West Shore, Staten Island

The term West Shore refers to the section of New York City's borough of Staten Island that borders the Arthur Kill, between the Staten Island Expressway and the Fresh Kills. The Arthur Kill shoreline north of the expressway — most commonly called Port Ivory — is considered part of the North Shore, while the land along the Arthur Kill south of Fresh Kills is generally included within the South Shore.

While only one residential neighborhood — Travis — can actually be found on the West Shore, other place names are used to identify locations to the north of Travis, chief among them Bloomfield and Chelsea.

The West Shore Expressway, which connects the Staten Island Expressway with the Richmond Parkway at the Staten Island terminus of the Outerbridge Crossing, is the area's principal north-south thoroughfare, while the western end of Victory Boulevard, in Travis, is its main east-west road.

Through the late 20th Century, land use in the West Shore was dominated by industrial activities (Travis was originally named "Linoleumville" as a consequence of a linoleum factory having once been built there), most notably oil refining and construction; in the latter example, much property in the region is devoted to the storage of heavy equipment, such as cement mixers. In addition, a few horse stables and riding academies exist in the area, which is the least densely populated section of Staten Island. Many species of migratory birds can be found there, and on nearby Prall's Island.

In the 1990s, a string of large office complexes were built along South Avenue, which begins in Mariners Harbor on the North Shore, and ends in Travis; other businesses arrived later, including a Hilton hotel in 2003. A large Con Edison electrical plant stands at the site of the former linoleum factory in Travis, which is also the home of the Teleport, an industrial park which houses mostly companies engaged in the communications industry, including providers of cellular telephone and Internet services.

The West Shore's vast expanses of unused land has made it the focus of many ambitious and controversial development proposals at the start of the 21st Century. The most prominent of these involves the possible building of a NASCAR racetrack there — a plan that has engendered spirited debate in Staten Island political circles.