Welcome to Curbed’s first-ever Staten Island week, starting now!

Despite being one of New York’s five boroughs, Staten Island often feels like it’s a world away from the city—thanks, in large part, to geography. It is, after all, literally an island, with only a few points of entry (and only one of those, the ferry, is really workable if you don’t have a car). But that’s not the only way in which it’s a bit of an outlier: from its public transit options to its political leanings to its housing stock, the island has historically stood apart from the rest of the city.

But changes are afoot that could upend that reputation. The North Shore of the island is poised for a massive reinvention, thanks to developments like the New York Wheel and Empire Outlets, which city officials hope will boost Staten Island as a tourist draw. (The Staten Island Ferry’s ridership numbers may be up, but how many non-residents actually disembark and stay a while?)

An influx of residential developments, meanwhile, is poised to bring more people to the borough—not just those who’ve been priced out of Manhattan or Brooklyn, but Staten Islanders who’ve typically been shut out of the island’s single-family-centric housing market. Big things, it seems, are afoot in the borough.

With all that in mind, welcome to Curbed’s first-ever Staten Island week, starting now. Last spring, if you’ll recall, we did a similar week of coverage devoted to the Bronx, and the purpose here is the same: We want to shine the spotlight on a borough that’s not covered as frequently as Brooklyn, Manhattan, or Queens, but that’s deserving of more attention.

Expect deep dives into the topics that Curbed loves most—real estate and architecture—along with wide-ranging looks at the island’s infrastructure, transit, and neighborhoods. We’ll also pass the mic to longtime Staten Islanders, who’ll tell us what they love (and don’t!) about living there, and highlight some of the borough’s underrated gems along the way.

And as always, if you have something to say about Staten Island, the comments—and the tipline—are here for you. Ready? Good—let’s get this party started.