Arden Heights, Staten Island facts for kids

Arden Heights is a neighborhood on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City, USA. It's often seen as the western part of Annadale. You can find "Arden Heights" on most maps of New York City, like Hagstrom's.

Arden Heights is next to Annadale on the east, Huguenot to the south, the Arthur Kill to the west, and the Fresh Kills to the north.

History of Arden Heights

Erastus Wiman, a well-known real estate developer on Staten Island, came up with the name "Arden Heights" in 1886. The name likely refers to the hill that is now near the Village Greens shopping center and homes. The name does not refer to the Fresh Kills Landfill, which is now closed and located at the west end of Arden Avenue. The landfill was built much later, in the mid-20th century.

Arden Heights was once known for being the location of St. Michael's Home For Children, a Roman Catholic home for children who didn't have parents. The area changed a lot when the Village Greens development opened in 1971. This was New York City's first planned urban development, meaning it was designed from the start. Mayor John V. Lindsay helped start the project. In the late 1960s, he said that traveling from Village Greens to Lower Manhattan would take about one hour and 15 minutes. This travel time is still about the same today.

In 1982, the Saint Michael's home closed. Some of its land was sold to developers who built the Aspen Knolls neighborhood. The rest of the land was used for a church, named after Saint John Neumann, who had recently become a saint. The church also has a convent for the Presentation Sisters, a group of nuns. In 2005, another part of this land was sold for new homes. This shows the ongoing building boom on Staten Island, which has been happening since the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964.

Village Greens Community

The Village Greens community has homes built close together, often called townhomes. These homes are arranged around looped streets, with only one way in and one way out. Streets like Hampton Green, Forest Green, Dover Green, Avon Green, and Carlyle Green are off the main roads of Arden Avenue and Arthur Kill Road. This design helps keep traffic low, making Village Greens a special place to live on Staten Island. Some parts of Village Greens also have detached homes, which usually cost more than the townhomes. The Village Greens Homeowners Association has rules about how homes should look. They also check the outside of houses to help keep the community looking good.

Another "Green" area, called Rolling Hill Green, was planned for Village Greens but was never built. We don't know why, but some people think the builders ran out of money or workers. These "Greens" areas have their own places for fun and games.

A shopping center was built at the same time to serve the people living in Village Greens. A New York City public elementary school was also built there. Village Greens also has a 16-acre (65,000 m²) park with lots of green grass and trees. It even has two Olympic-sized swimming pools! All these things are taken care of by the Village Greens Homeowners Association, and the cost for residents is fairly low. Today, Village Greens is a central part of a community that feels different from Annadale.

Many people living in Village Greens and the homes around it are Jewish and Italian. This makes Arden Heights similar to Mid-Island neighborhoods like Willowbrook. It's different from some other South Shore communities. The area also has a small Asian and Hispanic population, which is also more like Mid-Island neighborhoods.

About a mile north of Village Greens is the Aspen Knolls development. It's located off Arthur Kill Road, next to the St. John Neumann Church. Plans for Aspen Knolls started in the early 1990s. It was first meant to be homes for Navy families. However, the Navy closed its base on Staten Island in Stapleton in November 1994. So, the housing plan for Navy families was stopped. Since the development was already planned, the builder decided to sell the homes to the public. Construction began in 1995 and finished in early 2006. People moved in as each house was completed. The complex includes sports fields and a community center.

Getting Around Arden Heights

Arden Heights has several bus routes. You can take the S74, S84 local buses along Arthur Kill Road. The S56 runs along Arden Avenue and Arthur Kill Road. The S55 goes along Annadale Road.

There are also express buses that go to Manhattan. These include the SIM2, SIM23 along Arden Avenue and Arthur Kill Road. The SIM22 runs along Arthur Kill Road, and the SIM8 goes along Woodrow Road and Arthur Kill Road.

Arden Heights does not have its own train station on the Staten Island Railway. However, you can get to the Annadale station by taking the S55 bus.

Education in Arden Heights

Students in Arden Heights attend I.S.75, which is an intermediate school. You can find more information at www.IS75.org.

Public Libraries

The New York Public Library operates the Huguenot Park Branch. This library serves Arden Heights and other nearby neighborhoods. It is located at 830 Huguenot Avenue at Drumgoole Road East. The branch first opened in January 1985.

Notable Residents

• Jason Marquis – He was a starting pitcher for the Washington Nationals and an All-Star. He was born in Manhasset, New York, but grew up in Arden Heights. He went to Tottenville High School, where he helped his baseball team win two New York City championships.