Staten Island Sees Flood Of Hipsters

"Even as New York's hip young things invade and colonize neighborhoods near, far and out of state, Staten Island has stayed stubbornly uncool. It remains the forgotten borough; even the success of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan did not remove the island's seemingly impenetrable veneer of hiplessness."

"But slowly that is changing. Within the past few years, a small but growing number of hip young things have begun staring in the face of the island's lack of coolness and embracing it, to the delight of local boosters. A report released in the spring by the Center for an Urban Future, a public policy group, recommended denser development near the ferry to attract more young professionals and artists. But a good many are already there."

"Creative types who move to Staten Island typically end up on the North Shore, home to the neighborhoods of St. George, Tompkinsville and Stapleton, and the place where much of the island's small but vibrant underground indie scene thrives."

"Compared with other areas of Staten Island, the neighborhoods there are poorer, older and more diverse, home to graceful Victorian houses, thriving Sri Lankan and Mexican populations, much of the island's public housing and its greatest incidence of crime, though as is true citywide, the crime rate is a fraction of what it was in previous years."