Travis is a residential and industrial neighborhood in west-centralStaten Island, one ofthe five boroughs ofNew York City.
It is bounded on the north by Meredith Avenue andVictory Boulevard, on the east by theWilliam T. Davis Wildlife Refuge, on the south by theFresh Kills, and on the west by theArthur Kill.[1] Some local geographers classify Travis as being part of the island'sWest Shore, while others reckon it as aMid-Island neighborhood.
Travis is one of the oldest, as well as one of the more isolated and sparsely populated locales on Staten Island. The site of an Indian village, it was known as Jersey Wharf and, during theRevolutionary period, as New Blazing Star Ferry.[2] It was a skirmish site during theBattle of Staten Island. It was the site of ferries from 1757 and was for decades part of the route betweenPhiladelphia and New York via thePort Richmond Ferry. In the early 19th century the village was named Travisville after Captain Jacob Travis. In mid-century it was named Long Neck and then Deckertown after a local family.[1]
In 1873, the American Linoleum Company acquired 300 acres in the area to build the nation's firstlinoleum factory. The inventor of Linoleum,Frederick Walton, spent two years in Travis setting up the factory.[3] Many skilled English immigrants arrived to work in the factory in its early days, and the area was namedLinoleumville. By the early 20th century, 700 workers were employed, comprising half the local population. Many of these were Polish immigrants, and Linoleumville had become a Polish enclave.[4][5] The plant closed in 1931 and residents overwhelmingly chose to rename the community Travis.[1]
In later years, Travis's isolation has been somewhat disrupted by the construction of theWest Shore Expressway and theTeleport. The area has sometimes suffered from poor air quality due to the nearbyFresh Kills Landfill and New Jersey'sChemical Coast.[1]
Travis is noted throughout Staten Island for the colorful annualIndependence Day parade,[6] held since 1911. Many members of the community's founding families are buried in Sylvan Grove Cemetery, a small triangular burial ground near the junction of Victory Boulevard and theWest Shore Expressway, which had fallen into severe disarray, mostly due tovandalism. An island-wide charitable organization, the Friends of Abandoned Cemeteries of Staten Island, was founded in 1982 in an effort to restore this and other assorted small cemeteries on the island that have been unused for decades, and in some cases, even centuries.[7] Construction is scheduled for the area next to the cemetery to be turned into "Independence Park". Work began in November 2010.[8]
Travis is also home to the Mid Island Little League, who won the1964 Little League World Series. Mid Island Little League is located at the intersection of Travis Avenue and Victory Boulevard.
The 1980s saw an expansion of commercial development along theWest Shore Expressway, including a giant UA Movie and Bowling Complex; that complex no longer houses a movie theater. The West Shore Plaza was also built in this area, with the island's onlyBurlington Coat Factory as the anchor store (before this, it was aflea market,Bradlee's Store andCaldor). Also part of this expansion was a large industrial park called theTeleport, located at the eastern edge of Travis. It houses mostly companies engaged in theInternet andtelecommunications industries. The service roads of the West Shore Expressway are also the site of retail and other businesses.
Travis is home to FDNY Squad Company 8, which also houses a spare fire engine and Brush Fire Unit 4. Also protecting Travis is one of the last volunteer fire houses in the city, and second on Staten Island,Oceanic H&L Company No. 1. Oceanic was formed in 1881, making it one of the oldestvolunteer fire houses in the country. The fire house itself was located on the other side of town and moved down Victory Boulevard by horse to where it is today.
The building of the UA movie theater complex has changed Travis dramatically over the last decade. Traffic patterns have changed along with new development of homes. Many of the older homes that sat on large plots of land are being torn down and replaced with new row homes. Even with this building boom, Travis has retained many of the characteristics that made it the last frontier on Staten Island. Still standing is the old Tennyson's Confectionery. It now is a balloon and party store, but this once held a penny candy store that was operational for almost one hundred years. It is located across from the Oceanic Hook and Ladder firehouse and was a popular hangout for the locals and firemen. Owned by "Snappy" Ed Tennyson, called that because he moved so slowly, it was handed down to his son-in-law, Robert Minto, Jr., who ran the store just about up to his death in 1986.
The western terminus ofVictory Boulevard, a major thoroughfare on Staten Island, is at Travis. Established in 1816 byDaniel D. Tompkins as the Richmond Turnpike, this road was "promoted as the fastest route from New York to Philadelphia".[9] On this road, bus service along the island's North Shore to theCollege of Staten Island andSt. George Ferry Terminal is provided by theS62 andS92 routes.[10] Aferry across theArthur Kill linked Travis withCarteret, New Jersey. It stopped running in 1929. However, a passenger ferry did remain in operation until the mid-1960s.
Travis is served by freight trains on theTravis Branch of theStaten Island Railway, which leads into theHowland Hook Container Terminal and theNorth Shore Branch.
Travis is also served by direct express bus service to and fromManhattan during rush hours. TheSIM32 runs along Victory Boulevard. TheSIM2,SIM22,SIM23,SIM24,SIM25 andSIM26 run along theWest Shore Expressway, but only the SIM2, SIM25 and SIM26 make stops in Travis along West Service Road (southbound) and East Service Road (northbound).[10]
Travis is home to P.S. 26 of theNew York City Department of Education. In early 2020 plans for a new 476-seat elementary school entered the public review process, as announced by Borough PresidentJames Oddo.[11]
As of the 2010 census, the population of Travis was 2953.[20] The demographics of Travis were roughly as follows: 71% White, 3% Black, 16.9% Hispanic, 6% Asian, 2.2% Other. This is defining Travis as everything within the boundaries of Census Tract 291.02. Although it coversBloomfield andChelsea as well, almost all of the residents live in Travis.
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