South Beach, Staten Island

South Beach is a neighborhood on the East Shore of Staten Island, New York City. It is found just south of the Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge. The area is bordered by the New York Bay on one side and several streets on the others. Nearby places include Midland Beach, Dongan Hills, Old Town, Concord, Fort Wadsworth, and Rosebank.

South Beach has a boardwalk and a beach along its southeastern coast. Two small islands, Hoffman Island and Swinburne Island, sit just east of the beach. The northern part of South Beach is sometimes called Arrochar.

The neighborhood is part of Staten Island Community District 2 and uses the ZIP Code 10305. It is kept safe by the 122nd Precinct of the New York City Police Department.

History

Once called Graham Beach, this area was a popular summer spot with many small houses and tents. Nearby was Warren Manor, a residential area torn down in the 1950s for a university campus that was never built. By the early 1900s, many Italian-American families, including immigrants, made their home here, and many of their descendants still live in the neighborhood today.

Resort years

By the mid-1880s, South Beach had a long boardwalk, a carousel, a Noah’s Ark ride, and beer gardens. The beach itself was the most popular place to visit, and people often had picnics there. In 1890, some of the games were removed and replaced with places to bathe. Sadly, a big fire in 1896 destroyed much of the boardwalk and many buildings. In 1906, Happyland Amusement Park opened with many fun rides and attractions, including a carousel, a Shoot the Chute ride, and a tall tower. The park also had gardens, picnic areas, and shows. It was very popular, with thousands of visitors on summer weekends. The park stayed open through the 1910s but faced many fires and changes over the years. Much of the old resort area was torn down in the 1930s to build a new boardwalk, which opened in 1937.

Residential neighborhood

In 1949, the City of New York built public housing in the area. A railroad that ran through South Beach stopped operating in 1953, and the tracks were removed by the 1980s. The main street, once called Seaside Boulevard, was later renamed Father Capodanno Boulevard in honor of a chaplain who served in the Vietnam War. Two hospitals were built at the southern edge of the neighborhood. During Hurricane Sandy in 2012, flooding damaged many homes in South Beach. In 2013, a large supermarket opened where an old amusement area used to be.

Topography

The southernmost part of South Beach is named Ocean Breeze. This area is low and close to the water, so it often gets flooded after heavy rain. Many side streets there can become difficult to travel on when this happens. A special water system called the New Creek bluebelt helps collect rainwater and runs through this part of the neighborhood.

Demographics

South Beach is part of a bigger area called Grasmere-Arrochar-South Beach-Dongan Hills, with 36,259 people living there according to the 2020 United States Census. Many different groups live in this neighborhood, including people from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Albania, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Russia, African-American communities, and China.

Most people in South Beach are between 25 and 64 years old. Many households have families, and about half of the homes are rented. The area has a good quality of life, with people living about as long as the average New Yorker.

Police and crime

South Beach and Mid-Island are watched over by the 122nd Precinct of the NYPD, based at 2320 Hylan Boulevard. In 2010, this precinct was one of the safest areas in New York City for crime rates. By 2018, the number of serious crimes in South Beach and Mid-Island was lower than in the city overall.

Crime has dropped a lot since the 1990s in this area. By 2022, many types of crime had gone down by a large amount compared to earlier years.

Fire safety

South Beach has fire safety services provided by the New York City Fire Department. Their Engine Co. 161/Ladder Co. 81 station is at 278 McClean Avenue.

Health

In 2018, South Beach and Mid-Island had fewer early births and births to teenage mothers compared to the rest of the city. The area also had a smaller number of people without health insurance.

The air in South Beach and Mid-Island has less of a harmful type of pollution than the city average. The same amount of people in this area smoke as in the rest of the city. A smaller share of people here have obesity, diabetes, or high blood pressure than in the city overall. Most people in South Beach and Mid-Island eat fruits and vegetables daily, and many say their health is good or better. There is one supermarket for every seven small stores in the area.

Staten Island University Hospital is located in South Beach.

Post office and ZIP Code

South Beach is part of the ZIP Code 10305. The United States Postal Service does not have a post office in South Beach, but the closest one is the Rosebank Station at 567 Tompkins Avenue.

Education

South Beach and Mid-Island have about the same percentage of college-educated residents as the rest of New York City. In 2018, 40% of people aged 25 and older had a college education or more. Meanwhile, 11% did not finish high school, and 49% had a high school diploma or some college education.

Students in South Beach and Mid-Island do well in school. More students are good at math now than in 2000, but reading scores have gone down a little. Fewer elementary students miss a lot of school days compared to the whole city. Also, most high school students finish on time, which is more than the city average.

Schools

The New York City Department of Education runs these public schools in South Beach and Arrochar:

• PS 39 Francis J Murphy Jr (grades K-5)
• PS 46 Albert V Maniscalco (grades PK-5)

Library

The New York Public Library has a branch in South Beach at 21–25 Robin Road, close to Ocean Avenue and Father Capodanno Boulevard. The branch opened in the mid-20th century but was destroyed by a fire in 1989. It reopened in 1990 and moved to its current small building in 2000.

Transportation

South Beach has several local and express buses that help people get around. The S78 and S79 SBS local buses, along with SIM1, SIM1C, SIM7, and SIM10 express buses, stop on Hylan Boulevard. The S51, S81, and S52 local buses, and SIM5, SIM6, and SIM9 express buses travel along Father Capodanno Boulevard.

In the past, South Beach was served by the X20 on its South Side and the X18 on its North Side, but these buses stopped running in 2010 because of budget cuts. The SIM5X and SIM6X also ran for a short time from August to October 2018, but they didn’t have enough passengers. South Beach also had a train station called South Beach station until it closed on March 31, 1953.