South Beach is the name of a neighborhood located on the East Shore

East Shore, Staten Island

The term East Shore is frequently applied to a series of neighborhoods along the Lower New York Bay and the Raritan Bay and within New York City's borough of Staten Island....

 of Staten Island

Staten Island

Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...

, one of the five boroughs of New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is situated immediately to the south of the Staten Island side of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. Directly east of the beach is Hoffman Island

Hoffman Island

Hoffman Island is one of two small artificial islands in the Lower New York Bay, off South Beach, Staten Island. A smaller island, known as Swinburne Island, lies immediately to the south....

, and Swinburne Island

Swinburne Island

Swinburne Island is the smaller of two artificial islands located in the Lower New York Bay east of South Beach, Staten Island.-History:The island was created in 1860. Along with Hoffman Island, it was used to quarantine immigrants to the United States in the early 20th century who were found to be...

.

History

In the early 20th Century, many summer homes dotted the neighborhood, including an organized development consisting of such structures known as Bungalowtown.
South Beach was the terminus of a branch of the Staten Island Railway

Staten Island Railway

The Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, publicly known as MTA Staten Island Railway or SIR, is the operator of the lone rapid transit line in the borough of Staten Island, New York City, USA...

 to which service was halted in 1953; by the 1980s the tracks of this line had been uprooted, and tract homes now stand on the original right-of-way in many places. Railroad Avenue is the only evidence left behind.
Many small amusement parks and arcades once flourished there, but virtually all had disappeared by the 1970s; the last one closed in 2006. The City of New York built a public housing

Public housing

Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...

 project in the neighborhood in 1949; it is one of only three such projects found on the island south of the Staten Island Expressway.

The neighborhood's principal thoroughfare was originally named Seaside Boulevard, and, as its name suggested, it runs parallel to the shoreline, with the South Beach-Franklin Delano Roosevelt Boardwalk

South Beach-Franklin Delano Roosevelt Boardwalk

The South Beach-Franklin Delano Roosevelt Boardwalk, alternately referred to as the F.D.R. Boardwalk or the South Beach Boardwalk is a boardwalk on the East Shore of Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City.-Overview:...

 flanking it on the shoreward side. This roadway, which was the only portion of the "Shore Front Drive" proposed by Robert Moses

Robert Moses

Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...

 to be actually built, was later renamed Father Capodanno

Vincent R. Capodanno

Servant of God Vincent Robert Capodanno was a United States Navy Roman Catholic chaplain and a posthumous recipient of America's highest military decoration — the Medal of Honor — for actions during the Vietnam War....

 Boulevard, after a Roman Catholic chaplain who was killed in action during the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

, and runs from near the Verrazano Bridge to Midland Beach

Midland Beach, Staten Island

Midland Beach is a Staten Island neighborhood. It lies along the east-central coast of the island, in the area known locally as the "Mid-Island, Staten Island," or, according to some, the "East Shore." To its immediate west is Grant City, south lies New Dorp Beach with Graham Beach and South Beach...

.

In the early 20th Century many Italian-Americans, including immigrants, settled in the neighborhood, and their descendants still form the majority of the community's population.

Two hospitals - one an acute-care facility (the North Campus of Staten Island University Hospital), the other a state-run hospital for the mentally ill (the South Beach Psychiatric Center) stand at the southern edge of the neighborhood (sometimes reckoned as the separate locality of Ocean Breeze

Ocean Breeze, Staten Island

Ocean Breeze is a name sometimes applied to the southern part of the neighborhood known as South Beach, in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, United States.-History:...

), which often suffers from severe flooding after heavy rains due to its location along a coastal flood plain. The location of the two hospitals was marshland as recently as the 1960s.

South Beach is also home to FDNY Engine Company 161/Ladder Company 81.

Public libraries

New York Public Library

New York Public Library

The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...

 operates the South Beach Branch at 21-25 Robin Road at Ocean Avenue and Father Capodanno Boulevard.

Public Schools

Public School 39- Francis J. Murphy Junior

Public School 46- Albert V. Maniscalco

Public School 41

Transportation

South Beach is served by the S51 and S52 to the St. George Ferry

St. George Terminal

St. George Terminal is a park and ride and sea, railway, and bus transit center that is located in the St. George section of Staten Island, New York. It is located at the intersection of Richmond Terrace and Bay Street, near Staten Island Borough Hall, Richmond County Bank Ballpark and Richmond...

, as well as several rush-hour only express bus routes to Manhattan. South Beach was served by the Staten Island Railway until March 31, 1953.