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Arden Heights is a name increasingly applied to the western part ofAnnadale, a neighborhood located on theSouth Shore ofStaten Island,New York City, US. The name "Arden Heights" is found on most maps of New York City, includingHagstrom's.
Arden Heights is bordered by Annadale to the east,Huguenot to the south, theArthur Kill to the west, and theFresh Kills to the north.
Erastus Wiman, a noted Staten Island real estate developer, coined the name "Arden Heights" in 1886; the neighborhood's name probably refers to the hill that currently looms above the Village Greens shopping center and housing development. (The moniker does not refer to the now-shutteredFresh Kills Landfill, at the western end of Arden Avenue. The landfill did not exist until the mid-20th Century.)
Long noted for being the site of St. Michael's Home For Children, aRoman Catholicorphanage, Arden Heights underwent a serious transformation when the aforementioned Village Greens, New York City's firstplanned urban development, opened there in 1971. Ground was broken for the project by MayorJohn V. Lindsay, who in the late 1960s proudly announced that travel time from the Greens toLower Manhattan would average one hour 15 minutes – just about the same when taking a bus in 2007.
In 1982, the Saint Michael's orphanage, situated off Arthur Kill Road, closed, with some land on which it stood being sold to developers (who have since built theAspen Knolls development) and the remainder set aside for use as a church, named for the recently canonizedSt. John Neumann. The church also maintains aconvent for thePresentation Sisters on the east side of the property; in 2005 a section of this land was sold off, with new home construction to follow here too — still another sign of the continuing housing boom on Staten Island, which has gone on virtually uninterrupted since theVerrazano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964.
For census purposes, the New York City Department of City Planning classifies Arden Heights as part of a larger Neighborhood Tabulation Area called Arden Heights-Rossville SI0303. This designated neighborhood had 30,683 inhabitants based on data from the2020 United States Census. This was an increase of 767 persons (2.6%) from the 29,916 counted in2010. The neighborhood had a population density of 19.8 inhabitants per acre (14,500/sq mi; 5,600/km2).[1]
The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 73.7% (22,611)White (Non-Hispanic), 1.5% (457)Black (Non-Hispanic), 9.6% (2,934)Asian, and 1.9% (587) from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 12.9% (3,945) of the population.[1]
According to the2020 United States Census, this area has many cultural communities of over 1,000 inhabitants. This include residents who identify asPuerto Rican,German,Irish,Italian,Russian,Egyptian, andChinese. 15.3% of the residents wereforeign born.[1]
Most inhabitants are higher-aged adults: 40.7% are between 40-64 years old. 75.2% of the households had at least one family present. Out of the 10,773 households, 56.2% had a married couple (24.0% with a child under 18), 4.2% had a cohabiting couple (1.4% with a child under 18), 14.0% had a single male (1.2% with a child under 18), and 25.6% had a single female (4.1% with a child under 18). 34.3% of households had children. In this neighborhood, 18.6% of non-vacant housing units are renter-occupied.[1]
The Greens feature clustered townhomes built around looped streets – one way in, one way out. Off the main thoroughfares of Arden Avenue and Arthur Kill Road, these streets – Hampton Green, Forest Green, Dover Green, Avon Green, and Carlyle Green – provides a relatively traffic-free environment, making Village Greens a unique place to live in an otherwise overdeveloped Staten Island. (Some Greens feature detached homes, which naturally fetch a higher market price than the townhomes, which are often clustered eight apiece.) Architectural guidelines and exterior home inspections by the Village Greens Homeowners Association have helped the community maintain its appearance.
Another "Green" – namely Rolling Hill Green – was built on land intended for the Village Greens but, for reasons unknown (some conjecture that the developers ran out of cash and construction workers) were never built. These "Greens" have their own recreational facilities.
A shopping center was simultaneously developed to serve the residents of Village Greens, as well as aNew York City public elementary school; Village Greens also features a 16-acre (65,000 m2) common park, featuring expanses of green grass, trees and – most astonishingly – two Olympic-sized swimming pools; all maintained through Village Greens Homeowners Association's relatively low common charges. Today, the project stands at the center of a community bearing its own identity, separate from that of Annadale.
A large percentage of the residents of the development — and the many single-family homes that have since been built around it — areJewish andItalian, giving Arden Heights more common ground with suchMid-Island neighborhoods asWillowbrook than with Annadale and other South Shore communities. The area also has a small Asian & Hispanic population that is more similar to Mid-Island neighborhoods than other South Shore neighborhoods.
About a mile north of the "Greens" is theAspen Knolls development, located off Arthur Kill Road, next to theSt. John Neumann Church. Plans for this development began in the early 1990s and were originally meant for housing ofNavy families. However, due toBase Realignment and Closure, the housing contract was terminated in November 1994 after the closure of the Staten Island Homeport inStapleton. With the development already planned, the developer opted to market the one, two, and three bedroom homes to the public. Construction began in 1995 and was finished in early 2006. During this time period, people moved into the community as each house was finished being built. The complex includes playing fields and a community center.
Arden Heights is served by theS74 andS84 local buses along Arthur Kill Road, theS56 along Arden Avenue and Arthur Kill Road, and theS55 along Annadale Road. It is also served by express buses toManhattan, including theSIM2 andSIM23 along Arden Avenue and Arthur Kill Road, theSIM22 along Arthur Kill Road, and theSIM8 along Woodrow Road and Arthur Kill Road.[2]
Arden Heights does not have a station on theStaten Island Railway, but it can be reached at theAnnadale station via the S55 bus.[2]
Arden Heights is served by the I.S.75 intermediate school. www.IS75.org
New York Public Library operates the Huguenot Park Branch, which serves Arden Heights and other neighborhoods, at 830 Huguenot Avenue at Drumgoole Road East. The branch opened in January 1985.[3]
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