I've looked on Ancestry for online copies of Staten Island City Directories and the pickings are pretty slim. Can anyone tell me which years Staten Island City Directories are available for and where they might be available? I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, so I'm especially interested in anything that's available online or that's available in print near me. If they're only really available in New York, then I'll put it on my to do list for some future research trip...

Also, how are Staten Island City Directories organized? By city or for the whole island? I have some idea of the neighborhoods and cities where my ancestors lived, but I'd hate to be on a wild goose chase if I could avoid it.

Thanks

Most of my research is in NY and CT but I live in Oregon so share this issue. I have been able to get many city directory lookups by making a request at whatever local library is in the town I want. I always send a small donation to the library. If you don't get other suggestions, I'd try this method. Some libraries are better than others. Some places just don't have directories, but you don't know until you ask. I often ask when the person first shows up in city directories, then for lookups until that person no longer is listed. It's a great way to find people between census years.

Many libraries have web pages with links for this specific purpose. I don't know about Staten Island.

Staten Island Libraries are part of the New York City Public Library but you would probably have the best chance of an answer at the Saint George Branch.