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    West Brighton
    West Brighton
    West Brighton
    Ebook153 pages42 minutes

    West Brighton

    By Jim Harkins and Cecelia N. Brunner

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    About this ebook

    West Brighton has come a long way from its 19th-century name of "Factoryville" and has evolved into a wonderful residential community on the north shore of Staten Island. Today, West Brighton remains a place of family-owned and -operated businesses and churches that have surpassed the century mark. It retains the spirit of what Staten Island once was, while continuing to grow alongside the rapidly changing times. The most enduring characteristic about West Brighton is its people, the generations that have chosen to live and raise their families here. They have celebrated milestones and achievements, such as being elected borough president of Staten Island, which was accomplished by native West Brighton residents Anthony R. Gaeta and Ralph J. Lamberti.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateAug 25, 2014
    ISBN9781439646885
    West Brighton
    Author

    Jim Harkins

    Authors Jim Harkins and Cecelia N. Brunner are lifelong Staten Islanders. Harkins, through his company Kins Productions, has produced short and feature film projects. Brunner is proud of her West Brighton roots and is happy to tell the story of her neighborhood.

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      Book preview

      West Brighton - Jim Harkins

      Joey’s.

      INTRODUCTION

      We always knew the Images of America: West Brighton book would be very popular, and that’s not just self-confidence. We knew we were telling the story of a very supportive community. The population of Staten Island has grown considerably since the opening of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in 1964, so there are very few Staten Island neighborhoods that can claim to be old Staten Island, but West Brighton is one of them. It is a place where generations have grown up but remained rooted in the same close-knit town.

      When we began our four-and-a-half month journey to complete the first book, West Brighton was very receptive to the idea. We compiled some photographs from the Staten Island Historical Society and Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame, but most of the photographs and information in the book came from West Brighton families. When reaching out to the descendants of longtime West Brighton residents, over and over again we were told how much they appreciated the fact that their families would be celebrated and remembered, and those descendants came through with an abundance of photographs and stories. During that spring, we must have talked to 500 people. Everyone gave us five more people to call. And even if they had nothing to contribute, they were excited to see West Brighton’s story told. That level of enthusiasm kept us focused on doing the book correctly. Since Images of America: West Brighton debuted in January 2011, we have received so many kind words of congratulations on a job well done, and that made us proud.

      We believed we wrote the comprehensive history of West Brighton, but unfortunately, some stories were left out of the first book. Most were due to various circumstances. We did not have enough information to find some folks. There were some photographs that could not be located then but since have been found. Some West Brighton descendants who moved away from Staten Island discovered the book online and offered us photographs if we decided to do a sequel. All of these factors helped us to include so many things that were not in the first book.

      Some of our favorite interviews were with the spouses and descendants of Staten Island politicians who have passed away. We would like to thank Miriam Cusick, Ollie Gaeta, and Kathleen Murphy, who are proof of the old saying Behind every man, there’s a good woman. We also spent some time with Jane Stilwell, daughter of Justice Thomas Sullivan. All of these ladies gave us some wonderful stories about the successful men in their lives.

      While working on the new book, certain themes emerged in different chapters. Since the book covers 1960 to the present, we were trying to find things that were nostalgic but also current or something old that looked new. We contacted the Preservation League of Staten Island and worked with historian Barnett Shepherd to find some West Brighton homes with interesting stories, and we were able to tour some of these beautiful houses that have been restored to their former glory.

      Longevity did not just apply to structures. As we were compiling pictures for the Generations chapter, many of the photographs celebrated golden anniversaries of 50 years or more. And the happy couples are surrounded by multiple generations of family members, most of whom are also West Brighton residents.

      Images of America: West Brighton drew upon a deep well of history from the last two centuries. For this new book, we are very fortunate to have many more stories from the past 50 years without having to repeat anything from the first book. We look forward to the challenge of bringing the West Brighton story into the 21st century.

      We are confident that this new West Brighton book will be as popular as the first one, but at the same time, we believe it may exceed its success, because a modern book will appeal to current West Brighton residents who want to see their story told. That is a legacy they can pass on to their children, who will hopefully continue to live in one of the finest communities in New York City.

      One

      HISTORY

      The completion in the

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