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The Holistic New York City
It’s been about two years since I moved to New York City, and in that time I’ve seen a lot. Sometimes more than I’d have liked in fact! But one thing I’d never seen was a little ol’ place called STATEN *EFFIN* ISLAND! Actually, the much more surprising thing is that I’m not even close to alone in this. It seems that virtually none of my contemporaries who live and/or work in the city have been to this “Forgotten Borough.” With that in mind, I’ll start with a (very) brief history lesson compliments of Wikipedia.

Fast Facts About the Fifth Borough
- There are nearly half a million people on this island. That’s about the size of Wyoming for you trivia buffs.
- Staten Island is also known as Richmond County
- But it used to be called Aquehonga Manacknong and Eghquaons by it’s 16th century Lenape inhabitants.
- The island became a part of our fair city in 1898

Island Hopping
One of the major reasons most New Yorkers haven’t bothered with Staten Island is it’s relative inaccessibility. Yes, you can drive there, or take the bus, or walk if you’re really brave or are stranded around the southwestern edge of Brooklyn, but given the average New Yorker’s utter reliance on the subway system, this is by far the hardest borough to reach for most. The only reasonably efficient way to get there is via the Staten Island ferry, which is a trip in itself!

The ferry runs from Battery Park about every half hour, but not necessarily on the half hour as promised. We went on Sunday and with the flood of foreigner tourists staring out in awe at the Statue of Liberty, speaking anything but English, it reminded me of what I imagine the immigrant experience might’ve been like. Except less smelly and arguably more annoying.

Is This New Jersey?
When we disembarked from the ferry we immediately were aware that the 90,000 people on there with us had somehow disappeared. We got turned around a bit trying to overcome my fear of city buses, but once we got on and started into this enigmatic and impenetrable island, we learned that it was actually…basically like New Jersey. There were trees, and grass, and roads that twist and curve over rolling hills instead of going in straight lines! And those roads, do you know what they did? They took us directly to pizza.

Joe and Pat’s Pizzeria
Right off the the 61 bus is a Pizzeria call Joe and Pat’s, which was honestly well worth the trip. In fact, it was one of the best pies I’ve had in the city! Fresh, simple, crispy but not crackery, I was really impressed by this unassumingly appointed Italian restaurant. It had all the standard fair, and some specialty pies, and all were excellent. Service was good, and the atmosphere was quiet and inviting. I’d go back, maybe not any time, but eventually.