well, I must take issue with a few of these

"summer concerts"...remember when there used to be concerts every wed in the summer at gateway?...."it's not in the budget"...says "Jimmy" Molinaro....yet, somehow dopey, idotic, million dollar dolphin and turtle fountains ARE!....

"Applebees, Chilis, etc.".....these places are poor (esp. applebees) and over-priced. They cater only to the lemming-like, sheep mentality of Staten Idle-ders....consider these places next time:
Deninio's, Burrito Bar, Burger Chef, Olympic Diner, Basilio's, Loon Chuan, ...and one of the very Best - Shaeffer's tavern.

30 minutes to the city? yeah, if you live in the ferry terminal and work at Whitehall St.!....consider this: we're part of NYC, but-for the average Stagnant Is. commuter (by public transportation) it takes 40-90 minutes to get to midtown manhattan. a recent survey said we have the longest regular commute in the nation! YET-If you live in jersey, (another STATE) it's 5-10 minutes....sad ain't it?

BTW, jsut to show it's not all negative, two of the best things about SI:
The Sand Lane Arcade.......and Ralph's Ices!(which should be open soon!)