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Housing
- Information and Suggestion
The College of Staten Island (CSI) is not a
"residential" institution. There are
no dormitories or other college-provided residences
on the campus, all students live off-campus.
There are various options available to foreign
students here.
There are
rooming houses, apartments and houses available
to rent in Staten Island and a homestay with
a host family can be arranged through a private
business. The cost of this type of housing varies,
depending upon whether it is furnished or unfurnished,
whether utilities are included and what amenities
may be available (such as air conditioning,
swimming pool, meals with the host family, etc).
The following are only several options on how
and where to obtain housing while attending
CSI. Please continue to search for other possibilities.
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However,
housing is readily available in the borough
of Staten Island at prices that are, by New
York standards, relatively reasonable. Most
housing arrangements for those attending The
English Language Institute (ELI) are conducted
through independent agents. They will arrange
for individual students to reside in private
homes of American families on Staten Island.
Each homestay family contracts to provide a
private room and two meals per day for the student.
These services and the fee are all arranged
through the agency and are NOT the responsibility
of The College or The English Language Institute.
The
Lease
A
lease is a written agreement between a tenant
and the landlord. It describes the rights and
responsibilities of each. It is a legally-binding
document which makes the tenant responsible
for the minimal care of the rented property
for a stated amount of monthly rent. It also
specifies the landlord's responsibilities for
maintaining and repairing the housing unit.
Most leases in Staten Island are for 12 months.
Be sure that you know and understand the general
provisions of the lease.
Security
Deposit
When
you sign the lease, you generally will pay a
security deposit or a damage deposit which may
be as much as one month's rent as well as the
first month's rent. When your lease period is
over, and if you leave your housing unit clean
and undamaged, the deposit may be returned to
you. Otherwise, the landlord keeps the amount
of money necessary to repair the housing unit
to the condition it was when you first occupied
it.
If you are
required to pay for utilities in addition to
your monthly rent, ask the landlord or the other
tenants how much utilities will cost per month.
If the unit has air conditioning, the electric
bill may be high during summer months. Depending
upon the heating source, the electric and gas
bills will increase during the winter months.
Make sure that insect extermination is guaranteed
in your lease. Check the lease carefully before
signing in regard to pet deposits or restrictions;
limits on size of family or activities of children
within the building; and what alterations can
be made to the living quarters, such as number
of picture holes in the walls, whether you are
permitted to paint or repair the premises, etc.
Some
Useful Terms and Definitions
While
you are looking for a place to live, you may
encounter some puzzling abbreviations and terms.
The following is a partial list of some terms
you may see and their definitions:
A/C
- air conditioning
All appls. - all major appliances on
the premises
C/A - central air conditioning
Furn/Unfurn - Furniture provided/furniture
not provided
Gar - garage
H/W pd or H/W furn - the heat and water
are included in the price of rent
LG 1 Bdr apt. - A large one-bedroom apartment
Prkg - parking
Ref or refer - references needed from
previous landlord
Sublet - Take over the remaining rent
payments due on another person's lease
Tenant - the person renting the unit
W/D - Clothes washer and dryer on the
premises
$/mo. - rent per month
$+util - rent plus utilities
$+dep - rent plus deposit
$/OBO - or best offer
| TELEPHONE
SERVICE |
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Establishing
Telephone Service
Telephone
service options are many for Staten Island residents.
First, you will need to establish service. There
are four major companies from which to choose.
They are:
AT & T: 1-800-222-0300 or visit www.att.com
MCI/WorldCom: 1-800-444-3333 or visit www.wcom.com
Sprint: 1-800-877-7746 or visit www.sprint.com
Verizon: (718) 890-1550 or visit www.verizon.com
Instructions available in: Spanish: (718)890-2005
and Chinese: (718)890-1766.
Very basic
telephone service costs about $12.00 per month.
You are usually charged a small amount for each
local call and an additional amount for each
long distance call. There are many options available
for additional fees, so it is not uncommon for
your basic monthly fee to be around $25-$30.
It is best to compare rates before making a
decision. For a complete list of other local
telephone service providers, consult the White
Pages of the telephone directory.
Choosing
a Long Distance Company
You
may ask the telephone representative about special
plans for people who do not make many local
calls or who make many long distance calls.
There are many companies who provide long distance
service, such as the four mentioned above (AT&T,
MCI/WorldCom, Sprint and Verizon). It is wise
to research for the best company to meet your
needs.
Telephone
numbers
Telephone
numbers in the United States have seven digits.
In addition, there is a three-digit area code
which identifies the part of the country in
which the phone number is located. The area
codes for Staten Island are (718), (347) and
(917). Other important area codes for New York
City are: (212), (646), (917), and (347).
Beginning February 1, 2003, local calls will
only be completed if you dial "1"
plus the area code, plus the seven-digit number.
For long distance calls, you will need to dial
a 1, the three-digit area code, and the seven-digit
number. For more information, please call 1-800-322-3558,
24 hours a day or visit
www.verizon.com/areacodes.
Area codes that begin with (800), (855), (866),
(877) or (888) are called toll-free calls. There
is no charge for calling these numbers even
when you are using a pay phone.
There are
many ways to make long distance calls. Rates
are usually lowered for late night and weekend
calls. Direct dialing, a call made without operator
assistance, is the least expensive method. You
may call person-to-person by telling the operator
to dial the number and ask only for the person
with whom you wish to speak (however, this is
an expensive way to call). Collect calls are
also very expensive. If you need assistance
in making a call through an operator, dial "0."
Phone cards are also available for purchase
at local vendors, such as all CVS Pharmacies
(the closest to CSI is at 1933 Victory Boulevard),
Miggy's at 2241 Victory Boulevard and 7-11 Stores
(the closest being at the corner of Bradley
Avenue and Victory Boulevard).
The telephone
directory is very useful. In addition to name,
address and number of each telephone subscriber,
it contains Yellow Pages of local services and
businesses, including a list of emergency numbers,
and instructions for making various kinds of
telephone calls. It also contains maps for Staten
Island, Manhattan, surrounding airports, cultural
attractions and government offices.
OTHER
USEFUL NUMBERS
Cable
TV: Time Warner Cable: (718) 816-8686 or visit
www.sicable.com
Electric and Gas: Con Edison 1-800-752-6633
or visit www.coned.com
ECONnergy 1-800-805-8586 or visit www.econnergy.com
Gas: Keyspan Energy (718) 643-4050 or visit
www.keyspanenergy.com
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV): (718) 966-6155
or (212) 645-5550
or visit www.nysdmv.com
Sanitation Action Center: (212) 219-8090 or
visit www.nyc.gov/sanitation
(information about garbage/recycling collection)
Department of Environmental Protection (Water
Department):
(718) 595-7000 or visit www.nyc.gov/dep
United States Postal Services: (718) 816-2700
(550 Manor Rd., Staten Island), 1-800-275-8777
or visit www.usps.gov
| Local
Accommodations (Bed & Breakfast, and
Hotels) |
| Bed
& Breakfast
The
Harbor House
1 Hylan Boulevard
Staten Island, NY 10305
Phone number (718) 876-0056
E-mail: skyline@erols.com
Website address:www.bedandbreakfast.com/property/ppf/id/241091/index.aspx
The
Hartshorne
88 Henderson Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10301
Phone number (718) 273-8105
Website address:www.bedandbreakfast.com/property/ppf/id/216510/index.aspx
The
Victorian Manor Inn
396 Van Duzer Street
Staten Island, NY 10304
Phone number (718) 815-8463
Website address:www.nycbnb.com
Victoria
Villa
206 Daniel Low Terrace
Staten Island, NY 10301
Phone number (718) 390-9848
Website address:www.bedandbreakfast.com/property/ppf/id/620177/index.aspx
Staten
Island Hotels:
The Staten Island Hotel*
1415 Richmond Avenue, Staten Island, NY
10314
Phone number 1-800-532-3532
Website address:www.statenislandhotel.com
Hilton
Garden Inn Staten Island*
1100 South Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10314
Phone number (718) 477-2400
Website address:www.hiltongardeninn.com
*Special
Rate for guests visiting the College of
Staten Island, please inform the reservation
clerk that you are visiting the College.
New
Jersey Area Hotels
Sheraton
Hotel*
125 Raritan Parkway, Edison, New Jersey
08837
Phone number (732) 225-8300/1-800-325-3535
(U.S./Canada)
Website address: http://www.starwood.com/sheraton/index.html
Courtyard
Newark Airport
600 Rte. 1 & 9 South, Newark, New
Jersey 07114
Phone number (973) 643-8500
Website address:www.courtyard.com
Marriott
Newark Airport
Newark Intl. Airport, Newark, New Jersey
07114
Phone number (973) 623-0006
Website address:www.marriott.com
Sheraton
Newark Airport
128 Frontage Road, Newark New Jersey 07114
Phone number (973) 690-5500
Website address:www.starwood.com/sheraton/index.html |
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| The
College does not endorse any particular
accommodations by virtue of its inclusion
in this website. |
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