Then & Now: West Brighton, where generations like to stay

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- West Brighton: It's where everybody knows your name.

People grow up here -- then stay to raise their own families here. At any moment, there are generations having dinner in the local Jody's Club Forest or any of the other nearby restaurants.

There are tree-lined streets with the convenience of walking to everything you need. Groceries, Italian specialty shops, restaurants, drug stores, a hospital, coffee shops, music lessons and everything in between.

It is a diverse population with schools, churches, a hospital, the Staten Island Zoo and YMCA nearby. The main bus line that runs along Forest Avenue leads directly to the Staten Island Ferry which is your link to Manhattan.

According to Wikipedia, the North Shore community of Staten Island was first settled by the Dutch in the 1600s, who were then followed by English settlers. As immigrants poured into New York and Staten Island along came the Irish then the Italians. It is now a diverse community with various ethnic groups who all support their home town of West Brighton.

Take a before-and-after look at West Brighton via the gallery above. Then check out some of the reasons with love this neighborhood today below:

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