Bulls Head, Staten Island

Bulls Head is a neighborhood in west-central Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of the USA's largest city, New York.

The community received its name from an 18th-century tavern located at the intersection of Victory Boulevard and Richmond Avenue (the neighborhood's central point), from which a sign bearing a bull's head was displayed. During the American Revolution, this tavern became the local headquarters of the faction loyal to the British crown, or Tories, as they were colloquially known.

As recently as the early 1960s, Bulls Head and the surrounding neighborhoods, such as Willowbrook to the east and Graniteville to the north, were dominated by farmland. Dramatic change came soon after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964, opening up the area to residential development. Soon many Jewish families, mostly from the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, settled in Bulls Head and other west mid-island neighborhoods, and by the early 21st century had formed a plurality of its population. A smaller number of Asian immigrants, most of them from the professional classes, also relocated to the region.

As of the early 21st century, most of the residents are Italian Catholics, served by Our Lady of Pity R.C. Church.

The Bulls Head area was also known as Phoenixville.

Education

Bulls head is served by the elementary school P.S.60 and the intermediate school I.S.72. Most of the residents are zoned for Port Richmond High School. The Todt Hill Library is nearby, at 2550 Victory...
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