1 History

Archelogical finds of hunting tools indicate that the island was inhabited as far back as 12,000 BCE. Permanent American Indian settlements and agriculture date from around 3000 BCE (Jackson, 1995).

In the 1500's, the island was inhabited by Algonquin peoples, specifically the Raritans and other related peoples of the Lenape tribe. To the Alqonquins, the island was called "Aquehonga Manacknong" and "Eghquaons" (Jackson, 1995).

The first recorded European contact with the island was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazano who sailed through the Narrows. In 1609 Henry Hudson established Dutch trade in the area and named the island Staaten Eylandt (after the Dutch parliament, Staaten Generaal der Vereenigde Nederlanden).

Although the first Dutch settlement of the New Netherlands colony was made on Manhattan in 1620, Staten Island remained uncolonized by the Dutch for many decades. From 1639 to 1655, the Dutch made three separate attempts to establish a permanent settlment on the island, but each time the settlement was destroyed in the conflicts between the Dutch and the Indians.

In 1661, the first permanent Dutch settlement was established at Oude Dorp (Dutch for "Old Town"), just south of the Narrows near South Beach, by a small group of Dutch Walloon and Huguenot families. At the end of the Second Anglo-Dutch War in 1667, the New Netherlands colony was ceded to England in the Treaty of Breda. Staten Island became part of the new English colony of New York.

In 1670, the Indians ceded all claims to Staten Island to the English in a deed to Gov. Francis Lovelace. In 1671, in order to encourage an expansion of the Dutch settlements, the English resurveyed Oude Dorp (which became known as Old Town) and expanded the lots along the shore to the south. These lots were settled primarily by Dutch and became known as Nieuwe Dorp (meaning "New Town"), which later became anglicized as New Dorp.

In 1683, the colony of New York was divided into ten counties. As part of this process, Staten Island, as well as several minor neighboring islands, were designated as Richmond County. The name derives from the title of James, the Duke of Richmond, the brother of Charles II, who was king at the time.

In 1687- 1688, the English divided the island into four administrative divisions based on natural features, called the North, South, and West divisions, as well as the 5100 acre (21 km²) manorial estate of colonial governor Thomas Dongan in the central hills known as the "Lordship or Manner of Cassiltown." These divisions would later evolve into the four townships Northfield, Southfield, Westfield, and Castleton.

Land patents in rectangular blocks of eighty acres (320,000 m²) were granted, with the most desirable lands being along the coastline and inland waterways. By 1708, the entire island had been divided up through this fashion into 166 small farms and two large manorial estates, the Dongan estate as well as a 1600 acre (6.5 km²) parcel on the southwestern tip of the island belonging to Christopher Billop (Jackson, 1995).

In 1729, a county seat was established at the village of Richmondtown , located at the headwaters of the Fresh Kills near the center of the island.

The island played a signficant role in the American Revolution. In the summer of 1776, the British forces under William Howe evacuated Boston and prepared to attack New York City. Howe used the strategic location of Staten Island as a staging ground for the attack. Howe established his headquarters in New Dorp at the Rose and Crown tavern near the junction of present New Dorp Lane and Amboy Road. It is here that the representatives of the British government reportedly received their first notification of the Declaration of Independence.

The following month, in August 1776, the British forces crossed the Narrows to Brooklyn and routed the Americans forces under George Washington at the Battle of Long Island, resulting in the British capture of New York. Three weeks later, on September 11, 1776, the British received a delegation of Americans consisting of Benjamin Franklin, Edward Rutledge, and John Adams at the Conference House on the southwestern tip of the island (known today as Tottenville) on the former estate of Christopher Billop . The Americans refused the peace offer from the British in exchange for the withdrawal of the Declaration of Independence, however, and the conference ended without an agreement.

British forces remained on Staten Island throughout the war. Although local sentiment was predominatly Tory, the islanders found the demands of supporting the troops to be onerous. Many buildings and churches were destroyed, and the military demand for resources resulted in an extensive deforestation of the island by the end of the war. The British again used the island as a staging ground for their final evacuation of New York City on December 5, 1783. After the war, the largest Tory landowners fled to Canada and their estates were subdivided and sold.

On July 4, 1827, the end of slavery in New York state was celebrated at Swan Hotel, West Brighton. Rooms at the hotel were reserved months in advance as local abolitionists and prominent free blacks prepared for the festivities. Speeches, pageants, picnics, and fireworks marked the celebration, which lasted for two days.

In 1860, parts of Castleton and Southfield were made into a new town, Middletown. The Village of New Brighton in the town of Castleton was incorporated in 1866, and in 1872 the Village of New Brighton annexed all the remainder of the Town of Castleton and became coterminous with the town. All these towns and the villages within them were abolished in 1898 when the five-borough New York City was created and included Staten Island.

Throughout the 1980s, a movement which had as its goal the secession of Staten Island from the city steadily grew in popularity, reaching its peak during the mayoral term of David Dinkins; with Rudolph Giuliani's election as mayor in 1993 (avenging his defeat at the hands of Dinkins four years earlier), however, the movement quickly evaporated.

2 Law and government

Like the other counties which are contained within New York City, there is no county government; there is no County Court as in non-New York City counties. There is a Richmond County Supreme Court (of general jurisdiction), the Surrogate's Court and the New York City Civil Court, the last having a similar jurisdiction to New York State County Courts for disputes under $25,000, small claims and housing cases. Others state agencies such as the district attorney (public prosecutor) have offices as well as other government agencies.

3 Geography

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.

The borough of Staten Island properly comprises the following islands:

• the island of Staten Island

• The Isle of Meadow (at the mouth of Fresh Kills)
• Pralls Island (in the Arthur Kill)
• Shooters Island (in Newark Bay; part of it belongs to New Jersey)
• Swinburne Island (in Lower New York Bay)
• Hoffman Island (in Lower New York Bay)

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.

4 Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, 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. The vast majority of the island's African American and Hispanic residents live north of the Staten Island Expressway, or US Interstate 278. Staten Island, or Richmond County, is believed to be the most heavily Italian-American county in the entire United States; according to data found in the 1980 edition of the United States Atlas of Ethnic Diversity, approximately 38 per cent of the island's residents self-identify as being of Italian ancestry, a figure twice that of Westchester County, also in New York State, which ranked second. 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. Politically, Staten Island is far more conservative than the rest of New York City: In the 2004 Presidential election, for example, Republican George W. Bush received 57% of the island's votes to 42% for Democrat John Kerry; by contrast, Kerry outpolled Bush in the city's other four boroughs cumulatively by a margin of 77% to 22%.

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.

5 References

• Kenneth T. Jackson (editor); The Encyclopedia of New York City; Yale University Press; BooksEnthsiast.com (1995).
• John Waldman; Heartbeats in the Muck; BooksEnthsiast.com The Lyons Press; (2000).

6 External links

• NYC MTA Transit Bus Map of Staten Island ( pdf file)
• Timeline of Staten Island History on the New York Public Library site.

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