Moving On With Life As I Continue Living in Stapleton, Staten Island (Among Daily News' Best Places To Live In NY)

I've been living in Stapleton for almost 2 spring seasons now; I've experienced 2 winter seasons here where we had blizzards (one of which caused so much troubles to everyone in NYC such that Mayor Bloomburg had to change his initial assessment on what happened---as everyone in the city government was caught cold footed after a failure to assess correctly the direction of the weather changes then). I've been pleasantly surprised to read about the feature on Daily News of Stapleton in Staten Island on its "Best Places to Live in NY by Jason Sheftell". Of course, it's really an advertisement, or more like a promo material for some businesses investing their money here in Stapleton. Really, I actually appreciate this piece of news, which I delightfully shared with my roommates (one of whom is actually my landlord). And I remember how some people I know would just automatically knock out Staten Island just because they don't know much about this place (and a lot of bad news have been written and talked about this place, anyway, in the first place and thus making any piece of news good news).

The first time I came here got me really confused as people wouldn't understand my accent. People in the bus had a particular accent which I could not fathom easily while asking for assurances that I was not getting lost on my way to my destination. Thankfully, I saw the landmarks and reached my destination. Along the way, I saw the beautiful single or dual family houses on both sides of the streets. The site's very pretty! And the neighborhood's just different in its own terms from other places I've been to in New York City, where I've lived in 3 of its 5 boroughs (Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island). Of course, I'd later learned about the ugly traits found beneath the surface in the neighborhood (e.g. the presence of the largest housing project in Staten Island where members of the well known hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan have lived, the tendency of some people I met here who ignore and neglect what's beautiful around them, varieties of white trash, snatches of ghetto life in some nooks around the corner, the absence of amenities comparable in other NYC neighborhoods, the travel time to & fro my destinations in Manhattan and Queens which could not have been a problem if there were more train & ferry schedules to choose from all day long). There are 2 5-storey buildings now going up close to the train station. More are to come. I can look forward in my imagination of other dudes in the future who maybe writing about Stapleton, and perhaps get to check this posting for comparison. That'll be cool!

I've seen also an 80s video of Madonna's 'Papa Don't Preach' that showed the Stapleton Train Station. And I've read 'Images of America' book on Stapleton. Plus, I'm surprised that the very affluent Vanderbilts lived and built their empire in this neighborhood - in fact, their former house was located right in front of the Paramount Theatre along Bay Street. I've since then been listing down and reviewing what can be found here in Stapleton for those who may be wanting to move on with their lives here (see my Yelp list here). I've been waiting for the local library to open again its doors to knowledge seekers like myself.