Graniteville, Staten Island

Graniteville is the name of a neighborhood in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, USA.

History
Graniteville was originally named Bennett's Corners and Fayetteville. Quarries for trap rock were operated in the area from 1841 to 1896, leading to the community's name being changed first to Granite Village, then Graniteville.

Largely rural well into the 20th century, Graniteville was the scene of a notable fire in March 1942, when an explosion at the Consolidated Fireworks Company on Richmond Avenue claimed the lives of five employees.

Bisected from east to west by the Staten Island Expressway and with New York State Route 440 forming its western boundary, Graniteville's most notable landmark is Baron Hirsch Cemetery, an 80 acre (324,000 m²) Jewish cemetery founded in the late 19th century and still in active use; in August 2001 this cemetery became the focus of a local health-related story when it was one of six locations on the island where mosquitos carrying the West Nile virus were discovered.

Residential development in the area burgeoned soon after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opened in November 1964, and today Graniteville stands at the north end of a busy commercial strip along Richmond Avenue; this strip, which extends to the vicinity of the Staten Island Mall approximately 4 miles (6 km) away, is the scene of some of the heaviest automotive traffic on Staten Island.

Education
Public school students in Graniteville are mostly zoned for P.S.60 and P.S.22, and I.S.51 (Markham Intermediate School) or I.S.72 (Rocco Laurie Intermediate School), as well as Port Richmond High School. The John W. Lavelle Preparatory Charter School opened in September 2009 and is the first charter school (a school that is publicly funded, but privately run) on Staten Island. Also,a new school called P.S./I.S. 861 opened in September. This is Staten Island's first K to 8 school. Residents don't have a library in the community and use the Port Richmond and Todt Hill-Westerleigh branches of the New York Public Library. A branch in nearby Mariners Harbor is expected to open in 2011.

Transportation
Graniteville is served by the S48/S98 on Forest Avenue, the S46/S96 on South Avenue, the S44/S94, and S59/S89 on Richmond Avenue. It is also served by express buses to Manhattan (the X30 on Forest Avenue/South Avenues, the X12/X42 on Forest Avenue/Richmond Avenues, the X10 on Richmond Avenue, and the X17 on Richmond Avenue/Goethals Road North/Lamberts Lane).

Law Enforcement
The community is scheduled to get its own police stationhouse located at 974 Richmond Avenue citation needed. The stationhouse is scheduled for completion by April 2012 citation needed and is going to replace the 122nd Precinct satellite station near the Staten Island Mall in New Springville. The new precinct would be the 121st Precinct and would cover the northwestern section of Staten Island, including Mariners Harbor, Port Richmond, Bloomfield, Bulls Head, Westerleigh, and Willowbrook.