Staten Island

The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge that connects the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City at the... Narrows, the reach connecting the relatively protected upper bay with the larger lower bay. The bridge is named for both the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, the first known European navigator in the service of the French crown to enter New York Harbor and the Hudson River, and for the body of water it spans: the Narrows. It has a center span of 4,260 feet and was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its completion in 1964, until it was surpassed by the Humber Bridge in the United Kingdom in 1981. It now has the eighth longest center span in the world, and its massive towers can be seen throughout a good part of the New York metropolitan area, including from spots in all five boroughs of New York City. The bridge is also easily seen from points in New Jersey including a great viewpoint from the Laurence Harbor section of Old Bridge Township. The bridge furnishes a critical link in the local and regional highway system. Since 1976, it has been the starting point of the New York City Marathon.
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The Staten Island Zoo is a small 8-acre urban zoo in northern Staten Island in New York City in the United States. The zoo is open year round except... on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. It has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums since 1988. Zoo construction commenced in 1933 as part of the Federal Government’s works program on an 8-acre estate willed to New York City. The land, now called Barrett Park was willed to the City of New York by Mrs. Edward E. Hardin and reconstructed into a zoological park during the Great Depression by the Work Projects Administration. The zoo opened to the public in 1936 and was considered the first U.S. "educational zoo." Initially the focus of the zoo was reptiles, in particular including the collection of snakes housed in the zoo's Serpentarium. Although the focus of the zoo has broadened, the zoo's collection of rattlesnakes is still regarded as among the largest and most complete in North America. The current collection comprises over 438 animals of over 206 different species. Among the zoo's current exhibits is the African Savannah at Twilight.
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The Voorlezer's House is a historic clapboard frame house in Historic Richmond Town in Staten Island, New York. It was acquired by the museum in 1939... and then restored to its original period of 1696-1701. It was first opened to the public on April 14, 1942 and then again after its second restoration on June 27, 1985. It is the oldest known schoolhouse in America, although it became a private residence for more than a century, and it is now owned and operated by the Staten Island Historical Society. It was built before 1696, and the date of the patent on which it is located is 1680. "Voorlezer" is a Dutch word that can be translated as "Fore-reader". A voorlezer is an assistant to a pastor who, in the absence of a pastor, may hold religious services and read scripture, as well as run a school. Though well-maintained for many years, by 1936 it had fallen into disrepair and was threatened with demolition. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and was added to National Register of Historic Places when that registry was created in 1966. The roof has an unequal pitch because the front of the house is 2 feet higher than the rear.
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The Stephens-Black House is a 19th century house featured in Historic Richmond Town on Staten Island, New York City. The deed to the Stephens-Black... House suggests that its construction began shortly after 2 February 1837. It is located on a 25 by 100 foot plot at the corners of Center Street and Court Place. It was built in a modified Greek Revival style which is most apparent in the eyebrow windows located on the third level of the home. The main floor of the original structure included a side hall entry with two adjoining formal parlors. The second floor originally housed three large bedrooms. The third parlor was added on to the western side of the structure sometime after 1840. Two more bedrooms were the added above the third parlor. The basement of the structure houses both a functioning 1830's kitchen and what was once the home's dining room. The adjoining General Store was built as a series of additions between 1840 and 1870. Stephen Dover Stephens, born in 1808, was the original owner. He owned the home and operated the store between 1837 and 1870. He was married to Elizabeth Johnson in 1829 at Saint Andrew's Church, which is also located in Richmondtown.
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The Alice Austen House, also known as Clear Comfort, is located at 2 Hylan Boulevard in the Rosebank section of Staten Island, New York City, New... York. It was home of Alice Austen, a photographer, for most of her lifetime, and is now a museum and a member of the Historic House Trust. The house is administered by the "Friends of Alice Austen", a volunteer group. It was originally built between 1690 and 1750 as a one room Dutch Colonial House on the shore of New York harbor, near the Narrows. It was remodeled and expanded several times in the 1800s, most notably after John Haggerty Austen, Alice's grandfather, purchased, renamed, and remodeled it in 1844. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, became a New York City Landmark in 1971. It was purchased by New York City in 1975 and opened to the public. In 1993 it became a National Historic Landmark, and in 2002, it became a Historic Artist Home and Studio.
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Alyssa Jayne Milano is an American actress and former singer, known for her childhood role as Samantha Micelli in the sitcom Who's the Boss? and an... eight-year stint as Phoebe Halliwell on the series Charmed. She was also a series regular on the original Melrose Place portraying the role of Jennifer Mancini. Milano has a female sports apparel line, Touch. Alyssa Milano is the daughter of Lin, a fashion designer and talent manager, and Thomas M. Milano, a film music editor. Milano was born in Brooklyn and grew up on Staten Island. She has a younger brother, Cory , who is also an actor. In a 2003 interview, Milano recalled having had a good childhood, having grown up in a "loving, true family." Milano is a cousin to actors Eric Lloyd and Emily Ann Lloyd. Milano began her career at age eight after winning a role in an open audition for a national tour of Annie. She was one of the four picked out of an audition with over 1,500 girls. She appeared in television commercials and off-Broadway productions.
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Richard Bartlett "Ricky" Schroder, Jr. is an American actor and film director. He debuted in the 1979 hit film The Champ, going on to become a child... star on the sitcom Silver Spoons. He has continued acting as an adult, notably on the western Lonesome Dove and the television crime drama NYPD Blue. Schroder was born in Brooklyn, New York, raised in Staten Island, the son of Diane, a telephone company employee, and Richard Bartlett Schroder, Sr., a telephone company district manager. He has a sister, Dawn. His great, great, grandmother came from Oslo, Norway and his paternal grandparents from Hamburg, Germany, which makes him both of Norwegian and of German descent. Schroder debuted in the 1979 remake of the movie The Champ, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best New Male Star of the Year in a Motion Picture at the age of nine for his role as T.J. Flynn in the movie. In the following year, he made a Walt Disney feature film called The Last Flight of Noah's Ark with Elliott Gould. The film bombed at the box office. He also starred as the title character in the film Little Lord Fauntleroy alongside Alec Guinness in 1980.
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Edward Cuthbert Platt was an American actor best known for his portrayal of "The Chief" in the 1965-70 NBC/CBS television series Get Smart. With his... deep voice and mature countenance, he played an eclectic mix of characters over the span of his career. Platt was born in Staten Island, New York and studied at the Juilliard School of Music. A powerful bass-baritone, he debuted on Broadway in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Allegro. He landed his first film owing to help from José Ferrer, who performed with him in the Broadway play The Shrike. Ferrer and Platt played the same parts in the film version in 1955. Also in 1955, he appeared in Rebel Without a Cause starring James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo. Platt returned to Broadway in 1958 with the musical Oh, Captain! playing a romantic role. In 1959, he played Cary Grant's attorney in North by Northwest. In 1959, Platt starred in the movie The Rebel Set, which was "riffed" by the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000. Platt also appeared in episodes of the original Perry Mason, Bonanza, Rawhide, The Outer Limits, and The Twilight Zone.
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Terry Michael Brunk is an American professional wrestler, known by his ring name Sabu. He is well known for his extreme wrestling style. Throughout... his wrestling career, Brunk has most notably competed in Extreme Championship Wrestling, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment's ECW brand. He is currently the X-LAW International Champion and is employed by Juggalo Championship Wrestling. Brunk is a three-time world heavyweight champion, having won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship twice and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once. Brunk was trained by his uncle, Ed Farhat , and was initially trained to be a technical wrestler. He began his wrestling career in 1985 in the Sheik's promotion, Big Time Wrestling, and was billed as being from Saudi Arabia under the ring name "Sabu the Elephant Boy" , as well as Terry S.R . During the 80's he would wrestle for various independent promotions in Michigan, Ohio, Canada and Hawaii. He was not billed as Terry Brunk, since it could confuse him with Terry Funk.
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Allen Jenkins was an American character actor who worked on stage, screen and in television. Jenkins was born David Allen Curtis Jenkins in Staten... Island, New York on April 9, 1900. He studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In his first stage appearance, he danced next to James Cagney in a chorus line for an off-Broadway musical called Pitter-Patter, earning five dollars a week. He also appeared in Broadway plays between 1923 and 1962, including The Front Page . His big break came when he replaced Spencer Tracy for three weeks in the Broadway play The Last Mile. Jenkins was called to Hollywood by Darryl F. Zanuck and signed first to Paramount Pictures and shortly afterward to Warner Bros. His first role in films came in 1931, when he appeared as an ex-convict in the short Straight and Narrow. He had originated the character of Frankie Wells in the Broadway production of Blessed Event and reprised the role in its film adaptation, both in 1932.
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Eric Close is an American film and television actor. His father is an orthopedic surgeon, and Close is the eldest of three brothers. His family... moved to Indiana, then to Michigan, and finally settled in San Diego when Close was seven years old. Close graduated with a B.A. in Communications at the University of Southern California in 1989, where he became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. Close was interested in acting from an early age and had some stage experience in school, but did not decide to pursue an acting career until after college. His first role was in a theater production Rat Songs in L.A., after which he was offered a part in the film American Me and Safe House directed by Elena Mannus. He had a brief stint in daytime television when he played Sawyer Walker on NBC's daytime drama Santa Barbara. He returned to the stage with Thanksgiving Cries.
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Vito Joseph LoGrasso is an American professional wrestler, of Italian origin, best known for his work in World Championship Wrestling as Big Vito... and more recently World Wrestling Entertainment and working for their "developmental territories" Ohio Valley Wrestling and Deep South Wrestling as Vito. LoGrasso started wrestling in 1990 on the independent circuit until being approached by NOW Wrestling Federation, based in Japan. He worked there for awhile and then returned to the states in 1991 and became a jobber in the WWF. He wrestled on early editions of Monday Night Raw as "Von Krus", a generic big wrestler who began with a subtly "evil foreigner" gimmick. He faced such superstars as Bret "The Hitman" Hart, The Undertaker, and many others. The WWF liked his work, but they didn't have a place in it for The Fly Italian Guy. Vito then went on to work in the USWA and WWC. After a lot of success in those promotions, Vito met up with extreme wrestler Tazz at a gym, and was able to get him hired in ECW.
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