South Shore, Staten Island

The South Shore is a geographical term applied to the area in the New York City borough of Staten Island, south and east of the island's ridge of hills (and Richmond Creek and Fresh Kills south of Historic Richmond Town) along the waterfront and adjacent areas from the Narrows to the mouth of the Arthur Kill, although many observers prefer to restrict its scope to the neighborhoods located between the shoreline of Raritan Bay on one side and Richmond Creek and Fresh Kills on the other, thus encompassing the neighborhoods of Great Kills to Tottenville only. Those who use this narrower definition of the "South Shore" prefer to assign the communities that lie along the Lower New York Bay, and inland for approximately 2 to 2½ miles, from Bay Terrace and Richmondtown to as far north as Grasmere and Concord, as belonging to the East Shore. The neighborhood is represented in the New York City Council by Joe Borelli.

Geologically, the area is the outwash plain formed from the edge of the terminal moraine, and continues as an underwater shoal into Lower New York Bay, where it was a prime oystering ground in the 19th century.

Prior to the 1960s, the South Shore was undeveloped, however after the building of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, its population rose sharply.

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