Staten Island is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located on an island of the same name on the west side of the Narrows at the entrance of New York Harbor. It is coterminous with Richmond County, the southernmost county of the State of New York.
The existence of the borough dates from the unification of New York City in 1898. Until 1975, however, the borough was officially known as the Borough of Richmond.
Despite having an estimated population of 463,314 in 2004 (as well as being the fastest growing county in New York State), it has often been termed "the forgotten borough," as it is much less well-known than its four sisters, Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. By far the least populated, most ethnically homogeneous, and most remote borough of New York City, Staten Island is sometimes the object of humor by residents of the other boroughs as being somewhat enigmatic and rustically suburban. Indeed, much of the central and southern sections of the island were once dominated by farms, primarily dairy and poultry farms, some of which were still in existence as recently as the early 1960s. Yet the borough's steady rise in population since the opening of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge has added to a sharp increase in traffic that plagues the island and are a cause of frequent road repairs and accidents.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough / county has a total area of 265.5 km2 (102.5 mi2). 151.5 km2 (58.5 mi2) of it is land and 114.0 km2 (44.0 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 42.95% water.
Staten Island is separated from Long Island by the Narrows and from mainland New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull. It is connected to New Jersey by the Bayonne Bridge, the Outerbridge Crossing, the Goethals Bridge, and to Brooklyn by the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. The Staten Island Ferry connects the island to lower Manhattan. The Staten Island Railway traverses the island from its northeastern tip to its southwestern tip.
In addition to the main island, the borough and county also include several small uninhabited islands:
The highest point on the island, the summit of Todt Hill, elevation 410 ft (125 m), is also the highest point in the five boroughs, as well as the highest point on the Atlantic Coastal Plain south of Great Blue Hill in Massachusetts and the highest point on the coast proper south of Maine's Mount Desert Island.
In the late 1960s the island was the site of important battles of open-space preservation, resulting in the largest area of parkland in New York City and an extensive Greenbelt that laces the island with woodland trails.
See: List of Staten Island neighborhoods
1900 - 67,0211910 - 85,9691920 - 116,5311930 - 158,3461940 - 174,4411950 - 191,5551960 - 221,9911970 - 295,4431980 - 352,0291990 - 378,9772000 - 443,7282004 - 463,314 (est.).
As of the 2000 census, there are 443,728 people, 156,341 households, and 114,128 families residing in the borough / county. The population density is 2,929.6/km2 (7,587.9/mi2). There are 163,993 housing units at an average density of 1,082.7/km2 (2,804.3/mi2). The racial makeup is 77.60% White, 9.67% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 5.65% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.14% from other races, and 2.65% from two or more races. 12.07% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. 71.3% of the population are Whites not of Hispanic origins.
Some main European ancestries of Staten Island, 2000:
According to an estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau, the population increased to 463,314 in 2004.
The vast majority of the island's African American and Hispanic residents live north of the Staten Island Expressway, or Interstate 278. In terms of religion, the population is largely Roman Catholic, and the Catholic Church exerts strong influence on many aspects of the island's social and cultural life.
There are 156,341 households out of which 35.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% are married couples living together, 13.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% are non-families. 23.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.78 and the average family size is 3.31.
The population is spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.6 males.
The median income for a household is $55,039, and the median income for a family is $64,333. Males have a median income of $50,081 versus $35,914 for females. The per capita income for the borough is $23,905. 10.0% of the population and 7.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 13.2% of those under the age of 18 and 9.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
The bedrock of the island is a diabase sill formed during the volcanic eruptions that created much of the bedrock of northern New Jersey, including the New Jersey Palisades, approximately 200 million years ago. As an island, Staten Island was formed in the wake of the last ice age. In the late Pleistocene between 20,000 and 14,000 years ago, the ice sheet that covered northeastern North America reached to as far south as present day New York City, to a depth of approximately the same height as the Empire State Building. At one point, during its maximum reach, the ice sheet precisely ended at the center of present day Staten Island, forming a terminal moraine on the existing diabase sill. The central moraine of the island is sometimes called the Serpentine ridge because it contains large amounts of that particular mineral.
At the retreat of the ice sheet, Staten Island and Long Island were not yet separated by the Narrows, which had not yet formed. Geologists reckoning of the course of the Hudson River have placed it alternatively through the present course of the Raritan River, south of the island, as well through present-day Flushing Bay and Jamaica Bay.
As in much of North America, human habitation appeared in the island fairly rapidly after the retreat of the ice sheet. Archaeologists have recovered tool evidence of Clovis culture activity dating from approximately 14,000 years ago. The island was probably abandoned later, possibly because of the extinction of large mammals on the island. Evidence of the first permanent Native American settlements and agriculture date from about 5,000 years ago (Jackson, 1995).
In the Sixteenth Century, the island was part of a larger area known as Lenapehoking that was inhabited by the Lenape, an Algonquian people also called the "Delaware". The band that occupied the southern part of the island was called the Raritans. To the Lenape, the island was called "Aquehonga Manacknong" and "Eghquaons" (Jackson, 1995). The island was laced with foot trails, one which followed the south side of the ridge near the course of present day Richmond Road and Amboy Road. The Lenape did not live in fixed encampments, but moved seasonally, using slash and burn agriculture. The staples of their diet included shellfish, including the oysters that are native to both Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay.
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Staten Island, NY
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