This is undoubtedly New York City's best free ride. The 25-minute trip across New York Harbor should give you ample opportunity to see such nearby sites as the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan's skyscrapers. The fare for the ferry, which runs every 20 to 30 minutes, actually went down from 50 cents. During rush hour, it is filled with Staten Island residents going to or from work in Manhattan. Cars and motorcycles are not allowed on the ferry.
Snug Harbor Cultural Center dedicated to art, education, music and history is located on an 83-acre site that was formerly home to thousands of retired sailors. Today it is a cultural landmark for Staten Island. There are 28 buildings; some of which have been converted into the Veterans Memorial Hall, the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, the John A. Noble collection of Maritime art, and the Staten Island Children's Museum. There is a cafeteria and gift shop on site, and the Staten Island Botanic Gardens is located here.
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Also known as the Tugboat Graveyard, Staten Island Boat Graveyard is a scrapyard started by John J. Witte in the 1930s. Numerous vessels, cargo ships, and boats from the 20th Century, some even historically significant, can be found here. This scrapyard is located in Arthur Kill and is unofficially known as the Accidental Marine Museum. Historians and those with an interest in boats in general visit here often to explore the decaying and rusting vessels.
The monumental Alice Austen House located in Staten Island. Also famously referred as Clear Comfort, it was home to ace photographer Alice Austen. In the light of the present day, it stands as a house museum that hosts school programs, photography camps and day trips. It has been designated as a National Historic Landmark and is also included in the National Register of Historic Places. Today, visitors can take a tour of the house, which also doubles as a splendid museum and an LGBTQIA historic site.
