Staten Island Advance
An American daily newspaper serving Staten Island and the borough's communities.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
The Staten Island Advance is a daily newspaper based in Staten Island, one of New York City's five boroughs. It is the only daily newspaper published on Staten Island and the principal newspaper devoted specifically to the borough's local affairs. Its reporting centers on municipal and borough politics, public safety, schools, transportation, development, courts, business, sports, cultural activity, obituaries, and community events. The publication also operates a digital news presence through SILive.com, extending the Advance brand beyond its print edition. The newspaper was established in 1886 by printer John J. Crawford and businessman James C. Kennedy under the name Richmond County Advance. It later became the Daily Advance before adopting the Staten Island Advance name. At its founding, Staten Island had several competing daily newspapers. The Advance gradually became the dominant local title, with circulation reported at approximately 4,500 in 1910 and more than 80,000 by the middle of the 1990s. Its competitive position was built around close geographic focus, local distribution, and extensive coverage of neighborhood-level concerns that were not consistently addressed by citywide newspapers. In 1922, Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr. and Hyman Lazarus acquired the newspaper. After Lazarus died in 1924, Newhouse acquired the remaining family interest, bringing the Advance into the newspaper holdings that later developed into Advance Publications. The newspaper became an important early asset in the Newhouse family's expansion across the American newspaper industry. Although the Advance retained its local editorial identity, its ownership connected it to a broader privately held media group that eventually included newspapers, magazines, publishing interests, and other media properties. The newspaper's physical operations also changed over time. Its original office was on Castleton Avenue in West Brighton. In 1960, it moved to a facility on West Fingerboard Road in the Grasmere neighborhood. For many years, the Advance was treated as the nominal headquarters of the Newhouse newspaper chain, even though the wider group did not have a formal corporate headquarters in the modern sense. In the 2020s, Advance Publications established a formal headquarters presence at One World Trade Center, while the Advance newsroom moved to the Teleport office complex in Bulls Head in 2021. The brand's role is primarily local rather than national. Its value lies in sustained reporting about Staten Island's civic institutions and communities, including the borough's relationship with New York City government. The title remains associated with Advance Publications and functions as the namesake and nominal flagship publication of the wider Advance newspaper group. Through its print newspaper and digital publishing, it serves readers who want borough-specific information, local accountability reporting, and community news.
History
The Staten Island Advance began publication in 1886 as the Richmond County Advance. It was founded by printer John J. Crawford and businessman James C. Kennedy at a time when Staten Island supported several competing daily newspapers. The title later changed its name to the Daily Advance and eventually became the Staten Island Advance. Its circulation expanded as it established a strong distribution network and built a reputation for reporting on Staten Island's neighborhoods, institutions, and local politics. By 1910, the newspaper's circulation was reported at about 4,500. During the following decades, it outlasted or surpassed competing Staten Island titles and became the borough's leading daily. Its circulation reportedly exceeded 80,000 by the mid-1990s, reflecting the strength of its local monopoly or near-monopoly position during the height of metropolitan newspaper readership. A major ownership change occurred in 1922, when Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr. and Hyman Lazarus purchased the newspaper. Lazarus had been associated with the Bayonne Times, while Newhouse was beginning the newspaper acquisitions that would form the basis of his media business. Following Lazarus's death in 1924, Newhouse purchased the Lazarus family's remaining interest in the Advance. The newspaper consequently became an early and significant holding of the Newhouse organization, later known as Advance Publications. During the 1920s, the Newhouse family supported the expansion of newsstand distribution connected with the newspaper. Loans to newsstand operator Henry Garfinkle helped increase sales at the St. George Ferry Terminal and later at high-traffic locations in Manhattan, LaGuardia Airport, Newark Airport, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal. These distribution arrangements illustrated the importance of physical circulation networks to the newspaper business before the rise of digital publishing. The Advance remained part of the Newhouse family's broader newspaper expansion through the twentieth century. The family acquired newspapers in multiple American markets during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, and later expanded into magazines and book publishing. The company's acquisition of Random House in 1980 further demonstrated the diversification of the wider group, although the Staten Island Advance itself remained a locally focused newspaper rather than a national media brand. The newspaper's facilities changed as its operations developed. Its original office was located on Castleton Avenue in West Brighton. In 1960, it moved to West Fingerboard Road in Grasmere. For many years, the Advance was identified as the nominal headquarters of the Newhouse newspaper chain, despite the absence of a formal corporate headquarters for the larger organization. In the 2020s, Advance Publications established a formal headquarters at One World Trade Center. The Advance newsroom moved to the Teleport complex in Bulls Head in 2021. In the digital era, the newspaper extended its local reporting through SILive.com. The digital platform allows the brand to publish breaking news and continuing coverage more quickly than the print edition while retaining the Advance's borough-specific editorial focus. The publication remains active as a daily news organization and continues to be associated with Advance Publications, whose name derives from the Staten Island title.
- 2021
Newsroom moves to the Teleport
[1]The Staten Island Advance newsroom moved to the Teleport complex in Bulls Head.
- 2020
Advance Publications formal headquarters era
[1]In the 2020s, Advance Publications established a formal headquarters presence at One World Trade Center, while the newspaper continued operating as a Staten Island-focused publication.
- 1990
Newhouse estate tax dispute enters public record
[1]The wider Newhouse family's estate valuation and tax dispute remained the subject of public reporting after the death of Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr.; the matter concerned the owner group rather than a reported editorial controversy at the newspaper.
- 1960
Move to Grasmere facility
[1]The newspaper moved from its original Castleton Avenue office in West Brighton to West Fingerboard Road in Grasmere.
- 1924
Newhouse takes full family interest
[1]After Lazarus's death, Newhouse acquired the Lazarus family's remaining interest in the newspaper.
- 1922
Acquisition by Newhouse and Lazarus
[1]Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr. and Hyman Lazarus purchased the Staten Island newspaper, making it an early holding in the Newhouse newspaper enterprise.
- 1910
Early circulation growth
[1]The newspaper's circulation was reported at approximately 4,500 as it grew beyond early local competitors.
- 1886
Founding as Richmond County Advance
[1]John J. Crawford and James C. Kennedy founded the newspaper in Staten Island under the name Richmond County Advance.
Products and positioning
A borough-focused daily newspaper positioned around comprehensive Staten Island reporting, community relevance, and local civic coverage.
Daily newspaper · 1886
Staten Island Advance print edition
The core print publication delivers daily reporting about Staten Island, including borough politics, local government, public safety, courts, schools, transportation, business, sports, culture, obituaries, and community events. Its editorial proposition is geographic specialization: it concentrates on a single New York City borough and provides neighborhood-level coverage that broader metropolitan newspapers generally cannot match in depth.
Digital news platform
SILive.com
SILive.com is the brand's digital publishing platform. It extends the Staten Island Advance's local-news operation to online audiences through timely coverage of breaking news, politics, public affairs, sports, neighborhoods, events, and other subjects relevant to Staten Island residents. The website complements the print edition by supporting faster publication and continuous updates.
Sources2 sources
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