We welcome back Mark, our New York resident writer.  ‘When most people think of New York City,  this is what they think of. (Come on now, admit it, you did too!)

But there are so many other sides of New York City that most people never give a thought to. Naturally people live here, but unless you live on Manhattan island, there is a good chance you don’t live in a building that is dozens of stories high. In fact, most people live in homes like you might see anywhere else in the country.

 

Then there is Staten Island. (For those who don’t know – New York City is made up of five boroughs … Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Staten Island. All but The Bronx are islands.) This is where I live.

 

Staten Island is very different from the other 4 boroughs. In fact, when I first moved here in 1990 there was a farm just down the road from me. Staten Island is very diverse, like the rest of the city, but is much more rural and country-like than most people would even imagine.

One of the signs of this occurs the first weekend in September every year. This is the Labor Day weekend – the unofficial end of summer. (Labor Day is the first Monday in September.)

 

This is the weekend of the Richmond County Fair. When you think of a county fair you think of a rural community, not one of the biggest cities in the world, but that is exactly what you have here.

It is a place where our community gets to come together once a year and show off. You have the traditional contests that visitors can compete in …

 

you have the agricultural judging …

 

 

you have animals …

 

 

you have entertainment …

 

 

you have carnival rides and games …

 

 

and of course you have food!

 

 

 

So next time you think about NYC … perhaps you ought to think of it in a different light?’

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Mark’s next report will share the beauty of Fall.