Staten Island

Staten Island, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County (comprising Staten Island and tiny adjacent islands), in New York Bay; incorporated 1898. Until 1975, it was known as the borough of Richmond. It lies southwest of Manhattan Island, with which it is linked by ferry, and west of Brooklyn, with which it is linked by the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge across The Narrows of New York Bay. To the west and north lies New Jersey, from which it is separated by the narrow Arthur Kill and Kill Van Kull and with which it is connected by the Goethals, Bayonne, and Outerbridge Crossing bridges. Although predominantly level, the island rises in the northeast to Todt Hill, the highest point in New York City.

Of the five boroughs of New York City, Staten Island has the smallest population and is also the most suburban. Its many urban centers include Saint George-Tompkinsville, a major commercial area; Port Richmond; New Dorp; Prince’s Bay; and Mariner’s Harbor, an industrial section. The island has important shipping and oil-refining activities; docks are located on the northern and northeastern shores. Manufactures include soaps, toilet articles, chemicals, and communications equipment. Located here are Wagner College (1883), the College of Staten Island (1955), and a campus of St. John's University. Snug Harbor, once a noted home for retired seamen, is also here. Of interest are the Jacques Marchais Center of Tibetan Art; a memorial to the Italian nationalist Giuseppe Garibaldi, who lived on Staten Island in the 1850s; and the Staten Island Zoo. The borough has an extensive park system, including part of Gateway National Recreation Area. It has many 17th- and 18th-century homes. Of special interest are the Conference House (1680), scene of futile peace negotiations held in 1776 during the American Revolution; and the Voorlezer’s House (1695), the nation’s oldest surviving elementary school building.

Staten Island was sighted by the explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524. It was named by the English navigator Henry Hudson in 1609 for the States-General (Staten Generaal), the Dutch legislature. Attempts to colonize the island in 1639 and 1650 were thwarted by Native Americans until a peace treaty was effected in 1660. The first permanent settlement began in 1661. The area passed to the English in 1664, and in 1683 the island was designated Richmond County in honor of Charles Lennox, the duke of Richmond, a son of Charles II. Regular ferry service between Staten Island and Manhattan began in 1712. British forces captured Staten Island early in the American Revolution and held it until 1783. The island grew slowly as a relatively isolated farming and fishing center. In the 1880s it became popular as a seaside resort. It was made a borough of New York City in 1898. The opening of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in 1964 led to considerable residential development. Land area, 153 sq km (59 sq mi); population 352,121 (1980); 443,728 (2000); 443,728 (2000).