Bay Terrace is the name of a neighborhood, centered around the street of the same name, on the East Shore of Staten Island, one of the five

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

s of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It is represented in the New York City Council by

Joe Borelli Joseph Charles Borelli (born July 27, 1982) is an American politician and the New York City Council member for the 51st district and Minority Leader of the New York City Council. He is a Republican. The district encompasses much of Staten Is ...

Bay Terrace is bordered by

Richmondtown Richmondtown is a neighborhood in the Mid-Island section of Staten Island, New York City. It is bounded by Arthur Kill Road on the northwest, Richmond Road on the north, Amboy Road on the east and southeast, and the United Hebrew and Ocean ...

to the north, Oakwood to the east,

Great Kills Great Kills is a neighborhood within the borough of Staten Island in New York City. It is located on the island's South Shore, and according to many local geographers, it is the South Shore's northernmost community. It is bordered by Richmondtow ...

to the west, and the Great Kills Harbor to the south.

History

Formerly known as Whitlock, the community's main thoroughfare was originally named Bay Terrace Avenue; however, by the late 1940s the word "Avenue" had been dropped and the street's name became simply Bay Terrace. The vicinity around the street was largely undeveloped until the late 1950s, when single-family home construction began there; the area itself then acquired the name of Bay Terrace, which may refer to its flat, ramp like terrain, which gradually slopes downward to the east until reaching the

Lower New York Bay Lower New York Bay is a section of New York Bay south of the Narrows (the strait between Staten Island and Brooklyn). The eastern end of the Bay is marked by two spits of land, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Rockaway, Queens. The waterway b ...

Great Kills Park Great Kills Park is a public park in Great Kills, Staten Island, New York City. Originally named Marine Park, it is a part of the Staten Island unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. Administered by the National Park Service, it covers an area ...

. In the 1970s many

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

families from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

settled in Bay Terrace, providing a significant demographic contrast with the surrounding communities, whose populations are still largely

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...

, though they are becoming increasingly

Russian-American Russian Americans ( rus, русские американцы, r=russkiye amerikantsy, p= ˈruskʲɪje ɐmʲɪrʲɪˈkant͡sɨ) are Americans of full or partial Russian ancestry. The term can apply to recent Russian immigrants to the United Stat ...

as well. In recent years, many new commercial establishments — most notably a large shopping center built on the site of a former swim club — have sprung up to serve the area's growing population. Part of Oceanview Cemetery, originally established by the Lutheran Church but open to those of all faiths, is considered to be in Bay Terrace, which is regarded by many Staten Island geographers as the southernmost neighborhood of the East Shore, the South Shore beginning with

, which lies immediately to the south.

Famous residents

Guy Molinari, an American politician who was a member of the New York State Assembly and the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. He also served as Staten Island Borough President from 1989–2001. Ron Thal, a hard rock guitar player who is a former member of Guns N' Roses lived in the area from his childhood through his mid 20s.

Transportation

Bay Terrace is served by the Staten Island Railway station with the same name. Bay Terrace is also served by various buses along

Hylan Boulevard Hylan Boulevard is a major northeast-southwest boulevard in the New York City borough of Staten Island, and the longest street in the city. It is approximately long, and runs from the North Shore neighborhood of Rosebank, then along the enti ...

. It is served by the local buses, as well as the express buses.

References

Neighborhoods in Staten Island {{NYC-road-stub