Oh, you want me to… rewrite this. Like it’s some kind of dusty historical document that needs a fresh coat of paint. Fine. But don’t expect sunshine and rainbows. This is Old Town, after all. It’s got layers. Like a cheap suit.

Old Town: A Ghost of Settlements Past

Old Town. It’s a place in New York City, specifically on Staten Island, clinging to its East Shore. Established way back in August 1661, it was the first European footprint on this island, a fragile seedling in the vastness of New Netherland. They called it "Oude Dorpe" back then, which, if you bothered to translate the Dutch, means 'old village'. Charming, isn't it? Much of what was once this 'old village' is now swallowed by what they call South Beach, though parts of Midland Beach and Dongan Hills also bear its faded mark. The original settlers? A motley crew of Dutch, Walloon – those folks from what’s now southern Belgium, bleeding into France – and French Protestants, the Huguenots. Leading this brave, or perhaps foolish, band was a chap named Pierre Billiou. Imagine them, arriving with their hopes and their fears, planting flags on land that probably just blinked at them.

The Staten Island Railway has its Old Town Powerhouse at 145 Tacoma Street, right there on North Railroad Avenue. It’s a modern structure, built in the 1980s, a replacement for an earlier one that, predictably, went up in flames. Because of course it did.

Today, Old Town is a curious patchwork. To its north, you have Grasmere, to its south, Dongan Hills. The east is claimed by South Beach, and the west by Concord. It’s a neighborhood tethered to the Staten Island Railway by the Old Town station. And if you’re relying on buses – because, let’s be honest, who isn’t – you’ve got the S78 and S79 SBS lumbering along Hylan Boulevard. Then there are the S74, S84, S76, and S86 on Richmond Road, just to keep you guessing. For those who crave the illusion of speed, there’s express service via the SIM1 and SIM5 on Hylan Boulevard, and the SIM15 on Richmond Road. It’s a transit web, designed to get you somewhere else, presumably.

Notable Places: Where History and Mundanity Collide

This area is home to the campus of the Staten Island Advance, the local daily that seems to exist in a perpetual state of geographical confusion. They like to call Old Town either Grasmere or Dongan Hills, as if the residents themselves haven’t figured out where they live. It’s a subtle, persistent erasure, like trying to scrub graffiti that’s already bled into the concrete.

Then there’s the Academy of St. Dorothy. A private Roman Catholic elementary school on Hylan Boulevard. One more brick in the wall of established order, I suppose.

Carmel Richmond Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, formerly the Carmel Richmond Nursing Home. This place on Old Town Road was founded by the sisters of the Carmelite Order in the 1970s. It’s a monument to quiet resignation, a place where lives are slowly winding down, tended to by those who have taken vows of… well, something.

And for the developmentally disabled children, there’s "A Very Special Place." Opened in the late 1990s on Quintard Street. A name that’s either deeply ironic or tragically literal. You decide.

Notable People: Echoes in the Concrete

James Oddo. An American politician, a member of the New York City Council. He used to live here, in Old Town. A former resident. Just another name etched into the local ledger, before moving on to bigger stages.