St. George / New Brighton

St. George became the island's primary ferry terminal and railyard in 1885 when the Staten Island Rapid Transit project extended the SIRR from it's old terminal in Clifton up to St. George and along the North Shore to a new drawbridge over Arthur Kill leading to the mainland. The community was renamed St. George as a condition of the sale of the ferry and rail terminal property by George Law.

The former NSRR platforms at the St. George ferry terminal are still intact and track continues past a special-event station at the ballpark and about 1,000 feet north to a terminating bumper.

12/4/2009 11:34 AM
Track work

12/4/2009 11:32 AM
NSRR tracks headed toward ballpark

12/4/2009 11:36 AM
NSRR tracks headed into ferry terminal

3/12/2009 02:35 PM
NSRR line from ferry terminal to the ballpark

3/12/2009 02:43 PM
ROW past the ballpark

11/20/2009 02:20 PM
End of track

11/20/2009 02:20 PM
Terminating bumper

11/20/2009 02:21 PM
Terminating bumper

To the North of St. George is Kill van Kull and fuel storage tanks in Bayonne.

3/12/2009 03:00 PM
Freighter on Kill van Kull

11/20/2009 02:27 PM
Freighter across Kill van Kull

3/12/2009 03:01 PM
Looking across Kill van Kull at Bayonne

3/12/2009 03:01 PM
Tanks across Kill van Kull in Bayonne

The Staten Island ferry is New York City's best tourist deal - a free one-hour cruise across New York Harbor. While its primary function is providing a connection to Manhattan for Staten Island commuters, it also represents an undercapitalized asset that could serve the millions of tourists that ride in from Manhattan and get right back on the return boat without experiencing what Staten Island has to offer them - which right now isn't much.

9/18/2009 01:28 PM
South Ferry subway station in Manhattan

9/18/2009 07:45 PM
Richmond County Courthouse by night

11/20/2009 01:03 PM
Staten Island ferry terminal in Manhattan

11/20/2009 01:05 PM
Bloomberg North Shore railroad campaign ad

11/20/2009 01:05 PM
Staten Island ferry terminal in Manhattan

11/20/2009 01:24 PM
Boarding the ferry in Manhattan

11/20/2009 01:35 PM
Boarding the ferry in Manhattan

11/20/2009 01:36 PM
Boarding the ferry in Manhattan

12/4/2009 05:35 PM
On the ferry

12/4/2009 11:11 AM
Jersey City 'Gold Coast'

11/20/2009 01:53 PM
Port Jersey Container Terminal, Bayonne

12/4/2009 11:18 AM
Dredge boat

12/4/2009 11:23 AM
St. George

11/20/2009 02:04 PM
Ferry docked at St. George

11/20/2009 02:04 PM
Disembarking in St. George

11/20/2009 02:06 PM
SIRR entrance at St. George

12/4/2009 11:28 AM
SIRR entrance

12/4/2009 05:20 PM
Ramp from buses to ferry terminal

11/20/2009 05:32 PM
Staten Island Ferry Terminal at St. George

The long-abandoned railyard was converted into commuter parking lot and stadium for a minor-league affiliate of the New York Yankees baseball team in the late 1990s. Baseball was supposedly played professionally in St. George from 1886 to 1888, although it's hard to imagine how the comparatively small area was shared by a railyard and ballpark. The 7,171-seat Richmond County Bank ballpark opened on June 24, 2001 and a waterfront boardwalk park was also incorporated into the design. A 9/11 memorial was added in 2004 (SIYanks.com 2009). A station to provide seasonal service to the ballpark was added on a short section of the North Shore line.

12/4/2009 11:33 AM
Parking lot in former Arlington Yard

12/4/2009 11:36 AM
Parking lot

12/4/2009 11:34 AM
St. George MTA control center

12/4/2009 11:37 AM
Parking lot sign

11/20/2009 02:08 PM
Ballpark

12/4/2009 11:38 AM
Ballpark entrance on Richmond Terrace

12/4/2009 11:39 AM
Baseball field

12/4/2009 11:40 AM
Parking lot north of ballpark

11/20/2009 02:10 PM
Boardwalk

11/20/2009 02:13 PM
9/11 Memorial

11/20/2009 02:14 PM
9/11 Memorial

11/20/2009 02:15 PM
Waterfront pier remnants

11/20/2009 02:18 PM
Waterfront pier remnants

11/20/2009 02:19 PM
Parking lot - viewed from the North

11/20/2009 02:23 PM
Waterfront park pathway

The intact ROW (overgrown and with no track) continues directly alongside Richmond Terrace to the site of the (now-defunct) New Brighton stop at the foot of Jersey Street. Reactivation of the ROW would entail moving Bank Street (which runs parallel to the ROW and is used to access the parking lot from Jersey Street) around 20 feet away from the ROW.

3/12/2009 03:01 PM
ROW along Richmond Terrace

11/20/2009 02:22 PM
Overgrown ROW along Richmond Terrace

11/20/2009 02:23 PM
Overgrown ROW along Richmond Terrace

11/20/2009 02:24 PM
Overgrown ROW along Richmond Terrace

11/20/2009 02:25 PM
Overgrown ROW along Richmond Terrace

11/20/2009 02:33 PM
End of overgrown ROW along Richmond Terrace

11/20/2009 02:25 PM
Bank Street

11/20/2009 02:26 PM
Waterfront

11/20/2009 02:33 PM
Overgrown area north of Bank Street

The New Brighton station was located at Richmond Terrace and Jersey Street. No trace remains, although there are a couple of small derelict old buildings in the general vicinity.

11/20/2009 02:40 PM
Site of former New Brighton Station?

11/20/2009 02:32 PM
Abandoned garage on Bank Street

11/20/2009 02:34 PM
Abandoned building on Bank Street

11/20/2009 02:35 PM
New Brighton Sign

11/20/2009 02:36 PM
New Brighton Sign

11/20/2009 02:36 PM
Bank Street just east of Jersey Street

11/20/2009 02:37 PM
Richmond Terrace in New Brighton

11/20/2009 02:40 PM
Richmond Terrace @ Jersey Street

The former U.S. Gypsum plant (561 Richmond Terrace) originally opened in 1876 as the Jerome B. King Plaster Mill. U.S. Gypsum bought the plant from Windsor Plaster Mills in 1924 (Lundrigan and Navarra 1999). Eastern Salt Company (a.k.a. Eastern Minerals) purchased the 10-acre property in 1976 and opened Atlantic Salt, a depot for road de-icing salt used across New York City, New York State, New Jersey and Connecticut. (Cleaton 2009)

3/12/2009 03:04 PM
15 Bank Street - Former U.S. Gypsum plant

11/20/2009 02:38 PM
ROW running through old U.S. Gypsum plant

11/20/2009 02:37 PM
15 Bank Street

11/20/2009 02:38 PM
15 Bank St - Atlantic Salt entrance

11/20/2009 02:38 PM
Atlantic Salt machinery

11/20/2009 02:38 PM
Gate near ROW

The ROW is reputedly intact through the Atlantic Salt facilities, although no trackwork is obvious and there are massive piles of rock salt on the west side of the site over what presumably is the ROW. Restoring ROW through this area would likely involve relocating Atlantic Salt, demolishing the old plant, and/or elevating the ROW above whatever operations remain there. In the event of eviction, the proximity of this area to the densely populated areas around St. George make it an excellent potential site for a waterfront park.