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West New Brighton, Staten Island
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West New Brighton is a neighborhood of New York City, USA situated along the central North Shore of Staten Island. The neighborhood borders New Brighton to the east, Port Richmond to the west, the waters of the Kill Van Kull to the north, and the communities of Sunnyside and Castleton Corners to the south.
Originally known as "Factoryville," Islanders now commonly refer to the area as West Brighton. Some parts of the neighborhood closer to the shoreline are referred to as "Livingston" and,or "Randal Manor". The neighborhood was originally Italian, mostly from the town of Monacilioni (see External links below) from the, what was then called the, Abruzzi e Molise region of Italy. Later on, the neighborhood consisted largely of white working-class families of Irish and German descent.
The neighborhood was transformed in the years following World War II. Two large public housing developments were built . The first, the Markham Homes, was originally built to house the families of shipyard & defense workers. The West Brighton Houses followed. Some residents believe the placement of the latter was done to undermine the community's vibrant commercial area on Castleton Avenue to make the proposed Staten Island Mall more palatable. Starting in 2004 tenants in The Markham Homes were evicted, so the site might be redeveloped. As of 2007 all tenants have been temporarily relocated. The blocks immediately surrounding these developments which stand at the heart of the neighborhood are notorious hotbeds of crime, teenage pregnancy,gang violence and the abuse and sale of illegal drugs, particularly crack cocaine.
Since the late 90's the area has seen a reduction in some crime rates. Richmond Terrace, which is the main thoroughfare along the Kill Van Kull waterfront, is home to several shipyards and tugboat companies.The area south of Delafield Avenue, Brighton Heights, continues to be home to some of West Brighton's more affluent residents including politicians, lawyers, judges and professionals.
Notable landmarks include the Staten Island Zoo, and several small abandoned cemeteries in which members of some of the island's founding families are interred. Snug Harbor is also located in West Brighton. It holds baseball fields, a children's museum, a Chinese garden, botanical gardens, the Art Lab and the Staten Island Conservatory of Music. St. Peter's Cemetery, which is still properly maintained and is the oldest Roman Catholic cemetery on Staten Island (opened in 1848), is also located here.
West New Brighton's ZIP Code is 10310, and the territory served by this zip code is virtually coterminous with the boundaries of the neighborhood itself (such boundaries not officially existing for any neighborhoods within New York City). The neighborhood is roughly defined as the area around and to the northeast of the intersection of Jewett Avenue and Forest Avenue, one of the major east-west thoroughfares on the island.
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[1], This is a list of surnames currently living in Monacilioni, most of these surnames still live in West New Brighton