FRONT Street in Clifton, Staten Island runs along Upper New York Bay and past the now nearly abandoned Bayley-Seton Hospital. Here we see it with the Staten Island Railway in the foreground. The hospital was named for Richard Bayley, the head of the former Tompkinsville Quarantine Hospital (located where the Lighthouse Museum is now) and his daughter, Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821), the founder of the order and the first canonized American-born saint (in 1975). Born into the Anglican Church, Elizabeth was a convert to Catholicism after the death of her husband William Seton. Her grandfather, Rev. Richard Charleton, was a rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Richmondtown and is buried in its churchyard.
After 2000 Bayley Seton Hospital fell on hard times after the Sisters of Charity turned over operations to the Vincentians, who faced financial troubles. Subsequently in 2009 the Salvation Army acquired the hospital, closing 8 of its 12 campus buildings; the eight stand abandoned and subject to predation by the elements, similar to Seaview Hospital and the Farm Colony in mid-island.
Much of the campus is now abandoned, though there are still some services and offices open. I was tricked by a very small “no trespassing” sign on Tompkins Avenue a couple of years ago and started firing away with the camera until I was thrown out by a security guard making rounds in a truck (I’ve told you I often get that treatment). He was gruff, but I did get him to take my card and I told him I wouldn’t use any of my photos from that day. I am a man of my word.
More from Staten Island’s east shore on this FNY page.
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8/7/23
10 comments
NYC has a sort of Reverse Midas Touch in which large parcels such as this are left grossly underused instead of being redeveloped for industrial use.
Bayley Seton Hospital’s exteriors (with a little CGI) were used as Arkham Hospital for the Criminally Insane on the TV series Gotham a few years back.
Does anyone remember the name of the day care center that was on the grounds of Bayley-Seton during late 80’s like 1987 or 1988?
Bayley-Seton served as Arkham Asylum in the “Gotham” television series, which filmed there often. Place always gave me the creeps even when it was the US Marine Hospital back in the day.
Views of the all the buildings are on Google Street View, The roads are public around the buildings so there are excellent images of this place from all sides taken in 2021. Zoom in and get 360 views.
Too bad it can’t be used as overflow from the Roosevelt Hotel…
Some of the hairbrained schemes coming out of City Hall don’t filter down to Staten Island. Sometimes being The Forgotten Borough isn’t such a bad thing.
The city of NY spends millions of dollars on
buildings for homeless women and children on the corner of Victory Blvd across from
Tompkinsville Park with no room for the kids to play safely when this huge piece of property sits empty and abandoned. Did they even attempt to work out something with the Salvation Army to perhaps work together on this project??
Before the end came Bayley Seton Hospital was known as “Barely Breathing Hospital”
I worked there and at St. Vincent’s Med. Ctr. when they were owned by Sisters of Charity. The building on the right, with the green roof, was once a Vanderbilt mansion. It must have been gorgeous in its day. I remember an old iron lung machine in the attic of that building. Even the main building had some beautiful art deco features. So sad to see the decay.