Father Capodanno Boulevard


Father Capodanno Boulevard, formerly called Seaside Boulevard, is primary north-south artery that runs through the Arrochar, South Beach, Ocean Breeze, Midland Beach, and New Dorp Beach neighborhoods of New York City, in the borough of Staten Island, New York. The boulevard runs parallel to the South Beach Boardwalk and public park.

History

Fr. Capodanno Boulevard was originally conceived by New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses as the northernmost stretches of a planned limited-access highway to be named Shore Front Drive. The road was built in 1955-1958 as Seaside Boulevard as part of an improvement to the boardwalk. The first section of the avenue opened in 1957. Opening as Seaside Boulevard, the boulevard's name was changed in 1976 to honor Vincent R. Capodanno, a local Roman Catholic chaplain who was killed in the Vietnam War in 1967.

Description

The road exists today as the primary boulevard for the communities and public parks of Staten Island's East Shore. The road currently consists of six vehicular lanes: four driving lanes, a parking lane with turning bays southbound and a bus lane northbound. Previously existing bicycle lanes were removed in 2010 "without any discernible public process". Northbound and southbound traffic is divided by a grassy center median. As island traffic and congestion has increased in recent years, Father Capodanno Boulevard has also started to be used as a "short cut" to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge by residents of the islands more inland and Southern communities.
The S51/S81 and S52 local buses use this street, as do the express routes.
The entire boulevard suffered extensive damage and flooding during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012.

Major intersections

Major intersections include: