Livingston is a former station on the abandoned

North Shore Branch The North Shore Branch is an abandoned branch of the Staten Island Railway in New York City, which operated along Staten Island's North Shore, Staten Island, North Shore from St. George, Staten Island, Saint George to Port Ivory, Staten Island, ...

of 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 ...

. Located north of Richmond Terrace at Bard Avenue in the

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

section 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 ...

, it had two tracks and two

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...

s. The site is from the

Saint George terminal St. George Terminal is a ferry, railway, bus, and park and ride transit center in the St. George neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City. It is located at the intersection of Richmond Terrace and Bay Street, near Staten Island Borough Hall, ...

. Closed in 1953, the station was demolished, with few remnants of the site today.

History

The station opened on February 23, 1886 along with the other North Shore stations from St. George west to

Elm Park Elm Park is a suburban planned community in East London within the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is identified as a district centre in the London Plan with several streets of shops and a priority for r ...

. It sits on land formerly occupied by the mansion of Livingston namesake Anson Livingston, also known as the "Bleak House," which was purchased by the North Shore Railroad in 1886. The town name "Livingston" was coined by SIRT officials. The station was located on a wooden trestle on the shore of the

Kill Van Kull __NOTOC__ The Kill Van Kull is a tidal strait between Staten Island, New York and Bayonne, New Jersey in the United States. It is approximately long and wide and connects Newark Bay with Upper New York Bay. The Robbins Reef Light marks the ...

on the edge of the island, built with two wooden high-level side platforms. The former mansion was used as the stationhouse, with an overpass between the platforms on the west end of the station. Industrial buildings were located adjacent to the station, including a power plant of the

Richmond Light and Railroad Company Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...

, which operated a

streetcar line A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

along Richmond Terrace parallel to the SIRT until 1934. The station was abandoned on March 31, 1953, along with the South Beach Branch and the rest of the North Shore Branch. Currently, the station site is occupied by an employee parking lot for the

Con Edison Consolidated Edison, Inc., commonly known as Con Edison (stylized as conEdison) or ConEd, is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues as of 2017, and over $62 b ...

facility located across the street. Just east of the site is a restaurant, R.H. Tugs, which sits adjacent to the tracks. The restaurant closed in August 2011 after 25 years of operation, reopening as Blue Restaurant. The northern of the line's two tracks has been taken up, and due to

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...

of the line's retaining wall, part of the trestle has slid into the Kill Van Kull along with some of the trackage east and west of here. Livingston is one of the stations to be returned to operation under the proposals for reactivation of the North Shore branch for rapid transit, light rail, or

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

service. Under the proposal, the right-of-way would be moved from the coastline to the parking lot site.

References

* http://gretschviking.net/GOSIRTNorthShore.htm {{Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority North Shore Branch stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1886 Railway stations closed in 1953 1886 establishments in New York (state) 1953 disestablishments in New York (state) Livingston, Staten Island