Rosebank, Staten Island

Rosebank is the name of a neighborhood located in the northeastern part of Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of the USA's largest city, New York.

Originally called Peterstown, the name "Rosebank" appears to have been first used to denote the neighborhood around 1880. Soon after this Italian immigrants began settling there, and their descendants have continued as its predominant ethnic group ever since, their enduring presence being epitomized by the location of the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum in the community.

Rosebank was the first station on the now-defunct South Beach Branch of the Staten Island Railway after its separation from the main line at the Clifton station immediately to the north. Service on this branch was halted in 1953. The station was located near Clifton Avenue and Tilson Place. Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island's longest commercial roadway, begins in Rosebank on its way to Tottenville, about 14 miles (22.5 km) away.

The age, density and architectural style of Rosebank's housing stock resembles that found in most of the island's North Shore neighborhoods; however, demographically Rosebank has more in common with such East Shore communities as New Dorp. As a result, there is considerable disagreement as into which region of the island Rosebank should be classified.

The neighborhood once played host to a federal quarantine station for incoming immigrants (it closed in 1971), and was the home of noted photographer Alice Austen, one of Staten Island's most recognizable personalities of the past. The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum is named for a long time resident, Meucci, who has some claim to having been an inventor of a working telephone. However, impoverished, he was unable to obtain a patent or to market it. When Garibaldi visited the United States while in exile from Italy, he stayed for a time at the home of Meucci. This home is now a museum named for the two men.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Rosebank include:
*Alice Austen (1866-1952), Photographer, who lived all of her life on Staten Island. [Wilson, Claire. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/12/realestate/12living.html "Living In | Rosebank, Staten Island: A Quiet Slice of New York Waterfront"] , "The New York Times", March 12, 2006. Accessed November 3, 2007. "In July, the same group holds a picnic and concert with an 18-piece band on the grounds of Clear Comfort, the former home, now a museum, of Alice Austen, a native Staten Islander who was a pioneering female photographer."]

References