No longer the "Forgotten Borough"

,,, that's what Staten Island was called for a long time. It's the smallest borough of the five boroughs in NYC and lies on an island. It's easy to reach by the Staten Island Ferry, which runs 24/7 and is free. Usually, visitors take the boat because of the great views towards the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan's skyline (pic), and, return on the next boat. But, the island has more to offer, some pretty interesting attractions and museums, a couple of them in St. George (the ferry boat's landing), in easy walking distance. Attractions like Snug Harbor or Richmond Town are a little further out and not so easy to reach. We skipped them this time.

This time, the main reason for us to revisit S.I. was the newly opened Empire Outlets, the only Outlet Shopping Mall in NYC, directly on the waterfront. Originally, a huge ferris wheel was planned in addition, but this never worked out; its foundation is still to be seen. The shopping mall is occupied by about 2/3. Once it's fully accomplished (including a planned food hall and beer garden) it may be a new major draw for tourists, also, because of the views it is offering (pics). Before we boarded the ferry back to Manhattan, even we made a good deal at Levis: a jacket for Peter for $ 15!



Before, we explored St. George with Colleen, S.I's tourism rep. Interesting: the National Lighthouse Museum, the former site of the U.S. Lighthouse Service’s (USLHS) General Depot - the national headquarters, testing ground, and distribution center for all materials and equipment used by light keepers from 1864 to 1939 all over the U.S.A. Once a lively site of 18 buildings, only 6 remain today. The museum, located in the 1912 foundry building, tells about the history and technology of the nation’s lighthouses and shows models of lighthouses in the U.S. and from all over the world. There is an expansion planned for the future.

On to another S.I. "gem", the St. George Theater, a magnificent theater, dating in 1929. The main architect was Eugene DeRosa and this new movie and vaudeville house outshone most of its competitors of the day, even on Manhattan, technically and aesthetically. It has one of the largest cantilevered balconies ever built and velvet seats, gilded balconies and grand staircases. The theater's interior is a variety of Spanish and Italian Baroque styles, with a spacious lobby.The theatre continued to operate as a movie palace until 1977, then different reincarnations of the space that included a roller rink, an antique showroom and a night club, were not successful. In 2004, a local lady by name Rosemary Cappozalo and her daughters, started a not-for-profit organization to save the historic theater from being torn down and since then it's a true success story.


We walked the promenade after lunch at Marie's (pizza) and inspected the 9/11 Memorial, a spectacular wing-like structure with plates mentioning all people in service who died during Sept. 11, 2001.

Back on Manhattan, we took the train back to Harlem and out again to the Village for dinner at Soogil, a Korean restaurant with French influences. We had the "Chef's Tasting Menu", a really great deal, including delicacies of all kind: braised short rib, foie gras, yellowtail, sea urchin, etc., all of it very tastefully prepared and combined and nicely presented. The chef, Soogil Lim from South Korea, who greeted us, is a very modest gentleman, though he studied at CIA (The Culinary School) and learned in star chef's Daniel Boulud's kitchen. We had another great evening with our friends and a (last) superb dinner!