From The Peopling of New York City

As a class, we identified several cultural communities that we wanted to know more about. These communities represented groups of people who share a national origin, or who share a cultural identity (such as language or religion) that sometimes transcends national boundaries.

The communities we chose do not represent all of the ethnic diversity on Staten Island. Instead, they are a sampling of some of the communities -- both large and small -- that make Staten Island a vibrant and exciting place.

When looking for these communities on the map of Staten Island, we often refer to where they are located by "zip code," because this is a method used by the U.S. Census Bureau and the American Community Survey.