Old Town is a neighborhood in the

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 ...

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 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 ...

, located on its East Shore. Old Town was established in August 1661 as part of

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva ...

, and was the first permanent

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an settlement on Staten Island. Originally described as "Oude Dorpe" (old village in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

), much of its original territory makes up what is present-day

South Beach South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard. This area was the ...

, with parts of Midland Beach and Dongan Hills. The area was settled by a group of Dutch, Walloon (from what is now southern Belgium and its borders with France) and French Protestants (

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) led by Walloon Pierre Billiou. SIRT powerhouse 145 Tacoma St jeh

Present-day Old Town is typically described as the neighborhood bordered by Grasmere to the north, Dongan Hills to the south, South Beach to the east, and Concord to the west. The neighborhood is served by the Old Town station of the

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

. Old Town is also served by the local buses on Hylan Boulevard and the local buses on Richmond Road. Express bus service is provided by the on Hylan Boulevard and the on Richmond Road.

Notable places

The neighborhood is home to the campus of Staten Island's largest circulation daily, the ''

Staten Island Advance The ''Staten Island Advance'' is a daily newspaper published in the borough of Staten Island in New York City. The only daily newspaper published in the borough, and the only major daily paper focused on a borough, it covers news of local and ...

'', a

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...

that likes to refer to Old Town as either Grasmere or Dongan Hills, even though its residents refer to it as Old Town. The Academy of St. Dorothy, a private

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

sits on Hylan Boulevard in Old Town. Carmel Richmond Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center (formerly Carmel Richmond Nursing Home), a Roman Catholic

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...

sits on Old Town Road. The home was established by the sisters of the

Carmelite Order , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Ca ...

in the 1970s. A Very Special Place, a school for

developmentally disabled Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

children was opened on Quintard Street in the late 1990s.

Notable people

James Oddo, an American politician and member of 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 boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government model, the performance of ...

is a former resident of Old Town.James Oddo: From Old Town Road to City Hall
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References

*Dickenson, Richard. ''Holden's Staten Island: The History of Richmond County.'' Center for Migration Studies, New York. 2002. Pg.17. . {{authority control Populated places established in 1661 Neighborhoods in Staten Island 1661 establishments in the Dutch Empire 1661 establishments in North America Establishments in New Netherland