Staten Island

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Staten Island is one of the five boroughs of New York City, in the U.S. state of New York, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey and from the rest of New York by New York Bay. Staten Island is the least populated of the boroughs but is the third-largest in area at 59 sq mi (153 km2).

The borough is coextensive with Richmond County, and until 1975 the borough was officially named the Borough of Richmond.

The North Shore — especially the neighborhoods of St. George, Tompkinsville, Clifton, and Stapleton — is the most urban part of the island; it contains the officially designated St. George Historic District and the St. Paul’s Avenue-Stapleton Heights Historic District, which feature large Victorian houses. The East Shore is home to the 2.5-mile (4 km) F.D.R. Boardwalk, the fourth-longest in the world. The South Shore developed rapidly beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, and is mostly suburban in character. The West Shore is the least populated and most industrial part of the island.

Staten Island used to claim the largest landfill in the world. The landfill is being made into what will be New York City’s second largest public park.

Motor traffic can reach the borough from Brooklyn via the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and from New Jersey via the Outerbridge Crossing, Goethals Bridge, and Bayonne Bridge. Staten Island has Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bus lines and a MTA rapid transit line, the Staten Island Railway, which runs from the ferry terminal at St. George to Tottenville. Staten Island is the only borough that is not connected to the New York City subway system. The free Staten Island Ferry connects the borough to Manhattan and is a popular tourist attraction, providing views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Lower Manhattan.

The towns of Staten Island were dissolved in 1898 with the consolidation of the City of Greater New York, as Richmond County became one of the five boroughs of the expanded city. Although consolidated into the City of Greater New York in 1898. The jail system was not transferred until January 1, 1942. Years later Staten Island became the only borough without a NYC Department of Corrections major detention center.

The construction of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, along with the other three major Staten Island bridges, created a new way for commuters and tourists to travel from New Jersey to Brooklyn, Manhattan, and areas farther east on Long Island. The network of highways running between the bridges has effectively carved up many of Staten Island’s old neighborhoods.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staten_Island