Annadale is a middle-class neighborhood on the South Shore of the

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 Ag ...

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

History

The community received its present name circa 1860, and is named after Anna Seguine, a descendant of French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

s who were among the South Shore's earliest settlers; this settlement is also responsible for the neighborhood immediately to the southwest of Annadale being named

, and the Seguine family also lends its name to Seguine Avenue, the principal north-south thoroughfare on the east side of Prince's Bay, the next neighborhood southwest of Huguenot. In 1929, immigrants from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

purchased land along the Annadale shoreline, and founded a settlement that became known as the

Spanish Camp Spanish Camp, also known as Spanish Colony, was a private cooperative community on the shore of Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City. It existed from the 1920s to the first decade of the 21st century, when it was demolished. His ...

, or Spanish Colony. First tents, and later bungalows, were built at the site. The site was purchased and buildings demolished at the end of the 20th century so that several large, upscale homes could be constructed.

Geography

Annadale once had abundant woodland, but much of it was cleared in the last three decades of the 20th Century to make room for new homes. However, a city park in the heart of the neighborhood was converted into a wildlife preserve; known as

Blue Heron Park Preserve Blue Heron Park is a nature refuge on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York. It has various natural areas including meadows, kettle ponds, freshwater streams and marshes, and woodlands. The park, maintained by the New York City Department of ...

, it covers 222 acres (898,000 m²), much of it consisting of ponds, swamps and small streams which empty into nearby Raritan Bay. The northwestern part of Annadale is now often regarded as a separate neighborhood known as Arden Heights. Southeast Annadale also harbors its own identity separate from the rest of the neighborhood. This section of Annadale is most often associated with Blue Heron Park.

Public libraries

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

operates the Huguenot Park Branch, which serves Annadale and other neighborhoods, at 830 Huguenot Avenue at Drumgoole Road East. The branch opened in January 1985.

Transportation

Annadale is served by the

Staten Island Railway The Staten Island Railway (SIR) is a rapid transit line in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Staten Island. It is owned by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (SIRTOA), a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Trans ...

Annadale Station The Annadale station is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Annadale, Staten Island, New York. History Annadale opened on May 14, 1860, when the Staten Island Railway was extended from Eltingville, one stop to the north ...

, at Amboy Road/Annadale Road. It is served by the local buses and the express buses.

Korean War Veterans Parkway The Korean War Veterans Parkway is a parkway that traverses the South Shore of Staten Island, New York, in the United States. It begins at the Outerbridge Crossing toll plaza and runs from southwest to northeast to a merge with Drumgoole Road in t ...

passes through Annandale.

References

Neighborhoods in Staten Island Populated coastal places in New York (state) {{StatenIsland-geo-stub