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142-708: Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island ) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Island , in New York City . Part of the borough of Manhattan , it is separated from Manhattan Island by the Harlem River , from Queens by the East River and Hell Gate , and from the Bronx by the Bronx Kill . A channel named Little Hell Gate separated Randalls Island to

284-472: A causeway from Randalls Island to the Bronx. Wards Island Park was delayed during the 1940s, and Manhattan State Hospital remained open past 1943, despite having been ordered to shut down. In early 1946, the city and state agreed to extend the state's lease of Wards Island to 1948, after which part of the island would become a city park; the state would retain control of the island's northwest corner. The same year,

426-498: A cleric from the respective denomination. No headstones were installed above the mass graves, as the bodies were not identifiable. The cemetery did contain individual graves, which were interred to the west of the mass graves. By 1868, there were calls to relocate the island's mass graves because people were increasingly relocating along the East River shoreline, across from Wards Island. Wards Island began receiving freshwater from

568-631: A decade between Irish immigrants and Black people for work. Rioters burned the Colored Orphan Asylum to the ground. At least 120 people were killed. Eleven Black men were lynched over five days, and the riots forced hundreds of Blacks to flee. The Black population in Manhattan fell below 10,000 by 1865. The White working class had established dominance. It was one of the worst incidents of civil unrest in American history . In 1886,

710-502: A drawbridge to what is now 114th Street on Manhattan Island, which was completed around 1807. A cotton factory was then built on the island by 1811, but it failed in part because of the economic effects of the War of 1812 . The bridge lasted until 1821, when it was destroyed in a storm. The damaged bridge pilings remained in place for several decades, and Wards Island was mostly abandoned afterward. Jonathan Randel's heirs sold Randalls Island to

852-496: A fieldhouse was built on the former Sunken Meadow Island after the filling operation was complete; the recreation area opened in 1968. The city's parks commissioner also sought to designate both Randalls and Wards Islands as an area for large gatherings. A new running track was installed in Randalls Island's Downing Stadium in 1970 and again in 1979. Residents of nearby areas frequented Randalls Island Park, and particularly

994-484: A hospital on Montresor's Island, and troops on that island became friendly with American troops in the modern-day South Bronx. The Continental Army unsuccessfully tried to retake Montresor's Island on September 23, 1776, and 14 American troops were killed or injured. Montresor's house there was burned in 1777. Montresor wrote in his diary that American soldiers had burned down his house, while the Americans maintained that

1136-503: A nursery, two chapels, doctors' residences, and barracks. A mental asylum within the Emigrant Hospital was developed on Wards Island's southwestern corner in the 1870s, following allegations that mentally ill emigrants were being mistreated. The western portion of Wards Island contained a smallpox hospital . The Commissioners of Public Charities and Correction bought additional land on Wards Island in 1852, though disputes over

1278-523: A part of the colony of New York . It became a center of slavery , with 42% of households enslaving Africans by 1730. Most were domestic slaves ; others were hired out as labor. Slavery became integrally tied to New York's economy through the labor of slaves throughout the port, and the banking and shipping industries trading with the American South . During construction in Foley Square in

1420-498: A quarry on that island and continued to maintain a farm there. Jasper Ward bought Lownds's land in 1806. His brother Bartholomew bought the remainder of Great Barn Island from John Molenaar, who in turn had acquired that land from Pinfold. The island was renamed for the Ward brothers, who unsuccessfully tried to create an agrarian community there, selling off parcels to various people. In addition, Bartholomew Ward and Philip Milledolar built

1562-458: A receiving vault nearby for a short time, in case families wanted to claim the remains. Unclaimed coffins were placed in mass graves , consisting of trenches measuring 300 by 18 by 15 feet (91.4 by 5.5 by 4.6 m). After the trenches were filled, the trenches were covered with topsoil, and trees were planted above them. There were two separate clusters of mass graves, one each for Catholics and Protestants; burials in either cluster were overseen by

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1704-519: A reputation as a despotic leader. He instituted regulations on liquor sales, attempted to assert control over the Dutch Reformed Church , and blocked other religious groups from establishing houses of worship. In 1664, unable to summon any significant resistance, Stuyvesant surrendered New Amsterdam to English troops, led by Colonel Richard Nicolls , without bloodshed. The terms of the surrender permitted Dutch residents to remain in

1846-531: A result of Sandy, and the economic losses in New York City were estimated to be roughly $ 19 billion. The disaster spawned long-term efforts towards infrastructural projects to counter climate change and rising seas, with $ 15 billion in federal funding received through 2022 towards those resiliency efforts. In March 2020, the first case of COVID-19 in the city was confirmed. With its population density and its extensive exposure to global travelers,

1988-485: A speech denying the request, which was paraphrased on the front page of the New York Daily News as "FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD." The Municipal Assistance Corporation was formed and granted oversight authority over the city's finances. While a resurgence in the financial industry greatly improved the city's economic health in the 1980s, New York's crime rate continued to increase through that decade and into

2130-492: A stadium. Moses wanted to expand the park onto Sunken Meadow and Wards Island, but Manhattan State Hospital on Wards Island was still leased by the state until 1943. The sewage plant's fourth phase was funded in 1935 after several years of delays. The following year, Moses canceled his plan to convert Wards Island into a park due to difficulties in relocating the hospital. The Triborough Bridge formally opened in July 1936, along with

2272-581: A treatment plant elsewhere. Despite Moses's efforts to take over Wards Island, additional hospital buildings were approved in 1954. Three new buildings were erected for Manhattan State Hospital. The older hospital buildings were destroyed, and a homeless shelter, rehabilitation center, and other structures were built on that site. The city government announced in 1955 that it planned to connect Randalls and Wards Islands by allowing private contractors to dump debris within Little Hell Gate for free. After

2414-483: Is a global center of finance and commerce , culture , technology , entertainment and media , academics and scientific output , the arts and fashion , and, as home to the headquarters of the United Nations , international diplomacy . With an estimated population in 2023 of 8,258,035 distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km ), the city is the most densely populated major city in

2556-467: Is an established safe haven for global investors. As of 2023 , New York City is the most expensive city in the world for expatriates and has by a wide margin the highest U.S. city residential rents; and Fifth Avenue is the most expensive shopping street in the world. New York City is home by a significant margin to the highest number of billionaires , individuals of ultra-high net worth (greater than US$ 30 million), and millionaires of any city in

2698-465: Is surrounded by Bronx Kill to the north, separating it from the Bronx ; Harlem River to the west, separating it from Manhattan Island; and the Hell Gate channel of the East River to the south and east, separating it from Queens . The island had a population of 1,648 in 2010. A small island called Mill Rock exists south of Wards Island, while further downstream is Roosevelt Island . Prior to

2840-615: Is the most populous city in the United States , located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors . The city comprises five boroughs , each coextensive with a respective county . The city is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area , the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. by both population and urban area . New York

2982-885: The American Revolutionary War ; he surveyed the New York Harbor area for the British prior to the war. Starting in early 1776, the Continental Army used Montresor's Island to quarantine American soldiers who were infected with smallpox . Following the Continental Army's defeat in the Battle of Long Island , the British took over both islands and used them as an army base. The British launched amphibious attacks on Manhattan from Montresor's Island. John Montresor's wife Frances worked at

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3124-866: The Atlantic port to the agricultural markets and commodities of the North American interior via the Hudson River and the Great Lakes . Local politics became dominated by Tammany Hall , a political machine supported by Irish and German immigrants . In 1831, New York University was founded. Several prominent American literary figures lived in New York during the 1830s and 1840s, including William Cullen Bryant , Washington Irving , Herman Melville , Rufus Wilmot Griswold , John Keese , Nathaniel Parker Willis , and Edgar Allan Poe . Members of

3266-854: The Crown , with as many as 10,000 escaped slaves crowded into the city during the British occupation, the largest such community on the continent. When the British forces evacuated New York at the close of the war in 1783, they transported thousands of freedmen for resettlement in Nova Scotia , England, and the Caribbean . The attempt at a peaceful solution to the war took place at the Conference House on Staten Island between American delegates, including Benjamin Franklin , and British general Lord Howe on September 11, 1776. Shortly after

3408-536: The Icahn Stadium track-and-field facility. The island is home to several public facilities, including a psychiatric hospital , an addiction treatment facility, shelters, a fire training academy, police station , and a wastewater treatment plant. The modern-day island is crossed by the Robert F. Kennedy and Hell Gate bridges. What is now Randalls and Wards Island was originally composed of Randalls Island to

3550-627: The Madison Square and Bryant Park graveyards, and immigrants who died at the State Emigrant Hospital were also interred there. About one-third of the bodies were immigrants, who were interred for an additional fee, under an agreement with the emigra­tion commiss­ioners. When the Wards Island potter's field was in operation, coffins were delivered to a cove on the island's southern shore. They were stored at

3692-535: The New York City Fire Department Academy occupy that area. According to archaeological digs, the area around Randalls and Wards Islands was settled by Paleo-Indians up to 12,000 years ago. The Lenape , a Native American people indigenous to New York City, called Wards Island Tekenas or Tenkenas . The exact translation of the name is not known but has been interpreted as "forest", "wild land[s]", or "uninhabited place";

3834-742: The New York City Fire Department and 71 law enforcement officers. The area was rebuilt with a new World Trade Center , the National September 11 Memorial and Museum , and other new buildings and infrastructure, including the World Trade Center Transportation Hub , the city's third-largest hub. The new One World Trade Center is the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere and the seventh-tallest building in

3976-411: The New York City water supply system in the early 1870s. By 1874, the corpses in the Wards Island potter's field were relocated to Hart Island in the Bronx. Later the same year, the emigration commissioners established an immigrants' cemetery on Wards Island after several immigrants' families complained about the way their bodies were treated on Hart Island. Two reservoirs were added to Wards Island by

4118-1000: The Northwest Passage to the Orient for the Dutch East India Company . He sailed up what the Dutch called North River (now the Hudson River), named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange . Hudson claimed the region for the Dutch East India Company. In 1614, the area between Cape Cod and Delaware Bay was claimed by the Netherlands and called Nieuw-Nederland (' New Netherland '). The first non–Native American inhabitant of what became New York City

4260-611: The Randalls Island Stadium and Randalls Island Park. A police boat repair shop on Randalls Island was completed in March 1937, and the sewage plant was finished that October. A low-level bridge between the islands opened the same year, replacing a ferry line from Manhattan to Wards Island. Plans to convert Wards Island into a park were revived in early 1938, when the state government agreed to close Manhattan State Hospital. The Works Progress Administration began developing

4402-576: The Statue of Liberty , a gift from France , was dedicated in New York Harbor. The statue welcomed 14 million immigrants as they came to the U.S. via Ellis Island by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is a symbol of the United States and American ideals of liberty and peace. In 1898, the City of New York was formed with the consolidation of Brooklyn (until then a separate city),

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4544-709: The Stonewall riots were a series of violent protests by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village . They are widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights . Wayne R. Dynes , author of the Encyclopedia of Homosexuality , wrote that drag queens were

4686-440: The removal of Hell Gate rocks in the mid-19th century, there were other large rock outcroppings in the East River near Wards Island. Before the islands were combined, Randalls Island had an area of about 240 acres (97 ha). Randalls Island had some granite outcroppings and marshland. The southern part of the island was composed of low hills, while the northern two-thirds were higher and flatter. There were two isolated ponds on

4828-554: The steamship General Slocum caught fire in the East River , killing 1,021 people. In 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire , the city's worst industrial disaster, killed 146 garment workers and spurred the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union and major improvements in factory safety standards. New York's non-White population was 36,620 in 1890. New York City

4970-464: The waterfronts since Dutch colonial times; reclamation is most prominent in Lower Manhattan, with developments such as Battery Park City in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of the natural relief in topography has been evened out, especially in Manhattan. Riprap Riprap causes morphological changes in the riverbeds they surround. One such change is the reduction of sediment settlement in

5112-506: The 1930s, when the Triborough (now Robert F. Kennedy) Bridge , two parks, and a wastewater treatment plant were developed there. The islands have since been connected with each other, and various recreational facilities and institutions have been developed on both islands in the late 20th and the 21st centuries. Most of Randalls and Wards Island is parkland with athletic fields, a driving range, greenways, playgrounds, picnic grounds, and

5254-552: The 1990s, the African Burying Ground was discovered; the cemetery included 10,000 to 20,000 graves of colonial-era Africans, some enslaved and some free. The 1735 trial and acquittal in Manhattan of John Peter Zenger , who had been accused of seditious libel after criticizing colonial governor William Cosby , helped to establish freedom of the press in North America . In 1754, Columbia University

5396-538: The 19th century, the city was transformed by both commercial and residential development relating to its status as a national and international trading center , as well as by European immigration, respectively. The city adopted the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 , which expanded the city street grid to encompass almost all of Manhattan. The 1825 completion of the Erie Canal through central New York connected

5538-467: The 20th century, there were calls to relocate the boys' reformatory from Randalls Island. Though the state passed legislation to allow the House of Refuge's relocation in 1904, the reformatory remained for three decades. In the mid-1900s, there was a proposal to convert Randalls Island into a public park, as well as a plan for a new tuberculosis hospital on that island. On Wards Island, Manhattan State Hospital

5680-401: The British had set the house aflame while retreating from what they believed was an imminent attack. Maps from late 1777 indicate that there were no remaining structures on Montresor's Island's western shore. Montresor moved back to England afterward. The New York City government confiscated the islands after the British occupation of New York ended in 1783 . The city sold Montresor's Island to

5822-700: The British occupation began, the Great Fire of New York destroyed nearly 500 buildings, about a quarter of the structures in the city, including Trinity Church . In January 1785, the assembly of the Congress of the Confederation made New York City the national capital. New York was the last capital of the U.S. under the Articles of Confederation and the first capital under the Constitution of

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5964-517: The British takeover of New Netherland. The names of Great and Little Barent Islands were changed to Great and Little Barn after the British took over. Thomas Delavall , a customs collector and an early mayor of New York City , claimed ownership of both islands in January 1667 and formally took ownership in 1668. Delavall offered the islands as a public park for the nearby town of Harlem , but nothing came of this proposal. After Delavall's death in 1682,

6106-478: The Bronx , and Staten Island . Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District, Manhattan , New York City has been called both the world's premier financial and fintech center and the most economically powerful city in the world. As of 2022 , the New York metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan economy in the world , with a gross metropolitan product of over US$ 2.16 trillion. If

6248-412: The Bronx. There was another settlement, Rechewanis , on Manhattan Island southwest of the two islands as late as 1669. At the time of European contact in the early 17th century, there were 900 Wecquaesgeek Lenape living in what is now Upper Manhattan , the Bronx , and lower Westchester County . The islands became part of the Dutch colony of New Netherland , and Dutch colonists ultimately forced

6390-807: The Children's Hospital buildings included an infant hospital, insane asylum, and the Randalls Island Hospital from west to east. Due to the poor sanitary conditions, many of the island's infants died from frequent epidemics. Within the Children's Hospital was the Asylum for Juvenile Idiots. There was also the Idiot School, created in 1867 to serve mentally disabled children. One newspaper from the 1880s called Randalls Island "an island full of idiots". The House of Refuge, for youth with criminal histories, occupied Randalls Island's southern end. It

6532-575: The County of New York (which then included parts of the Bronx), the County of Richmond, and the western portion of the County of Queens. The opening of the New York City Subway in 1904, first built as separate private systems, helped bind the new city together. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the city became a world center for industry, commerce, and communication. In 1904,

6674-603: The Dutch West India Company relinquished its monopoly over the fur trade, leading to growth in the production and trade of food, timber, tobacco, and slaves (particularly with the Dutch West Indies ). In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant began his tenure as the last Director-General of New Netherland. During his tenure, the population of New Netherland grew from 2,000 to 8,000. Stuyvesant has been credited with improving law and order; however, he earned

6816-544: The Dutch colonial Director-General Peter Minuit , as charged by the Dutch West India Company , purchased the island of Manhattan from the Canarsie , a small Lenape band, for "the value of 60 guilders " (about $ 900 in 2018). A frequently told but disproved legend claims that Manhattan was purchased for $ 24 worth of glass beads. Following the purchase, New Amsterdam grew slowly. To attract settlers,

6958-613: The Dutch instituted the patroon system in 1628, whereby wealthy Dutchmen ( patroons , or patrons) who brought 50 colonists to New Netherland would be awarded land, local political autonomy, and rights to participate in the lucrative fur trade. This program had little success. Since 1621, the Dutch West India Company had operated as a monopoly in New Netherland, on authority granted by the Dutch States General . In 1639–1640, in an effort to bolster economic growth,

7100-633: The Homeopathic Hospital and the Insane Asylum). During the 1880s, there were complaints over the mistreatment of people at Wards Island's Insane Asylum. In addition, there were concerns that the Wards Islands buildings were not fireproof, and the emigration commissioners demanded in 1885 that the charities and correction commissioners vacate one of the Wards Islands buildings. By 1887, overcrowding on Wards Island had compelled

7242-422: The Inebriate Asylum could not accept any more boarders by 1872 because it was so crowded. The New York Inebriate Asylum became the Homeopathic Hospital in September 1875. A third hospital on Wards Island, Manhattan State Hospital for the Insane, opened in 1871 or 1872 and was located near the middle of the island. The hospital's first building was a three-story Gothic stone structure west of the Inebriate Asylum. By

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7384-420: The Native Americans and epidemics brought on by contact with the Europeans caused sizeable population losses for the Lenape between 1660 and 1670. By 1700, the Lenape population had diminished to 200. New York experienced several yellow fever epidemics in the 18th century, losing ten percent of its population in 1702 alone. In the early 18th century, New York grew in importance as a trading port while as

7526-557: The Negro Point name. Parks Commissioner Henry Stern renamed Negro Point in 2001 upon learning of the name, which he thought was offensive. He changed the name to "Scylla Point" because it faced Charybdis Playground in Astoria Park , on the opposite shore of Hell Gate; these were named after the mythological monsters of Scylla and Charybdis on the Strait of Messina . There were other outcroppings around Wards Island. A 1918 guidebook listed two outcroppings known as Holmes Rock and Hogs Back, both of which were west of Scylla Point and above

7668-405: The New York metropolitan area were its own country , it would have the tenth-largest economy in the world . Despite having a 24/7 rapid transit system , New York also leads the world in urban automobile traffic congestion . The city is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by market capitalization of their listed companies: the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq . New York City

7810-578: The Revolutionary War and escaped slaves, a significant free-Black population gradually developed in Manhattan. The New York Manumission Society worked for abolition and established the African Free School to educate Black children. It was not until 1827 that slavery was completely abolished in the state . Free Blacks struggled with discrimination and interracial abolitionist activism continued. New York City's population jumped from 123,706 in 1820 (10,886 of whom were Black and of which 518 were enslaved) to 312,710 by 1840 (16,358 of whom were Black). Also in

7952-447: The Sunken Meadow recreation area, during that decade. Meanwhile, Wards Island's hospitals had been split into three units by the early 1970s, and robberies, rapes, and break-ins on the island were common. There were allegations of mismanagement at Wards Island's hospitals, and the drug-treatment facility there closed in 1971. A facility for severely mentally-disabled patients on Wards Island opened in 1974 and closed three years later. During

8094-415: The United States . As the U.S. capital, New York City hosted the inauguration of the first President, George Washington , and the first Congress , at Federal Hall on Wall Street . Congress drafted the Bill of Rights there. The Supreme Court held its first organizational sessions in New York in 1790. In 1790, for the first time, New York City surpassed Philadelphia as the nation's largest city. At

8236-436: The United States . As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York City, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. In 2021, the city was home to nearly 3.1 million residents born outside the U.S., the largest foreign-born population of any city in the world. New York City traces its origins to Fort Amsterdam and a trading post founded on Manhattan Island by Dutch colonists around 1624. The settlement

8378-416: The United States. New York City has more than double the population of Los Angeles , the nation's second-most populous city. With more than 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York City is one of the world's most populous megacities . The city and its metropolitan area are the premier gateway for legal immigration to

8520-444: The Wecquaesgeek off Manhattan by the late 17th century. Between the 1630s and the 1770s, the islands had various European residents. At the time, the islands were several miles from the boundaries of New York City, which then occupied modern-day Lower Manhattan . The islands had the same owners in the 17th century, but ownership was split during the 18th century. Wouter Van Twiller , the Director General of New Netherland, obtained

8662-421: The almshouse's governors reported that the field had no more space for inter­ments, and the shallow layer of soil made further burials infeasible. Historical studies indicate that around 21,000 people may have been buried on the island; with 120 interments in one pit, this would have required at least 130 pits. By the mid-1850s, The New York Times regarded the Randalls Island potter's field as "a disgrace to

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8804-432: The area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême (New Angoulême ). A Spanish expedition, led by the Portuguese captain Estêvão Gomes sailing for Emperor Charles V , arrived in New York Harbor in January 1525 and charted the mouth of the Hudson River , which he named Río de San Antonio ('Saint Anthony's River'). In 1609, the English explorer Henry Hudson rediscovered New York Harbor while searching for

8946-493: The beginning of the 1990s. By the mid-1990s, crime rates started to drop dramatically due to revised police strategies, improving economic opportunities, gentrification , and new residents, both American transplants and new immigrants from Asia and Latin America. New York City's population exceeded 8 million for the first time in the 2000 United States census ; further records were set in 2010 , and 2020 U.S. censuses. Important new sectors, such as Silicon Alley , emerged in

9088-534: The business elite lobbied for the establishment of Central Park , which in 1857 became the first landscaped park in an American city. The Great Irish Famine brought a large influx of Irish immigrants, of whom more than 200,000 were living in New York by 1860, representing over a quarter of the city's population. Extensive immigration from the German provinces meant that Germans comprised another 25% of New York's population by 1860. Democratic Party candidates were consistently elected to local office, increasing

9230-413: The channel had been infilled, NYC Parks would expand the two islands' parks. Moses also proposed closing Little Hell Gate and erecting a yacht marina on the former stream's site. The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority announced in 1962 that it would allow contractors to fill the eastern portion of Little Hell Gate and the northern corner of Randalls Island. Randalls and Wards Islands were conjoined by

9372-407: The charities and correction commissioners to develop another asylum on Long Island . There were proposals to turn over the state-owned Emigrant Hospital buildings on Wards Island to the city government. The Emigration Commission proposed selling the Emigrant Hospital property to the city for about $ 2 million in 1890. Despite objections to the abandonment of the Emigrant Hospital buildings, the hospital

9514-510: The city from New Jersey. The East River—a tidal strait —flows from Long Island Sound and separates the Bronx and Manhattan from Long Island. The Harlem River , another tidal strait between the East and Hudson rivers, separates most of Manhattan from the Bronx. The Bronx River , which flows through the Bronx and Westchester County , is the only entirely freshwater river in the city. The city's land has been altered substantially by human intervention, with considerable land reclamation along

9656-453: The city in 1835 for $ 50,000 (equivalent to $ 1.5 million in 2023) or $ 60,000 (equivalent to $ 1.8 million in 2023). Randel's name was misspelled in the ownership deed that was given to the city, and so the island became known as Randalls Island. The city government leased Wards Island in December 1847, initially erecting the Emigrant Refuge and Hospital there before buying Wards Island outright. The city bought half of Wards Island during

9798-439: The city rapidly replaced Wuhan , China as the global epicenter of the pandemic during the early phase, straining the city's healthcare infrastructure. Through March 2023, New York City recorded more than 80,000 deaths from COVID-19-related complications. New York City is situated in the northeastern United States , in southeastern New York State, approximately halfway between Washington, D.C. and Boston . Its location at

9940-439: The city". The Corporation of New York thus began acquiring land for the Wards Island potter's field in 1851; it covered 69 to 75 acres (28 to 30 ha). The location of the Wards Island potter's field is also not known, but between 1,000 and 4,000 bodies were interred there each year. Another 100,000 bodies were moved from the Fourth Avenue potter's field to Wards Island, which was completed by 1857. Other bodies were relocated from

10082-447: The city's economy. The advent of Y2K was celebrated with fanfare in Times Square . New York City suffered the bulk of the economic damage and largest loss of human life in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks . Two of the four airliners hijacked that day were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, resulting in the collapse of both buildings and the deaths of 2,753 people, including 343 first responders from

10224-542: The city's public charities department introduced reforms to the island's hospital, including hiring additional physicians and attendants. Construction of a second bridge across the two islands—the Triborough (now RFK) Bridge , connecting Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx—began in 1929. The next year, the city's Sanitary Commission requested funding from the city's Board of Estimate for a new sewage treatment plant on Wards Island. The Board of Estimate approved $ 7.67 million for

10366-794: The city's ties to the South and its dominant party. In 1861, Mayor Fernando Wood called on the aldermen to declare independence from Albany and the United States after the South seceded, but his proposal was not acted on. Anger at new military conscription laws during the American Civil War (1861–1865), which spared wealthier men who could afford to hire a substitute, led to the Draft Riots of 1863 , whose most visible participants were ethnic Irish working class. The draft riots deteriorated into attacks on New York's elite, followed by attacks on Black New Yorkers after fierce competition for

10508-516: The city, was sold to Metropolitan-Columbia Stockholders Inc. in 1933; this land was later seized for the bridge. The construction of the Triborough Bridge required the demolition of buildings on both islands, and patients were sometimes moved to more crowded facilities. The New York City Department of Hospitals planned to replace the hospitals with Seaview Hospital on Staten Island . The House of Refuge's youth were relocated upstate, and

10650-688: The colony and allowed for religious freedom. In 1667, during negotiations leading to the Treaty of Breda after the Second Anglo-Dutch War , the victorious Dutch decided to keep the nascent plantation colony of what is now Suriname , which they had gained from the English, and in return the English kept New Amsterdam. The settlement was promptly renamed "New York" after the Duke of York (the future King James II and VII). The duke gave part of

10792-622: The colony to proprietors George Carteret and John Berkeley . On August 24, 1673, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War , Anthony Colve of the Dutch navy seized New York at the behest of Cornelis Evertsen the Youngest and rechristened it "New Orange" after William III , the Prince of Orange . The Dutch soon returned the island to England under the Treaty of Westminster of November 1674. Several intertribal wars among

10934-560: The decade, a training academy for the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) was built on the two islands, opening in 1975. The Manhattan State Hospital became the Manhattan Psychiatric Center in the late 1970s, and its population decreased by nearly 90 percent from 1926 to the late 20th century. A homeless shelter opened on Wards Island in 1980, following a court order. Known as the Charles H. Gay Homeless Shelter,

11076-417: The development of large housing tracts in eastern Queens and Nassau County , with Wall Street leading America's place as the world's dominant economic power. The United Nations headquarters was completed in 1952, solidifying New York's global geopolitical influence, and the rise of abstract expressionism in the city precipitated New York's displacement of Paris as the center of the art world. In 1969,

11218-595: The early 1850s and acquired the remainder of the island through 1883. In the mid-19th century, various social facilities were relocated from Manhattan Island to nearby smaller isles, including Randalls and Wards Islands. Randalls Island housed an almshouse (opened 1845), a children's hospital (opened 1848), the Idiot Asylum, and the New York House of Refuge reformatory. Maps from the 1850s show two hospital complexes on Randalls Island. Meanwhile, Wards Island

11360-663: The early 1870s, there were reports that asylum patients were being abused. The structure was known as the Insane Asylum or the Male Lunatic Asylum, a men's asylum, by the early 1880s. Randalls Island's first institution was the Nurseries, operated by Commissioners of Public Charities and Correction. In 1847 or 1848, the commissioners completed the Nurseries' first buildings on the northeastern shore. The Nurseries were used by non-criminal youth below age 17. There

11502-406: The end of 1790, the national capital was moved to Philadelphia . During the 19th century, New York City's population grew from 60,000 to 3.43 million. Under New York State's gradual emancipation act of 1799, children of slave mothers were to be eventually liberated but to be held in indentured servitude until their mid-to-late twenties. Together with slaves freed by their masters after

11644-466: The facility faced opposition from the outset and also became overcrowded; it was thus expanded in 1982. Downing Stadium was also renovated in the early 1980s, but the stadium continued to decay and had to be renovated again within half a decade. A maximum-security mental health facility was developed on the island in 1984. By the late 1980s, the Wards Island sewage treatment plant was operating over capacity, prompting city officials to announce an expansion of

11786-457: The founding of a Dutch fur trading settlement on Governors Island . In 1625, construction was started on a citadel and Fort Amsterdam , later called Nieuw Amsterdam (New Amsterdam), on present-day Manhattan Island. The colony of New Amsterdam extended from the southern tip of Manhattan to modern-day Wall Street , where a 12-foot (3.7 m) wooden stockade was built in 1653 to protect against Native American and English raids. In 1626,

11928-557: The hospital was rebuilt following a fire the next year, and additional hospital buildings were proposed on Wards Island to relieve overcrowding. With 4,400 patients by 1899, the Manhattan State Hospital was the world's largest psychiatric hospital. A solarium was added to the State Hospital in the early 1900s, and there were proposals for a lighthouse on Wards Island (which was not built). Part of Wards Island

12070-473: The ice (and its subsequent retreat) contributed to the separation of what is now Long Island and Staten Island. That action left bedrock at a relatively shallow depth, providing a solid foundation for most of Manhattan's skyscrapers. The Hudson River flows through the Hudson Valley into New York Bay . Between New York City and Troy, New York , the river is an estuary . The Hudson River separates

12212-432: The institution was not intended for punishment, youths were often beaten and malnourished through the end of the century. It also faced overcrowding, with as many as a thousand youths in the 1860s and 1870s. Prior to the 1840s, the city's potter's fields were located on Manhattan Island; the potter's fields had to be relocated every few years as the city developed. A proposal to relocate the potter's fields to Randalls Island

12354-554: The island from two Lenape chiefs named Numers and Seyseys on July 16, 1637. Van Twiller only used the islands for raising livestock. Wards Island's first European name was Great Barent Island, while Randalls Island's first European name was Little Barent Island; both were named after a Danish cowherd named Barent Jansen Blom. A map from 1639 indicates that Van Twiller farmed Great Barent Island but left Little Barent Island unused. The islands were both seized in April 1667, three years after

12496-446: The island's northern tip were completed by the 1920s. In addition, Mayor John Hylan proposed a sewage treatment plant on Wards Island in 1925. In the mid-1870s, a seawall was built around Randalls Island, along with some docks, and there were also proposals to lay a freshwater pipe to the island. By the following decade, Randalls Island had the House of Refuge, the Children's Hospital, and the Idiot Asylum, and there were complaints over

12638-402: The island. New facilities were planned on Randalls Island in the late 1890s, including a steam plant, a nurses' home, and a playroom building. Randalls Island's industrial school burned down in 1900. The Infants' Hospital was combined with the Randalls Island Hospital and School in 1902, and the latter organization became Randalls Island Hospitals, Schools, and Asylum. During the first decade of

12780-419: The islands had the same owners in the 17th century, but ownership was split during the 18th century. Randalls and Wards Islands became known for their respective early-19th-century owners, Jonathan Randel and the Ward brothers. The city government took over both islands in the mid-19th century and developed numerous hospitals, asylums, and cemeteries there. Most of the existing buildings were demolished starting in

12922-481: The islands were bequeathed to his son-in-law William Dervall. The islands became part of New York County (now Manhattan) in 1683, and they became part of New York City in 1691. Toward the end of the 17th century, stones from Little Barn Island were quarried for the construction of Trinity Church in Manhattan's Financial District . Great Barn (Wards) Island came under the ownership of Thomas Parcell in 1687; his family owned it until c.  1762 , during which it

13064-497: The last American stronghold in Manhattan, causing George Washington and his forces to retreat across the Hudson River to New Jersey , pursued by British forces. After the battle, in which the Americans were defeated, the British made the city their military and political base of operations in North America. The city was a haven for Loyalist refugees and escaped slaves who joined the British lines for freedom promised by

13206-477: The late 1870s; maps indicate that the island remained largely unchanged until the end of the century, aside from new roads. By the early 1880s, control of Wards Island was split between the Commissioners of Emigration (which operated the State Emigrant Hospital and an attached asylum, nursery, and "houses of refuge") and the Commissioners of Public Charities and Correction (which operated institutions such as

13348-492: The late 1960s, allowing the construction of more recreational facilities on the filled land. Randalls Island hosted opera performances by the Popular Price Grand Opera Company until 1961, when the city demanded that the singers pay a $ 250 license fee. A mental research laboratory on Wards Island was proposed in 1960. Wards Island Park remained underused, and The New York Times said in 1963 that

13490-407: The layers such as a geotextile fabric or smaller riprap ( crushed stone ). Riprap affects the amount of organic material in a waterbody by acting as a filter, catching wood and leaves before they can enter the water. Riprap also covers and prevents plants from growing through, which can reduce shade over the water. Introducing ripraps creates a rocky environment which can affect the ecology of

13632-591: The merchant Samuel Ogden in 1784. In November 1784, Jonathan Randel bought Montresor's Island for about $ 6,000. Randel reportedly sold enough produce to pay for the island within a decade. Maps from the early 19th century show that Randel developed at least three structures; an 1836 map depicts a tree-lined path leading from the Harlem River to Randell's main house. William Lownds bought Great Barn Island's southern half from Benjamin Hildreth in 1785. He operated

13774-437: The mid-1910s, following allegations of mismanagement. The poor conditions prompted proposals to rebuild the 75 structures on Randalls Island, The city's public charities commissioner devised plans to rebuild the Children's Hospital and School in 1916, and work on the new buildings began the following year. During the late 1910s, a park on Randalls Island was again proposed, along with a home for mentally disabled women. In addition,

13916-415: The mid-1950s, Wards Island Park had few visitors. Whereas Randalls Island Park was easily accessible via car, Wards Island Park's only public access was via the footbridge (the span over Little Hell Gate span was for hospital visitors only). Sunken Meadow, which had been reserved for an expansion of the Wards Island sewage plant, was freed up for recreational uses when the city decided in the mid-1950s to build

14058-492: The mid-1950s. The Sunken Meadow section of Randalls Island Park comprises 85 acres (34 ha) and contains ball fields. Also east of Randalls Island was an even smaller island called the Hammock, which was subsumed through filling operations. Originally, Wards Island had an area of about 145 acres (59 ha). Like Randalls Island to the north, Wards Island had marshlands on its western and northern shores and shellfish beds on

14200-632: The mistreatment of people at the House of Refuge. The city's Charities Department took over Randalls Island's schools from the Department of Education in 1888. The Randall's Island Hospital and Schools were created in 1892 through a merger of the Randalls Island Hospital, Idiot School, and Asylum for Juvenile Idiots. Randalls Island was still home to sick children, orphans, juvenile delinquents, and mentally disabled children. The House of Refuge stopped accepting prisoners in 1897 because of unsanitary conditions, and there were reports of high infant mortality on

14342-419: The most populous urbanized area in the world in the early 1920s, overtaking London . The metropolitan area surpassed 10 million in the early 1930s, becoming the first megacity . The Great Depression saw the election of reformer Fiorello La Guardia as mayor and the fall of Tammany Hall after eighty years of political dominance. Returning World War II veterans created a post-war economic boom and

14484-616: The mouth of the Hudson River , which feeds into a naturally sheltered harbor and then into the Atlantic Ocean , has helped the city grow in significance as a trading port. Most of the city is built on the three islands of Long Island, Manhattan, and Staten Island. During the Wisconsin glaciation , 75,000 to 11,000 years ago, the New York City area was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet . The erosive forward movement of

14626-479: The name is derived from Tékene , the Munsee Delaware word for "the woods". Randalls Island was called Minnehanonck or Minnahanouth . Neither Randalls nor Wards Islands are known to have had any Lenape settlements. Just west of Randalls Island was a village called Conykeekst ("little narrow tract") on Manhattan Island, while to the north of Randalls Island was the village of Ranachqua in

14768-748: The next occupant of Pipon's house. Talbot definitely occupied the island by 1747, and the isle gained the name Talbot's Island. He died on the island in 1765 and bequeathed it to the Society in Great Britain for Propagating the Gospel to Foreign Parts, which held onto the island for another seven years. Captain John Montresor , an engineer with the British army , purchased Randalls Island in 1772. He renamed it Montresor's Island and lived on it until

14910-549: The next year; that building opened in 1912. In the 1910s, Almirall drew up plans to redevelop Randalls Island into a park, but the Municipal Art Commission rejected his proposal. Part of the island was also used for the construction of the Hell Gate Bridge. The city took over the state-owned section of Randalls Island in 1914. The state government also began investigating conditions on the island in

15052-407: The north from Wards Island to the south; the channel was filled by the early 1960s. A third, smaller island, Sunken Meadow Island , was located east of Randalls Island and was connected to it in 1955. The Lenape Native Americans, who lived in the New York City area before European colonization, did not inhabit the islands. Between the 1630s and the 1770s, the islands had various European residents;

15194-505: The north, Wards Island to the south, and Sunken Meadow just southeast of Randalls Island. A small creek, Little Hell Gate, ran between the islands. The current Randalls and Wards Island came about when Little Hell Gate was partially infilled. The combined island is part of the New York City borough of Manhattan ; this dates to an 1829 statute that designated the islands as being within Manhattan's eastern boundary. Randalls and Wards Island has an area of about 530 acres (210 ha). The island

15336-406: The northern part of the island. There was a ridge across the island's northern section, which hosted farms and fruit orchards in the 19th century. Surrounding Randalls Island was a narrow strip of marshland, and there were larger marshes to the north and southeast, which drained into the East River. The north and southeast shores also had shellfish beds. The southern part of the island was leveled, and

15478-496: The only " transgender folks around" during the June 1969 Stonewall riots. The transgender community in New York City played a significant role in fighting for LGBT equality. In the 1970s, job losses due to industrial restructuring caused New York City to suffer from economic problems and rising crime rates. Growing fiscal deficits in 1975 led the city to appeal to the federal government for financial aid; President Gerald Ford gave

15620-415: The park was generally neglected and full of garbage. Work on a 200-bed hospital for mentally disabled children on Wards Island began in 1965, and New York governor Nelson Rockefeller announced a mental hospital complex on that island in 1967. A rehabilitation center at the base of the Manhattan State Hospital was built on the island in the late 1960s. A 45-acre (18 ha) recreation area with ballfields and

15762-429: The passage between the two islands, in order to expand and connect the two parks. The inlet was filled in by the 1960s. What is now called "Little Hell Gate Inlet" is the western end of what used to be Little Hell Gate; however, few traces of the eastern end of Little Hell Gate still remain: an indentation in the shoreline on the East River side indicates the former east entrance to that waterway. Today, parkland and part of

15904-578: The patients in the Children's Hospital were moved to Flushing, Queens . The first two phases of the sewage plant were finished in 1934. That April, in anticipation of the Triborough Bridge's completion, city parks commissioner Robert Moses announced that he would convert 140 acres (57 ha) on Randalls Island to parkland. The park plans were announced in February 1935, and work began soon thereafter. Most of Randalls Island's 87 buildings were to be razed and replaced with various athletic facilities such as

16046-498: The plant. In addition, part of the Charles H. Gay Shelter was converted to a women's jail in 1989 to accommodate the increasing number of inmates in the city. A Newsday report from the late 1980s found the island's park to be relatively safe but also poorly maintained. The park was used by dozens of local schools at the time and had various baseball, rugby, tennis, softball, soccer, lacrosse, and cricket fields. New York City New York , often called New York City or NYC ,

16188-654: The purchase continued through the 1860s. Following the development of the New York State Inebriate Asylum in Binghamton, New York , a similar asylum was proposed on Wards Island in 1865. The three-story New York Inebriate Asylum on Wards Island opened in 1868 and served recovering alcoholics. Veterans were housed in the Inebriate Asylum's eastern wing starting in 1869; they remained there until 1875. A contemporary newspaper wrote that

16330-416: The recreational facilities on Wards Island. Initially, there was a playground, picnic grove, three softball fields, and three baseball fields on Wards Island. Though NYC Parks originally planned to expand the park onto Manhattan State Hospital's site, the city government ultimately decided to allow the state to keep operating Manhattan State Hospital. Two chapels were developed on the island in the mid-1950s. By

16472-551: The remainder of the island at that time. By then, Great Barn Island included an orchard, farms, pastures, and several buildings. Meanwhile, Little Barn (Randalls) Island had come under the ownership of Elias Pipon, Delavall's great grandson, by 1735. Pipon had emigrated from England in 1732 and was socially popular until he went bankrupt in 1739 and had to return to England. The island subsequently became known as Belle Isle or Belle Island. The New York Times describes an "amiable English gentlemen of quiet tastes", George Talbot, as being

16614-410: The river channel, which can lead to scouring of the river bed as well as coarser sediment particles. This can be combatted by increasing the distance between the pieces of riprap and using a variety of sizes. The usage of riprap may not even stop erosion, but simply move it downstream. Additionally, the soil beneath the riprap can be eroded if the rock was just placed on top without any buffer between

16756-422: The sewage plant that October, and preliminary work began the next month; a groundbreaking ceremony for the 50-acre (20 ha) treatment plant occurred in 1931. Plans for an administration building and several other structures on the northeast part of Wards Island were filed in 1931, and plans for a fertilizer building and storage building were filed the next year. Part of Wards Island, which had never been deeded to

16898-401: The shoreline rebuilt, in the mid-19th century, though some meadows and swamps remained until the 1930s. To the east of Randalls Island was Sunken Meadow Island, which covered about 20 acres (8.1 ha). Ownership of Sunken Meadow Island had been disputed during the early 20th century, and city officials had considered that island to be part of Randalls Island. Infilling took place beginning in

17040-581: The southeastern part of the island. A 1968 guidebook described grasses as being present across the island. The island is surrounded by piles of riprap or rocks. By the 19th century, the southern end of Wards Island was known as Negro Point; the Negro Point name became official in 1984. A ledge extended about 200 feet (61 m) to its southeast. The United States Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used

17182-445: The southern end of Wards Island that year, demolishing what was left of the Homeopathic Hospital. The city took over Sunken Meadow Island in 1939 for an expansion of Wards Island's sewage treatment plant, and a set of clay tennis courts opened on Randalls Island the same year. Work on a restroom, field house, and five softball fields on Randalls Island began in 1941. To allow public access to the new fields, city officials wanted to build

17324-458: The state announced that it would rebuild Manhattan State Hospital. The rest of Wards Island was to be converted into a park, and a new bridge would be built from Manhattan to Wards Island. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) also announced that it would build an overpass to the Bronx and infill Bronx Kill to make way for additional recreational fields on Randalls Island. The Wards Island Bridge opened in 1951, along with

17466-406: The three-story Refuge for Destitute Immigrants on Wards Island both opened in July 1866; its design was based on a plan by the social reformer Florence Nightingale . The main Emigrant Hospital could accommodate 400 or 450 patients and supplemented the city's immigration center, which was then located at Castle Garden . After these structures opened, various other buildings were constructed, including

17608-486: The waterline. The western outcropping extended 400 feet (120 m) to the southwest, while the eastern outcropping extended 300 feet (91 m) to the southwest. These outcroppings are made of Manhattan schist . Ships traveling from the Belgian city of Antwerp also dumped slag onto the shores of the island. Little Hell Gate was originally a natural waterway separating Randalls Island and Wards Island. The east end of

17750-553: The waterway opened into the Hell Gate passage of the East River , opposite Astoria , Queens . The west end met the Harlem River across from East 116th Street , Manhattan . At the Hell Gate Bridge , the waterway was over 1000 feet (300 m) wide with swift currents. The opening of the Triborough Bridge spurred the conversion of both islands to parkland . Soon thereafter, the city began filling in most of

17892-529: The world by pinnacle height, with its spire reaching a symbolic 1,776 feet (541.3 m), a reference to the year of U.S. independence . The Occupy Wall Street protests in Zuccotti Park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan began on September 17, 2011, receiving global attention and popularizing the Occupy movement against social and economic inequality worldwide. New York City

18034-513: The world. In 1664, New York was named in honor of the Duke of York (later King James II of England ). James's elder brother, King Charles II , appointed the Duke as proprietor of the former territory of New Netherland , including the city of New Amsterdam , when the Kingdom of England seized it from Dutch control. In the pre-Columbian era , the area of present-day New York City

18176-422: Was Juan Rodriguez , a merchant from Santo Domingo who arrived in Manhattan during the winter of 1613–14, trapping for pelts and trading with the local population as a representative of the Dutch colonists. A permanent European presence near New York Harbor was established in 1624, making New York the 12th-oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental United States , with

18318-566: Was heavily affected by Hurricane Sandy in late October 2012. Sandy's impacts included flooding that led to the days-long shutdown of the subway system and flooding of all East River subway tunnels and of all road tunnels entering Manhattan except the Lincoln Tunnel . The New York Stock Exchange closed for two days due to weather for the first time since the Great Blizzard of 1888 . At least 43 people died in New York City as

18460-425: Was a farm on the island's northern shore, as well as a brick detention building. An 1867 article described the complex as including a wooden storage building, boathouse, and a wide road leading to the nursery. At the time, the nursery department comprised eight buildings, while the nursery hospital comprised another five structures. The Children's Hospital was on the west side of the island. An 1880s map indicates that

18602-539: Was a prime destination in the early 20th century for Blacks during the Great Migration from the American South, and by 1916, New York City had the largest urban African diaspora in North America. The Harlem Renaissance of literary and cultural life flourished during the era of Prohibition . The larger economic boom generated construction of skyscrapers competing in height. New York City became

18744-405: Was acquired for the construction of the Hell Gate Bridge , a railroad bridge between the Bronx and Queens; work on the bridge commenced in 1911. The Manhattan State Hospital unsuccessfully tried to prevent the construction of the span across Wards Island, and the bridge was completed in 1917. In addition, the state leased Wards Island from the city for 50 years beginning in 1914. The Mabon Building

18886-496: Was called Parcell's Island. At least four people, likely members of the Parcell family, were buried in a stone vault on the island. Wards Island was also known as Buchanan's Island. Thomas Bohanna bought 140 acres (57 ha) on the southern section Great Barn Island in 1767, and the island was briefly known for him. Bohanna's portion of Great Barn Island was then resold in 1772 to Benjamin Hildreth, while John William Pinfold obtained

19028-480: Was erected south of the Wards Island asylum by the early 1920s. After 27 people died in a fire at the Manhattan Psychiatric Center in 1923, investigators blamed the fire on overcrowding and said the island's fire apparatus could not sufficiently protect the island's buildings. The city was studying the possibility of erecting a sewage disposal plant on the island by that year. By 1926, the Manhattan State Hospital had an estimated population of 7,000. Additional buildings on

19170-415: Was facing overcrowding by the 1900s, and there were continuing concerns about the flammability of the buildings on Wards Island. The state agreed to sell its land on Randalls Island to the city in 1907, while the city concurrently planned to lease Wards Island to the state for a new psychiatric hospital. City government architect Raymond F. Almirall filed plans for a four-story nurses' home on Randalls Island

19312-559: Was first put forth in 1835, but this did not happen immediately because of concerns that the potter's fields would be too close to the Randalls Island almshouse. A potter's field opened on Randalls Island in 1843, two years before the almshouse was completed. The Randalls Island burial ground covered 75 acres (30 ha) and was likely south of the island's nurseries, though the exact location is unknown. It operated simultaneously with another potter's field on Fourth Avenue in Manhattan. The Randalls Island potter's field operated until 1850, when

19454-664: Was founded. The Stamp Act Congress met in New York in October 1765, as the Sons of Liberty organization emerged in the city and skirmished over the next ten years with British troops stationed there. The Battle of Long Island , the largest battle of the American Revolutionary War , was fought in August 1776 within modern-day Brooklyn. A British rout of the Continental Army at the Battle of Fort Washington in November 1776 eliminated

19596-534: Was inhabited by Algonquians , including the Lenape . Their homeland, known as Lenapehoking , included the present-day areas of Staten Island , Manhattan , the Bronx , the western portion of Long Island (including Brooklyn and Queens ), and the Lower Hudson Valley . The first documented visit into New York Harbor by a European was in 1524 by explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano . He claimed

19738-468: Was named New Amsterdam in 1626 and was chartered as a city in 1653. The city came under English control in 1664 and was temporarily renamed New York after King Charles II granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York , before being permanently renamed New York in November 1674. New York City was the U.S. capital from 1785 until 1790. The modern city was formed by the 1898 consolidation of its five boroughs : Manhattan , Brooklyn , Queens ,

19880-577: Was operated by the Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents, which took over part of Randalls Island in 1851. Construction began in 1852, and the reformatory opened in 1854; an additional structure for women opened at the House of Refuge in 1860. The House of Refuge consisted of numerous three-and-four-story Italianate buildings, surrounded by a wall. The reformatory was supposed to provide religious classes, non-religious lessons, and manual employment. Though The New York Times said in 1870 that

20022-596: Was replaced by Ellis Island 's immigration station in 1892. That May, the city acquired the island, taking over 35 buildings on approximately 120 acres (49 ha). The Emigrant Hospital buildings became part of Wards Island's Insane Asylum, which was still beset by allegations of mismanagement. The Homeopathic Hospital relocated to Blackwell's (Roosevelt) Island in 1894, becoming the Metropolitan Hospital . The Manhattan State Hospital took over Wards Island's immigration and asylum buildings in 1896. Part of

20164-619: Was used by the State Emigrant Refuge and the New York City Asylum for the Insane . Both islands also had potter's fields , or cemeteries for destitute people. The New York Commissioners of Emigration established Wards Island's first institution, the State Emigrant Hospital, in 1847. They leased some land in 1848, then bought additional land on the island's western shore. The two-story State Emigrant Hospital and

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