 | |
| Owner | City of New York |
|---|---|
| Maintained by | NYCDOT |
| Length | 0.71 mi (1.14 km) [1] |
| Location | Staten Island, New York |
| Coordinates | 40°35′57.04″N74°3′49.89″W / 40.5991778°N 74.0638583°W |
| South end | Father Capodanno Boulevard in Arrochar |
| Major junctions |  I-278 in Concord |
| North end | Tompkins Avenue in Shore Acres |
Lily Pond Avenue is a relatively short primary artery in the South Beach, Arrochar, Concord, and Shore Acres neighborhoods in the New York City borough of Staten Island. [2]
Lily Pond Avenue is the middle leg of Staten Island's coastal eastern corridor, possessing the same route as School Road and Father Capodanno Boulevard. Important intersections include Tompkins Avenue, Narrows Road, Major Avenue, and McClean Avenue. Lily Pond Avenue passes underneath the Staten Island Expressway at the foot of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. [2] Landmarks include the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge Memorial. [3] [4]
The Lily Pond toll plaza reconstruction project was notable for going far over the timeline for its completion in 2008. The project was started in 2006, but had taken longer than originally planned. States Senator Diane Savino and Member of the Assembly Michael Cusick criticized the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the construction delays. [5] The project was finally expected to be completed in 2014. [6] There were concerns as early as 1994 about the huge mass of concrete used in the Lily Pond Bridge, which is one of three bridges or passes on the Staten Island side of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. [7]
Since the completion of the project, the toll plaza has been demolished and replaced with an electronic toll collection gantry.
A busy thoroughfare, Lily Pond Avenue has been the scene of at least one fatal motorcycle accident in 2012, [8] [9] and a roadside memorial was set up on the side of that road. [10]
A small, 35-bed nursing home is located on Lily Pond Avenue. [11]
Because of the easy access the artery provides to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge amongst other destinations, [12] MTA Regional Bus Operations runs the following public bus routes along the avenue:
The New York City Marathon directs buses and private vehicles to Lily Pond Avenue, which is just outside the main staging area for the start of the famous foot race. [14] The street is then closed to through traffic. [15]
The City of New York has a designated bicycle lane on Lily Pond Avenue. [16]
The entire route is in the New York City borough of Staten Island.
| Location | mi [1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrochar | 0.00 | 0.00 | Father Capodanno Boulevard south | ||
| Concord | 0.38 | 0.61 |  I-278 east (Verrazano Bridge) | Separate ramps to upper and lower levels of the bridge | |
| Shore Acres | 0.51 | 0.82 |  I-278 west (Staten Island Expressway) – Goethals Bridge | Exit 15 on I-278 | |
| 0.71 | 1.14 | Tompkins Avenue / School Road | |||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
Lily Pond Avenue is mentioned in several police procedural novels: in F. P. Lione's The Crossroads, the second volume of the Midtown Blues series, [17] Lione's Skells: A Novel, the third volume of the Midtown Blues series, [18] and Jamise L. Dames's Pushing Up Daisies: A Novel, [19]
Giovanni da Verrazzano was an Italian (Florentine) explorer of North America, in the service of King Francis I of France.
The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, also referred to as the Narrows Bridge, the Verrazzano Bridge, and simply the Verrazzano, is a suspension bridge connecting the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. It spans the Narrows, a body of water linking the relatively enclosed New York Harbor with Lower New York Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. It is the only fixed crossing of the Narrows. The double-deck bridge carries 13 lanes of Interstate 278: seven on the upper level and six on the lower level. The span is named for Giovanni da Verrazzano, who in 1524 was the first European explorer to enter New York Harbor and the Hudson River.
Interstate 278 (I-278) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in New Jersey and New York in the United States. The road runs 35.62 miles (57.32 km) from US Route 1/9 (US 1/9) in Linden, New Jersey, northeast to the Bruckner Interchange in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The majority of I-278 is in New York City, where it serves as a partial beltway and passes through all five of the city's boroughs. I-278 follows several freeways, including the Union Freeway in Union County, New Jersey; the Staten Island Expressway (SIE) across Staten Island; the Gowanus Expressway in southern Brooklyn; the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway (BQE) across Northern Brooklyn and Queens; a small part of the Grand Central Parkway in Queens; and a part of the Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx. I-278 also crosses multiple bridges, including the Goethals, Verrazzano-Narrows, Kosciuszko, and Robert F. Kennedy bridges.
The Staten Island Railway (SIR) is a railroad line in the New York City borough of Staten Island. It is owned by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (SIRTOA), a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and operated by the New York City Transit Authority Department of Subways. SIR operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing local service between St. George and Tottenville, along the east side of the island. There is currently only one line on the island, and there is no direct rail link between the SIR and the New York City Subway system, but SIR riders do receive a free transfer to New York City Transit bus and subway lines, and the line is included on official New York City Subway maps. Commuters on the railway typically use the Staten Island Ferry to reach Manhattan. The line is accessible from within the Ferry Terminal, and most of its trains are timed to connect with the ferry. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 6,151,400, or about 17,900 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to the south. The section of Bay Ridge south of 86th Street is sometimes considered part of a sub-neighborhood called Fort Hamilton.
The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), doing business as MTA Bridges and Tunnels, is an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that operates seven toll bridges and two tunnels in New York City. The TBTA is the largest bridge and tunnel toll agency in the United States by traffic volume. It generated more than $2.4 billion in toll revenue from 335 million vehicles in 2023. As of 2023, its operating budget was $596 million; the budget is funded through taxes and fees.
The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. It has long been considered to be the maritime "gateway" to New York City and historically has been one of the most important entrances into the harbors of the Port of New York and New Jersey.
South Beach is a neighborhood on the East Shore of Staten Island, New York City, situated directly south of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. South Beach is bounded by New York Bay on the southeast, Seaview Avenue on the southwest, Laconia Avenue on the northwest, Reid and McClean Avenues on the north, and Lily Pond Avenue on the northeast. It is adjacent to Midland Beach to the southwest, Dongan Hills and Old Town/Concord to the northwest, and Fort Wadsworth and Rosebank to the northeast.
Richmond Avenue is a major north-south thoroughfare on Staten Island, New York. Measuring approximately 7.0 miles (11.3 km), the road runs from the South Shore community of Eltingville to the North Shore community of Graniteville.
Staten Island light rail proposals refer to two projects in the New York City borough of Staten Island. These proposals are among the several light rail projects that have been floated in New York City in recent years. Neither proposal was funded in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's 2015–2019 Capital Plan, but $4 million was allocated to a study for it.
St. George Terminal is a ferry, railway, bus, and park and ride transit center in the St. George neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City. It is located at the intersection of Richmond Terrace and Bay Street, near Staten Island Borough Hall, SIUH Community Park and Richmond County Supreme Court. St. George is a rare example of a rail-boat connection in the United States.
The S79 Select Bus Service constitutes a bus route in Staten Island and Brooklyn, New York, running primarily on Richmond Avenue, Hylan Boulevard, and Narrows Road in Staten Island, and 92nd Street, Fourth Avenue, 86th Street, and Fort Hamilton Parkway in Brooklyn. It is based at the Yukon Depot.
Father Capodanno Boulevard, formerly Seaside Boulevard, is the primary north-south artery that runs through the Arrochar, South Beach, Ocean Breeze, Midland Beach, and New Dorp Beach neighborhoods of the New York City borough of Staten Island. The boulevard runs parallel to the South Beach Boardwalk and its public park.
Since 1963, New York City has been using a system of bus lanes that are intended to give priority to buses, which contain more occupants than passenger and commercial vehicles. Most of these lanes are restricted to buses only at certain days and times, but some bus lanes are restricted 24/7. As of May 2021, there are 138.4 miles (222.7 km) of bus lanes within New York City.
The SIM1, SIM1C, SIM7,SIM10, and SIM11 bus routes constitute a public transit line in Staten Island and Manhattan, New York. The routes all operate on Richmond Avenue and Hylan Boulevard on Staten Island, but go to three separate terminals in Manhattan.
The S51 and S81 constitute bus routes in Staten Island, New York running primarily on Bay Street, Father Capodanno Boulevard, and Midland Avenue, between St. George Ferry Terminal and Grant City.
The S53 and S93 constitute a public transit line in New York City, running primarily on Clove Road and utilizing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to travel between Brooklyn and Staten Island. They are operated by the MTA Regional Bus Operations under the New York City Transit Authority brand.