Is once-shunned Staten Island New York’s next hipster hotspot?

The island is known as the ‘fifth and forgotten’ borough, cut off from the rest of the city by more than just its location. But gentrification is gradually arriving there, even if some residents aren’t happy about it. Most visitors to New York spend exactly half an hour on Staten Island. That’s how long it takes to get off the big yellow ferry, cut straight across the harbour and get back on the next boat leaving for Manhattan. Some 23 million people annually ride the Staten Island Ferry, which runs around the clock and is free of charge. Many of them are tourists taking the ride for the views of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline.Once they arrive, very few leave the port area. But then, most city residents don’t spend much time in the most southern of New York’s five boroughs either. Even the island’s roughly 500,000 residents refer to themselves and their area as the ‘fifth and forgotten’ borough in New York City.“I have the best parties and I invite all my friends from Manhattan,” says Paul Coulbourne, who lives within walking distance of the ferry. “One time I had an eight-piece band, one of the best in the city - but my friends from Manhattan won’t come over. And I couldn’t bring a girl to Staten Island. They are like, ‘No, it’s a dump.’” His friend Dean has had a similar experience, “I lost a lot of friends when I moved to Staten Island.” But with rent prices soaring astronomically in other parts of New York, more and more people are turning to Staten Island, prompting The New York Times to write about a ‘turning point’ and Time Out magazine to declare the island as the hip place to be. The once high crime rate, especially on the northern coast, has fallen drastically. Urby, a hip housing development with a pool, coffee shop and yoga with a view of Manhattan, is primed for an exodus of New Yorkers from expensive parts of town. A new shopping centre directly on the ferry terminal is set to be opened soon, though a much-hyped giant Ferris wheel is expected to take much longer due to legal battles and costs.“North Shore is gonna happen,” says a spokeswoman for brokerage firm Cassandra Properties. “A lot has already been built, a lot of money already went in, and once you get the tourists in, this area is gonna have to transform. I think people are waiting. A lot of landlords have raised their rent and they are waiting for it to turn.”Perhaps the biggest hurdle to Staten Island’s development is its transit connections. The ferry ride is free but it also takes 30 minutes. On the island itself, there are buses and even a train line but it’s tough to get around without a car, unlike in the rest of the city.All plans for a tunnel have proven too expensive. Four bridges connect the island to the rest of the world, including the architecturally beautiful Verrazano-Narrows-Bridge. But the toll to cross it is a whopping 17 dollars. “It’s completely outrageous,” says Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican in New York’s State Assembly.“When I tell colleagues from other states, they are just shocked that we have a bridge that is so expensive. They ask, ‘What’s on Staten Island? Are they giving away gold on the streets? Or is it some kind of utopia?’” Malliotakis said. Staten Island has beaches and lots of green spaces. Freshkills, once one of the largest landfill sites in the world, is now being turned into the city’s biggest park. The island’s hills including the highest point in the city are reminiscent of San Francisco and offer panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline.There are also sightseeing attractions, including the Alice Austen House and its photography exhibits, as well as a zoo and a baseball stadium. Not to mention: The legendary hip-hop group Wu Tang Clan comes from the area.Early immigrants to Staten Island came from Germany, bringing with them multiple breweries, of which only a few have survived. Italian newcomers later opened much-beloved pizzerias and ice cream shops, and more recently, immigrants coming from everywhere from Sri Lanka to Mexico now run a number of restaurants on the island. But Staten Island is, and remains, different from the rest of New York. Most of the residents own cars and live in houses, while the rest of New York rents apartments and gets around on the subway.Perhaps even more tellingly, the other four boroughs voted overwhelming for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential elections; only Staten Island chose Donald Trump. And quite a few people from Staten Island want nothing to do with the rest of the city, says Coulbourne. “There are people who never leave Staten Island. They are very afraid to go to the city. When I first came, they said, ‘Thank God there is no train coming from Brooklyn, because it will bring the wrong crowd.’” However, Coulbourne believes the changes can no longer be stopped. “I love it. I like diversity. I like that a lot of good people are coming in who really care about where they live,” he says. It doesn’t need to change too much, Coulbourne says. “I don’t want a Trump Tower here. I just want a bunch of restaurants, and I just want to go out and not have to go to Brooklyn,” he says. — DPAPICTURESQUE: The view of Manhattan from Staten Island.