The College of Staten Island Library Archives & Special Collections presents “Staten Island Politics: Conservative Bastion in a Liberal City,” a talk by Professor Richard M. Flanagan, Department of Political Science, on Wednesday, Sept. 14 in the Library (Building 1L), Room 216 at 2:30pm.

Staten Island is New York City’s smallest yet fastest growing borough, a conservative, suburban community of nearly a half a million on the fringe of the nation’s most prominent liberal, global city. “Staten Island Politics: Conservative Bastion in a Liberal City” chronicles how the “forgotten borough” has grappled with its uneasy relationship with the rest of the City of New York since the 1920s. In discussing his book, Professor Flanagan will analyze the politics behind the events that have shaped the borough, such as the opening of the Verrazano Bridge and the closure of the Fresh Kills Landfill. Lost opportunities will be discussed, including the failure to construct a rail link to the other boroughs of New York, to adequately plan for the explosive housing boom in recent decades and, some say, to create an independent City of Staten Island.

Richard M. Flanagan has been an Associate Professor of Political Science at the College of Staten Island since 1999. 

This event is CLUE certified.

For more information, call the Archives at 718.982.4128.