East Shore, Staten Island, Coastal residential district in Staten Island, United States
East Shore is a coastal residential district on the eastern side of Staten Island, running along Lower New York Bay and Raritan Bay from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge down to the Gateway National Recreation Area. The area is made up of several neighborhoods, with New Dorp serving as the main commercial center along New Dorp Lane and Hylan Boulevard.
For much of its history, this part of the island was farmland and small fishing communities that changed slowly over time. The opening of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in 1964 linked Staten Island directly to Brooklyn and brought a wave of new residents that reshaped the area into the suburban neighborhoods seen today.
Historic Richmond Town is an open-air village where old buildings from the 17th to the 19th century have been kept in place, giving visitors a sense of how people worked and lived in this part of the island. Craftspeople sometimes demonstrate traditional trades in the workshops, making the visit hands-on rather than purely visual.
A car is the most convenient way to get around, though several bus lines run along Hylan Boulevard and connect to the Staten Island Ferry terminal. Once you are in a specific neighborhood, the streets are generally flat and easy to walk.
After Hurricane Sandy struck in 2012, a large artificial dune system was built along the East Shore waterfront and is still visible today as a long earthen barrier running parallel to the beach. These dunes were specifically designed to shield the low-lying streets behind them from storm surge flooding.
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