The Cliches of Richmond
The Winter Olympics are upon us and the good folks at Deadspin were kind enough to publish a list of the seven things you learn about curling in every friggin’ “Writer tries curling” article (and there are loads of ‘em every four years).
This reminded me of those rare occasions when the NY Times or some other mainstream media outlet actually pays attention to the place I have called home my entire life: Staten Island. Pretty much every article includes one or more of the following.
“Hey, there are still rural areas out here, and yet it’s still (technically) New York City!” – Yes folks, people are amazed that if you travel to the southern end of Staten Island where you can see central New Jersey from virtually any elevated piece of real estate you find homes with huge yards and even (gasp) a horse stable. New Yorkers are pretty much convinced that the only oasis of green in the whole city is Central Park. Not true. But don’t tell anyone because then they’ll want to come and develop it. There is also the Greenbelt and a huge scout camp which is now in the news as it is in danger of closing.
"Did you know that there are Sri Lankans on Staten Island? Lots of em!” – The general stereotype of the Island dweller is that of those fine young people that starred in “Jersey Shore” (and in fact three, count ‘em three were actually from SI). The fact that there are immigrant communities with burgeoning cultural and food scenes on our humble rock often comes as a total shock to outsiders. Less so now since Tony Bourdain gave a Sri Lankan place a thumbs up on his Travel Channel show.
“Hey, there’s good pizza on Staten Island!” - Even though the dominant image of the Staten Islander to most is of an Italian American, people don’t connect the dots and realize that there must be some good food to go along with all that big hair. Usually the place that’s cited is the good but overrated Denino’s and recently the New Yorker noted a place called Salvatore’s of Soho that within walking distance of my humble abode. The Mrs. and I tried it, shrugged and decided that at best SOS was the third-best pizza immediately accessible to us behind our regular delivery joint and a bar that, quite frankly, has the best American-style thin crust pizza in New York City. It’s an unassuming little bar with no sign in front, they don’t deliver and there’s always a huge crowd. It is the best kind of neighborhood joint. Notice I didn't include a link or a name. Sorry, the place is crowded enough already.
“Wow, the ferry is free! That means you get to work for free?” – Only if I walk several miles from my house and several more from lower to midtown Manhattan.
“There’s a subway on Staten Island, who knew?” – Well, apparently the MTA didn’t know until sometime in the 1990’s when Staten Islands lone train line (that never actually runs in a below-ground tunnel except when entering the ferry terminal) suddenly appeared on the subway map. It was truly a proud moment for all even if Staten Island was left off of the New York Times “How to Get around during the Transit Strike” map a few years ago when even northern New Jersey was included. Of course, Staten Islanders don’t need the Times to tell them how to figure stuff out like say, Manhattanites do so we got around fine and the Times got to dream its dream of a four-borough city.
Anybody from Staten Island reading this feel free to throw in any other clichés that you recall. Even if you happen to be “The Situation”.
This reminded me of those rare occasions when the NY Times or some other mainstream media outlet actually pays attention to the place I have called home my entire life: Staten Island. Pretty much every article includes one or more of the following.
“Hey, there are still rural areas out here, and yet it’s still (technically) New York City!” – Yes folks, people are amazed that if you travel to the southern end of Staten Island where you can see central New Jersey from virtually any elevated piece of real estate you find homes with huge yards and even (gasp) a horse stable. New Yorkers are pretty much convinced that the only oasis of green in the whole city is Central Park. Not true. But don’t tell anyone because then they’ll want to come and develop it. There is also the Greenbelt and a huge scout camp which is now in the news as it is in danger of closing.
"Did you know that there are Sri Lankans on Staten Island? Lots of em!” – The general stereotype of the Island dweller is that of those fine young people that starred in “Jersey Shore” (and in fact three, count ‘em three were actually from SI). The fact that there are immigrant communities with burgeoning cultural and food scenes on our humble rock often comes as a total shock to outsiders. Less so now since Tony Bourdain gave a Sri Lankan place a thumbs up on his Travel Channel show.
“Hey, there’s good pizza on Staten Island!” - Even though the dominant image of the Staten Islander to most is of an Italian American, people don’t connect the dots and realize that there must be some good food to go along with all that big hair. Usually the place that’s cited is the good but overrated Denino’s and recently the New Yorker noted a place called Salvatore’s of Soho that within walking distance of my humble abode. The Mrs. and I tried it, shrugged and decided that at best SOS was the third-best pizza immediately accessible to us behind our regular delivery joint and a bar that, quite frankly, has the best American-style thin crust pizza in New York City. It’s an unassuming little bar with no sign in front, they don’t deliver and there’s always a huge crowd. It is the best kind of neighborhood joint. Notice I didn't include a link or a name. Sorry, the place is crowded enough already.
“Wow, the ferry is free! That means you get to work for free?” – Only if I walk several miles from my house and several more from lower to midtown Manhattan.
“There’s a subway on Staten Island, who knew?” – Well, apparently the MTA didn’t know until sometime in the 1990’s when Staten Islands lone train line (that never actually runs in a below-ground tunnel except when entering the ferry terminal) suddenly appeared on the subway map. It was truly a proud moment for all even if Staten Island was left off of the New York Times “How to Get around during the Transit Strike” map a few years ago when even northern New Jersey was included. Of course, Staten Islanders don’t need the Times to tell them how to figure stuff out like say, Manhattanites do so we got around fine and the Times got to dream its dream of a four-borough city.
Anybody from Staten Island reading this feel free to throw in any other clichés that you recall. Even if you happen to be “The Situation”.
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