Heartland Village, Staten Island facts for kids
Heartland Village is a lively neighborhood located near the center of Staten Island. Staten Island is one of the five boroughs that make up New York City, USA. The name "Heartland Village" often refers to the housing development itself and the areas right around it.
This community is part of the larger New Springville neighborhood. Heartland Village got its start as a housing development built in the late 1960s. It covers a square-shaped area with important roads like Richmond Avenue and Forest Hill Road as its borders. The popular Staten Island Mall is also very close by.
Because it's so near the Staten Island Mall and many other shops, Heartland Village has become a very popular place to live. It's now the second biggest center for shopping and business on the island, right after St. George.
How Heartland Village Grew
Before Heartland Village was built, the New Springville area was mostly quiet and filled with woods. A big change happened when the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964. This bridge made it much easier to get to Staten Island, which led to many new homes and communities being built.
Heartland Village was one of the largest new communities to be developed. Construction began in the late 1960s and continued into the early 1980s. Many homes here are "two-family" houses. This means they have a main living area with about six or seven rooms and three bedrooms. These are considered medium-sized homes. Today, these homes are very popular, especially as many newer buildings are much larger or are condominiums.
Schools in the Community
As more and more families moved into Heartland Village, there was a clear need for new schools. To meet this need, two important schools opened in 1976. These were P.S. 69, known as the Daniel D. Tompkins School, which is an elementary school. The other was I.S. 72, the Rocco Laurie Intermediate School, for middle school students.
Getting Around Heartland Village
Heartland Village is well-connected by different bus routes. You can catch local buses like the S44, S94, S59, S89 along Richmond Avenue. Express buses, such as the SIM4, SIM4X, SIM8, SIM8X, also travel on Richmond Avenue, offering faster trips to other parts of the city.
Other local buses, like the S61, S91, and the SIM31 express bus, run along Travis Avenue and Merry Mount Street. These buses make it easy for residents to travel within the neighborhood and to other areas of Staten Island and beyond.