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

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 ...

, 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 Ag ...

s of

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 ...

. It is represented in the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

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, w ...

, though they are becoming increasingly

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

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 Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

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 Gaetano Victor Molinari (November 23, 1928July 25, 2018) was an American lawyer and Republican politician from New York city. He represented Staten Island in the United States House of Representatives for four terms (1981–1989) and then ...

, an American politician who was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. He also served as Staten Island Borough President from 1989–2001.

Ron Thal Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

, a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

guitar player who is a former member of

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

lived in the area from his childhood through his mid 20s.

Transportation

Bay Terrace 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 ...

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