Category Archives: Life

Staten Island Best Travel Spot (Really)

Staten Island (we’re not kidding) named among best travel destinations in the world

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — We made it, baby! KING OF THE CITY! Sandwiched in between an eye-popping, 260-year-old Chinese hotel and a “dramatic, sensual” landscape in Denmark is the capital of pizza. The Borough of Parks. The Rock. Staten Island.

Back to School Dinner Ideas

Easy dinner ideas for those busy back-to-school nights

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — What do you need for a weeknight meal in those September days of a new routine? A protein, a starch and a vegetable, says Chef Robert J. Leyko of the Charleston ShopRite. “A flash in the pan,” cookbook author John Whaite — of The Great British Bake Off fame would say.

Turning Your Old Clothes into a 15% Discount

#SISustainability: Turn your old clothes into a 15% discount

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — In a world of fast fashion, where trends come and go and clothes are made quicker and cheaper than ever, we’re disposing of clothing much faster. Textiles – clothing, shoes, towels, and more – make up 5.7% of NYC’s residential waste, which amounts to almost 200,000 tons added to landfills.

Silver Lake, Staten Island, New York

Hidden Staten Island: See what’s inside those Silver Lake Reservoir gatehouses

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – If you visit Silver Lake Park to jog, walk your dog, fish, or to just enjoy the great outdoors, you’ve likely walked across the reservoir bridge too many times to count. And you’ve passed those cool gatehouses on either side of the bridge. I know I have.

Bayley Seton Site, Staten Island, New York

Spooky visit to decrepit ‘Doctors Row’ building at old Bayley Seton site

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Under the auspices of the Salvation Army, buildings on the what was once Bayley Seton Hospital property in Clifton are being demolished to make way for a new and badly needed recreation center. But some of the historic structures on the old hospital site are still standing, even if they are in deteriorating condition.

Abandoned Funeral Home – and Other Finds…

Staten Odd-land: Eerie vacant funeral home, and a strange shack in the North Shore woods

The Tudor Funeral Home on Victory Boulevard has been for sale for a while now. Tom Wrobleski | wrobleski@siadvance.com At night I’ve been drawn to the almost spectral orange glow from the lighting inside the building. Tom Wrobleski | wrobleski@siadvance.com I snapped this photo through the front door window one night.

Staten Island in the 1930s and 1940s

Staten OLD-land: Vintage shots show quirky stores, majestic homes of a bygone era

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The New York City Municipal Archives has digitized more than 720,000 photos of properties in the five boroughs taken between 1939 and 1941. Organized by block-and-lot numbers, the photos are an amazing treasure trove of spectacular homes, quirky stores and other long-vanished structures.

Hylan Blvd., Staten Island in the 1980s

The Wanderer: Check out these cool 1980s photos of stores and businesses on Hylan Boulevard

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – When I did my 13-mile trek down Hylan Boulevard recently, it stirred memories for a lot of people. There was nostalgia for businesses along the roadway. So I checked the vintage block-and-lot photos at the NYC Municipal Archive to see what I could find.