The first time I came to New York, Manhattan razzle-dazzled me off my feet. Sure I’d read that NYC had five boroughs, but with only a weekend to play with it seemed like madness to stray too far from the bright lights of Broadway.

Second time around I got more curious. I remembered Melanie Griffiths and her shoulder pads riding the Staten Island ferry in Working Girl, and began to wonder exactly what she was going home to. Manhattanites and Brooklynites joke about ‘Islanders’ almost as much as they do about New Jersey, but I wanted to get a taste of an alternative New York, worlds away from the tourists, the hipsters and the Boston Terriers.

My journey to NYC’s grittiest borough started at Manhattan’s southern tip, where the queues for boat trips to Ellis Island curl right around the block. Instead of spending two hours standing in line, I opted to take the free ferry across to Staten Island. Running every half hour, the twenty-minute crossing affords spectacular views of the Statue of Liberty, and many tourists just snap their pictures then turn right around again.

Snug Harbour Photo: Apollonia666

Since I was feeling more adventurous I hopped on the S40 bus to Snug Harbour – an impressive botanical garden and museum complex just fifteen minutes from the port where you’ll find the city’s Children’s Museum and a world-famous Chinese Scholar’s Garden. The whole site is so chilled-out that’ll you’ll feel a million miles from the frantic bustle of Midtown.

Richmond County Bank Ballpark, home to the Staten Island Yankees Photo: Wallyg

If you have more time, try taking the S74 to Historic Richmond Town, where you can see kitschy historical re-enactments or go hiking in the island’s lush, wooded Greenbelt. Your bus ride will take you past factories, strip-malls and sprawling suburban houses. It may not be pretty, but this is what New York is like for thousands of ordinary working Joes, and it has its own seedy appeal. You can see why Francis Ford Coppola’s decided to shoot scenes from the Godfather on the island.

Back on the iconic orange ferry you’ll find that nothing makes you appreciate Manhattan’s sparkle quite like a flirtation with her rough-and-ready neighbour.