Walking Is Transportation

THE VERTICAL LIFE, OR, HILL-WALKING ON STATEN ISLAND'S NORTH SHORE, PART 8

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AS THE RETAINING WALL CRUMBLES

View of south side of Victory Boulevard between Cebra Avenue and Jersey Street, Ward Hill

[The following appeared in WIT in January, 2008.]

I HAD PASSED THE FORLORN STRETCH OF VICTORY BOULEVARD shown in the photo above countless times and each time wondered: Where does that double stairway lead?

I speculated that the stairway might provide seldom-used access to a secondary street at the top. Or that there might be a grand old house up there, or the remains of one. But this time, unlike those other times, I didn't have to speculate. I was prepared not only to look for and find the answer, but to document it. I had a digital camera in my pocket, walking shoes on my feet, and time to spare.

So, after I took the picture above, I crossed Victory Boulevard and made my way through the tangle of weeds and refuse to the stairway. Both the concrete stairs and the cast-iron stair-rail were in surprisingly good condition. I took very firm, deliberate steps, both to establish the stability of each stair-tread and to attach myself as firmly as I could to each one.

A DUMP WITH A HARBOR VIEW

What I found when I reached the top of those stairs was a concrete sidewalk that extends, where it survives, to several other, narrower stairways to the west. This modest attempt at neighborhood-building suggests that two or more dwellings were at least planned, if not built, here.

MOLDERING ON

Other remnants--construction debris and piles of young maples--indicate that this harbor-view lot on a Ward Hill hillside has also been used as a dump. But how? Other than the stairs up from Victory Boulevard, there's no street access. Maybe somebody did somebody a favor through somebody's back yard.

Until fairly recently, given Staten Island's plentiful supply of unimproved land, developers had little reason to pursue problem parcels such as this one, with its lack of vehicular street access. Once the current slump ends (and it will; I've lived through three since 1977), and given the increasing attractiveness of the St. George area as a safe, attractive and affordable place to live, it's likely developers will be more willing to seize whatever opportunities they can find, even if it means applying for a variance and meeting other requirements.

In the end, compromises will be reached. Variances will be granted. Profits will be made. In the meantime, these Staircases To Nowhere in Particular molder on.

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View of south side of Victory Boulevard between Cebra Avenue and Jersey Street, Ward Hill

[The following appeared in WIT in January, 2008.]

I HAD PASSED THE FORLORN STRETCH OF VICTORY BOULEVARD shown in the photo above countless times and each time wondered: Where does that double stairway lead?

I speculated that the stairway might provide seldom-used access to a secondary street at the top. Or that there might be a grand old house up there, or the remains of one. But this time, unlike those other times, I didn't have to speculate. I was prepared not only to look for and find the answer, but to document it. I had a digital camera in my pocket, walking shoes on my feet, and time to spare.

So, after I took the picture above, I crossed Victory Boulevard and made my way through the tangle of weeds and refuse to the stairway. Both the concrete stairs and the cast-iron stair-rail were in surprisingly good condition. I took very firm, deliberate steps, both to establish the stability of each stair-tread and to attach myself as firmly as I could to each one.

A DUMP WITH A HARBOR VIEW

What I found when I reached the top of those stairs was a concrete sidewalk that extends, where it survives, to several other, narrower stairways to the west. This modest attempt at neighborhood-building suggests that two or more dwellings were at least planned, if not built, here.

MOLDERING ON

Other remnants--construction debris and piles of young maples--indicate that this harbor-view lot on a Ward Hill hillside has also been used as a dump. But how? Other than the stairs up from Victory Boulevard, there's no street access. Maybe somebody did somebody a favor through somebody's back yard.

Until fairly recently, given Staten Island's plentiful supply of unimproved land, developers had little reason to pursue problem parcels such as this one, with its lack of vehicular street access. Once the current slump ends (and it will; I've lived through three since 1977), and given the increasing attractiveness of the St. George area as a safe, attractive and affordable place to live, it's likely developers will be more willing to seize whatever opportunities they can find, even if it means applying for a variance and meeting other requirements.

In the end, compromises will be reached. Variances will be granted. Profits will be made. In the meantime, these Staircases To Nowhere in Particular molder on.

#         #         #

View of south side of Victory Boulevard between Cebra Avenue and Jersey Street, Ward Hill

[The following appeared in WIT in January, 2008.]

I HAD PASSED THE FORLORN STRETCH OF VICTORY BOULEVARD shown in the photo above countless times and each time wondered: Where does that double stairway lead?

I speculated that the stairway might provide seldom-used access to a secondary street at the top. Or that there might be a grand old house up there, or the remains of one. But this time, unlike those other times, I didn't have to speculate. I was prepared not only to look for and find the answer, but to document it. I had a digital camera in my pocket, walking shoes on my feet, and time to spare.

So, after I took the picture above, I crossed Victory Boulevard and made my way through the tangle of weeds and refuse to the stairway. Both the concrete stairs and the cast-iron stair-rail were in surprisingly good condition. I took very firm, deliberate steps, both to establish the stability of each stair-tread and to attach myself as firmly as I could to each one.

A DUMP WITH A HARBOR VIEW

What I found when I reached the top of those stairs was a concrete sidewalk that extends, where it survives, to several other, narrower stairways to the west. This modest attempt at neighborhood-building suggests that two or more dwellings were at least planned, if not built, here.

MOLDERING ON

Other remnants--construction debris and piles of young maples--indicate that this harbor-view lot on a Ward Hill hillside has also been used as a dump. But how? Other than the stairs up from Victory Boulevard, there's no street access. Maybe somebody did somebody a favor through somebody's back yard.

Until fairly recently, given Staten Island's plentiful supply of unimproved land, developers had little reason to pursue problem parcels such as this one, with its lack of vehicular street access. Once the current slump ends (and it will; I've lived through three since 1977), and given the increasing attractiveness of the St. George area as a safe, attractive and affordable place to live, it's likely developers will be more willing to seize whatever opportunities they can find, even if it means applying for a variance and meeting other requirements.

In the end, compromises will be reached. Variances will be granted. Profits will be made. In the meantime, these Staircases To Nowhere in Particular molder on.

#         #         #