Staten Island

Staten Island, NYC’s least populated and most geographically isolated borough. Staten Island holds powerful stories of struggle and resistance. Long known for its conservative politics and heavy police presence, Staten Island is also home to working-class Black, immigrant, and communities of color who continue to organize against injustice and build systems of care.

From the fight for justice for Eric Garner after his 2014 murder by the NYPD, to organizing for better transit, housing, and workers’ rights, Staten Island residents have long pushed back against state violence and systemic neglect. The borough is home to growing Liberian, Mexican, and Sri Lankan communities, alongside longtime Black, Italian, and Irish working-class residents, and more recent arrivals from across the globe.

Amid ongoing gentrification, environmental racism, and displacement, grassroots groups in Staten Island are creating spaces for youth power, immigrant justice, police accountability, and mutual aid. Staten Island shows that even in the shadow of repression, communities can come together to imagine and build something different: a borough rooted in care, not control.