Staten Island in New York City

16 December 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City Reading Time:  8 minutes

Conference House © Dmadeo/cc-by-sa-4.0

Conference House © Dmadeo/cc-by-sa-4.0

Staten Island is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city’s southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and from the rest of New York by New York Bay. With a population of 495,747 in the 2020 Census, Staten Island is the least populated borough but the third largest in land area at 58.5 sq mi (152 km²).   read more…

Lower New York Bay

7 December 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City Reading Time:  7 minutes

Brighton Beach © Billy Hathorn/cc-by-sa-3.0

Brighton Beach © Billy Hathorn/cc-by-sa-3.0

Lower New York Bay is a section of New York Bay south of the Narrows, the relatively narrow strait between the shores of Staten Island and Brooklyn. The southern end of the bay opens directly to the Atlantic Ocean between two spits of land, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Rockaway, Queens, on Long Island. The southern portion between Staten Island and New Jersey, at the mouth of the Raritan River, is named Raritan Bay. The Hudson Canyon, the ancient riverbed of the Hudson River which existed during the last ice age when the ocean levels were lower, extends southeast from Lower New York Bay for hundreds of miles into the Atlantic Ocean. The nearby part of the Atlantic Ocean between New Jersey and Long Island is the New York Bight.   read more…

The Narrows in New York

11 September 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City Reading Time:  5 minutes

One World Trade Center, Upper New York Bay, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and Staten Island © flickr.com - Anthony Quintano/cc-by-2.0

One World Trade Center, Upper New York Bay, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and Staten Island
© flickr.com – Anthony Quintano/cc-by-2.0

The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. It has long been considered to be the maritime “gateway” to New York City and historically has been one of the most important entrances into the harbors of the Port of New York and New Jersey.   read more…

Upper New York Bay

20 January 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City Reading Time:  7 minutes

Governors Island © Antony-22/cc-by-sa-4.0

Governors Island © Antony-22/cc-by-sa-4.0

Upper New York Bay, or Upper Bay, is the traditional heart of the Port of New York and New Jersey, and often called New York Harbor. It is enclosed by the New York City boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island and the Hudson County, New Jersey, municipalities of Jersey City and Bayonne.   read more…

Portrait: Shipowner, railway operator and philanthropist Cornelius Vanderbilt

24 January 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Portrait Reading Time:  28 minutes

Cornelius Vanderbilt, the railroad tycoon, by J. C. Buttre

Cornelius Vanderbilt, the railroad tycoon, by J. C. Buttre

Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), also known informally as “Commodore Vanderbilt”, was an American business magnate and philanthropist who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. Born poor and having only a mediocre education, Vanderbilt used perseverance, intelligence, and luck to work his way into leadership positions in the inland water trade and invest in the rapidly growing railroad industry. He is known for owning the New York Central Railroad. Cornelius Vanderbilt’s great-great-grandfather, Jan Aertson or Aertszoon (“Aert’s son”), was a Dutch farmer from the village of De Bilt in Utrecht, Netherlands, who emigrated to New York as an indentured servant in 1650. The Dutch van der (“of the”) was eventually added to Aertson’s village name to create “van der Bilt” (“of the Bilt”). This was eventually condensed to Vanderbilt. As one of the richest Americans in history and wealthiest figures overall, Vanderbilt was the patriarch of a wealthy, influential family. He provided the initial gift to found Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. According to historian H. Roger Grant:

Contemporaries, too, often hated or feared Vanderbilt or at least considered him an unmannered brute. While Vanderbilt could be a rascal, combative and cunning, he was much more a builder than a wrecker. … being honorable, shrewd, and hard-working.

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Theme Week New York City

8 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  10 minutes

Seen from Rockefeller Center © flickr.com - jerryfergusonphotograph y/cc-by-2.0

Seen from Rockefeller Center © flickr.com – jerryfergusonphotograph y/cc-by-2.0

New York is the most populous city in the United States of America and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. There are more people living and working in Greater New York than in all of the German cities with more than a million inhabitants combined. The city is referred to as New York City or The City of New York to distinguish it from the State of New York, of which it is a part. A global power city, New York exerts a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment. The home of the United Nations Headquarters, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural capital of the world.   read more…

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