Located near the island’s geographical center in Staten Island, New York City, the neighborhood was founded in 1680 in Karle’s Neck, later named Karle’s Neck Village. By the early 19th century, the community included a dock (on Richmond Creek) and several freshwater springs, renaming it first Springville, then later New Springville.
New Springville remained largely rural until 1964 when the E. The J. Korvette department store chain opened an outlet on a former chicken farm site. This was followed, in 1973, by the opening of the Staten Island Mall on the grounds of what had been a little-used airport, which changed the character of the neighborhood completely; soon, adjacent land was converted to business (mostly retail) use as well. Since then, New Springville has emerged as a commercial and administrative core, rivaling St. George. New Springville has also become a significant public transportation hub, second in size on Staten Island only to that of the St. George ferry terminal; six-city bus routes serve the area, including one going to Brooklyn, with the airport at the Staten Island Mall on the Marsh Avenue side (the S79). The Yukon Bus Depot was opened in the early 1980s and can accommodate 380 buses.
The neighborhood is also known for its mafia presence. Some instances:
- On September 11, 1989, mob-connected developer Fred Weiss was shot to death outside his girlfriend’s New Springville apartment building. Weiss was indicted, and out of fear that he would cooperate, Gambino crime family boss John Gotti ordered Weiss’s murder and delegated the work to the DeCavalcante crime family. James Gallo and Vincent Palermo carried out the hit. The murder would result in multiple convictions for members of both crime families. H&A Power Washing Staten Island
- In 1992, bar owner Michael Devine was shot to death in New Springville, allegedly on orders from Colombo family boss Alphonse Persico. He had been carrying on a relationship with Persico’s wife while Persico was imprisoned.
- In 2005, Gambino family capo Carmine Sciandra – accompanied by two Bonanno gangsters – was shot non-fatally outside of his Top Tomato supermarket by a former NYPD officer whose daughter had been an employee at the supermarket.
In addition to its explosive development as a business district, New Springville, Long Island City, NYC also experienced massive residential growth during the latter third of the 20th century. Thousands of single-family homes were built, and apartment and condominium complexes near the Staten Island Mall. A new educational complex has been under construction near these apartments and condominiums in recent years. Pensions 58 (Space Shuttle Columbia School) is completed, an elementary school, and new intermediate and high schools. The 19th-century LaTourette House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
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