Richmond Avenue is a major north-south thoroughfare on

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

. Measuring approximately , the road runs from the South Shore community of Eltingville to the North Shore community of Graniteville.

Street description

Richmond Avenue begins at Tennyson Drive and Crescent Beach Park bordering

Raritan Bay Raritan Bay is a bay located at the southern portion of Lower New York Bay between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey and is part of the New York Bight. The bay is bounded on the northwest by New York's Staten Island, on the west by P ...

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 ...

is the first major intersection, to the north. After intersecting

Amboy Road Amboy Road is a major north-south artery along the South- East Shore of the New York City borough of Staten Island. It is approximately long. Amboy Rd. was originally part of an extensive Native American trail system used by Algonquian peoples ...

and then crossing under 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 ...

, Richmond Avenue continues north to

Arthur Kill Road Arthur Kill Road is a major northeast-southwest artery along the South- West Shore of the New York City borough of Staten Island. It is long, and runs through the neighborhoods of Tottenville, Richmond Valley, Charleston, Rossville, Woodrow ...

. A tenth of a mile later, the avenue intersects with the end of

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 ...

(formerly Richmond Parkway). Richmond Avenue then crosses over Richmond Creek on the Fresh Kills Bridge, gains a median divider, and passes between the

Staten Island Mall Staten Island Mall is a shopping mall in New Springville, Staten Island, New York City, opened in 1973. It is the only indoor shopping mall in the borough. It is the largest retail center on the island and is the site of the island's third-largest ...

and

Freshkills Park Freshkills Park is a public park being built atop a former landfill on Staten Island. At about , it will be the largest park developed in New York City since the 19th century. Its construction began in October 2008 and is slated to continue in p ...

. Richmond Avenue intersects Rockland Avenue and Draper Place in

New Springville New Springville is a neighborhood in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, USA. History Located near the island's geographical center, the neighborhood was founded in 1680 in Karle's Neck, so it was later named Karle's Neck V ...

before traveling along the edge of Willowbrook Park. Richmond Avenue continues north to the intersection with Victory Boulevard. Richmond Avenue intersects Lamberts Lane, a road with access to the Brooklyn-bound

Staten Island Expressway Interstate 278 (I-278) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in New Jersey and New York in the United States. The road runs from US Route 1/9 (US 1/9) in Linden, New Jersey, northeast to the Bruckner Interchange in the New York ...

(I-278). Goethals Road North, a road that parallels the expressway, then begins to the left. It intersects

Forest Avenue Forest Avenue (formerly known as Green Street; colloquially known as Forest Ave) is a major street in Portland, Maine, United States. It runs for around from Bridgton Road in the northwest to Congress Street, in downtown Portland, in the south ...

north, where the median divider of Richmond Avenue ends. This is the northern terminus of Richmond Avenue as a major two-way street. North of Forest Avenue, most traffic continues north to Richmond Terrace via Morningstar Road, while Richmond Avenue diverges to the east as a narrow one-way residential street. Richmond Avenue ends at Willow Road West, a service road for NY Route 440, two blocks east of Morningstar Road.

History

The road is one of the older ones on Staten Island, presumably dating back to the early-to-mid-19th century. Early writings and periodicals refer to Richmond Avenue as the road from Port Richmond to

, just north of the

Fresh Kills Fresh Kills (from the Middle Dutch word '' kille'', meaning "riverbed" or "water channel") is a stream and freshwater estuary in the western portion of the New York City borough of Staten Island. It is the site of the Fresh Kills Landfill, forme ...

. Sections of road along what is currently Richmond Avenue were known by various names, such as Old Stone Road and Church Road (in Port Richmond), Bridge Avenue (south to Arthur Kill Road), Eltingville Road (continuing south to Amboy Road), and Seaside Avenue (the final section). In 1912, they were all consolidated as "Richmond Avenue". In 1964, the construction of the Willowbrook Expressway divided Richmond Avenue into two sections, the northern segment being later renamed Port Richmond Avenue. In the 1920s and 1930s, most of Richmond Avenue, particularly south of Victory Boulevard, was predominantly farmland. The road itself was merely one-lane wide. However, indicative of the economic transformation the Richmond Avenue corridor of Staten Island experienced, specifically with the opening of the

in 1972, the roadway was widened. The roadway from Rockland Avenue to Forest Hill Road has been widened to an eight-lane thoroughfare (four lanes each way), while other sections are two and three lanes wide. Prior to the construction of any expressway on Staten Island, Richmond Avenue, north of Drumgoole Boulevard, was designated New York Route 440, which it held until the West Shore Expressway was completed in 1976.

Public transportation

Richmond Avenue is served in its entirety by the S59 local/S89 limited bus routes. The portion from Forest Avenue to Yukon Avenue is served by the S44/S94 route. The portion south of the Staten Island Mall is also served by the S79 SBS bus. The express buses to Manhattan cover the northern portion of Richmond Avenue, the cover the portion from Lamberts Lane to

, and the cover the southern portion of Richmond Avenue.

Major intersections

References

{{Streets of Staten Island Streets in Staten Island