Staten Island / Snug Harbor

A few weeks ago the weather finally got warm (albeit temporarily) so Jim and I decided we wanted to take an adventure. He had never been to Staten Island, so I proposed that we go to Snug Harbor. I had been once before, but I wanted to see it in the winter, especially since the last of the snow was rapidly melting.

We took the Staten Island Ferry, which is a wonderful adventure just by itself. We couldn't figure out how to get on an upper, outside deck but it ended up not mattering so much because we found our way to the rear of the ferry, and the view did not disappoint.  I'm still amazed every time I take one of the ferries (Staten Island, Governor's Island, Ikea...) that such a novel mode of travel is absolutely free. New York is a city of extremes; we pay absurd prices for things like apartments and lattes, but we also get things for free that probably should be expensive. It all has a way of balancing out in the end — at least that's what I prefer to think every month when I mail my embarrassingly large rent check. 

We decided to walk to Snug Harbor, which I chickened out of doing my first time there, and I still don't highly recommend it. It's a long walk, but more than that it's kind of a sketchy one, and apparently one that doesn't get much attention from anyone with a snow shovel. We walked along Richmond Terrace, for the most part, and it's definitely not the most pedestrian-friendly route that I've been on. 

We walked back to the ferry a different way — through neighborhoods — although I don't really recommend that either. There is a bus that takes you directly from the terminal to the entrance of Snug Harbor and I'll definitely be taking that on any return trips.

We tried, relatively unsuccessfully, to find Staten Island's historical district, but we did happen upon some beautiful, although mostly neglected, historic homes. Right next to the entrance to Snug Harbor is the Neville-Tysen house, which I hadn't noticed on my previous visit. While there is some dispute over when it was built — some say it's pre-Revolutionary, some say it's post — the house is one of the oldest houses in New York City and received landmark status in 1967. 

I'm not sure what the current status of the house is, but a recent owner was critically injured in 2012 when she fell through a weak spot in the floor into a well below. It appears to be boarded up now (definitely haunted?) and in a state of decay, but I hope that people haven't given up on it just yet. 

Snug Harbor was just as weird, beautiful and desolate as the first time I went, but it was nice to be able to show someone else around. The cottages are still one of my favorite parts of the campus — five of which are now home to artists via a live/work residency program (a total dream). 

Everything looks even more enchanting (and abandoned) when it's covered in snow, and although it was warm there was still enough snow on the ground to make this visit feel completely different than when I went in the sweltering heat of July. The fountains were turned off, and the Chinese Scholar Garden appeared to be closed, although the general grounds are open year-round from dawn to dusk.

The Governor's House is just as creepy as ever (definitely haunted.) and the allée is only slightly less enchanting without the greenery. We also made a point to check out the Snug Harbor Cemetery, which I somehow neglected on my first trip, despite my intense love of all things funereal. 

What we found was not exactly a cemetery, but more of a burial ground, with no visible headstones or markers of any kind. The only indication that it even existed was a brick wall surrounding a field, with a gate that was locked. I don't know if it's ever open, but it's basically in someone's back yard now which I think has to be pretty creepy for them (definitely, definitely haunted). Apparently more than 9,000 seamen — who spent their last days at Snug Harbor — are buried here, but all of the nameplates have been removed to prevent people from stealing them for scrap.

Our last stop in Staten Island was a Dairy Queen (the only one in New York!) in the ferry terminal for Blizzards (necessary) before boarding the ferry back to Manhattan. We ended up hitting the time exactly right to catch a crazy beautiful sunset over the Statue of Liberty, and the light sparkling off of the buildings in Lower Manhattan was just perfect. It was the perfect adventure-filled day, and all it cost us was the price of a (well-deserved) Blizzard.