Cloister Museum New York Sources of Cloister Museum New York resources from the Web

New York is also the site of the only extra-territorial enclave within the boundaries of the USA, the United Nations compound on Manhattan's East River.

New York State's borders touch (clockwise from the northwest) two Great Lakes (Erie and Ontario, which are connected by the Niagara River), the provinces of Ontario and Quebec in Canada, three New England states (Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut), the Atlantic Ocean, and two Mid-Atlantic states (New Jersey and Pennsylvania). In addition, Rhode Island shares a water border with New York.

The park has a year-round population of about 130,000 people in dozens of villages and hamlets. There are more than 3,000 lakes and 30,000 miles (48,000 km) of streams and rivers. Many areas within the park are devoid of settlments and distant from usable roads.

In 1857 Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman physician, founded the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children.

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 flood of immigration from Europe passed through Ellis Island (opened as an immigration facility in 1892), in New York Harbor, under the eye of the Statue of Liberty (1886).

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 Village"), which later became anglicized as New Dorp.

Four of New York City's five boroughs are on the three islands at the mouth of the Hudson River Manhattan Island, Staten Island, and Long Island.

There is a moderately large saltwater commercial fishery located along the Atlantic side of Long Island. The principal catches by value are clams, lobsters, squid, and flounder. There used to be a large oyster fishery in New York waters as well, but at present, oysters comprise only a small portion of the total value of seafood harvested.

Manhattan is an island bordering the lower Hudson River. It is one of the five boroughs that comprise the City of New York. The borough is coterminous with New York County and includes the Island of Manhattan, as well as several other smaller islands and a small portion of the mainland.

Long Island, part of New York State, is an island off the North American coast, some 118 miles (190 km) long, and from 12 to 20 miles (32 km) wide, extending from New York Harbor into the North Atlantic Ocean.