISH! The type used for manicures, like the one the secretary had. And Tanner, our druggie, used to live in the house until his mother sold it. Nice. He says he went back to reminisce and maybe take a hammer to it for a bit. He swore he never saw the dead guy. Lindsay finds a SecretU, where people can send their darkest secrets. Mac is confused as to why. Lindsay just offers: “Confession is good for the soul?” Hawkes is still running DNA while Adam notes that the card stock was dragged across a floor.

Mac takes a blow dryer to the floor boards to shrink the wood and get the card. It reads “I’ll tell her if you don’t.” Ominous. Lindsay reads an IM conversation between KMAN and Lola57. He’s been having an online affair. He sends her a picture and she cuts off communication. He tries to reach her and Mac thinks Lola found out Keviin was married. And she sent the e-card. Question is: Did Wife (Annie) know?

Flack pleads with his sister to let him in. She looks worse for wear and refuses. He plays a song for her—the one she was thinking of in the bar. Sam looks really bad. Flack walks away. Mac and Hawkes watch the walk-through video as Lindsay runs in with the information about Lola57. He looks serious and walks into a room wallpapered with the secret from SecretU. And it’s Ella! She’s Lola. How Electra.

Mac believes Ella was trying to prove her father was having an affair, so she became the other woman. She confronted him and killed him. However, Ella says she had met someone online, someone she clicked with. She was shocked to realize it was her dad. The card was the only thing she did to get him to stop—not murder. Stella reveals that the hammer’s mitochondrial DNA comes back to Ella, but both she and Mom have alibis.

Stella re-watches Mom’s walk-through video alibi. She notices something and pulls Annie in. Stella and Hawkes re-enacted a scene from the video and proved Annie changed the time codes. She really shot it at 2:30 PM, not 10:30 AM. Annie had discovered the SecretU card and confronted him. Ella watches through the window and doesn’t want her mom to know who Lola57 is. Mac tells her it isn’t her fault. She just wants to feel important to someone again.

Sam leaves her apartment and big brother Don follows her. She’s in an apartment, talking to someone. She says she’s the screw-up of her family. She says her last drink was 20 minutes ago. She’s at AA! She admits she’s an alcoholic. Flack looks guilty and upset. He meets Det. Angell and kisses her. Stella receives a package—a dead rat. Eww. She wants to join Danny in breaking some rules.

Next week: CSI:NY reaches a century! And they are killing off everybody named Mac Taylor! Also, Chris Daughtry is on.

And who is liking the chemistry between Flack and Angell? And who wishes they’d put Lindsay and Danny back together or did I miss an episode?

Also, anyone else confused about Richmondtown?