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New York Harbor is at the mouth of the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...
where it empties into New York Bay near the
East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Que ...
tidal estuary, and then into the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...
on the
east coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the ...
. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world, and is frequently named the best natural harbor in the world. It is also known as Upper New York Bay, which is enclosed by the
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
boroughs of
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
,
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
, and
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
and the
Hudson County, New Jersey Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...
municipalities of Jersey City and Bayonne. The name may also refer to the entirety of New York Bay including Lower New York Bay. Although the United States Board on Geographic Names does not use the term, ''New York Harbor'' has important historical, governmental, commercial, and ecological usages.


Overview

The harbor is fed by the waters of the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...
(historically called the North River as it passes
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
), as well as the Gowanus Canal. It is connected to Lower New York Bay by the Narrows, to
Newark Bay Newark Bay is a tidal bay at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in northeastern New Jersey. It is home to the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the largest container shipping facility in Port of New York and New Jer ...
by the
Kill Van Kull __NOTOC__ The Kill Van Kull is a tidal strait between Staten Island, New York and Bayonne, New Jersey in the United States. It is approximately long and wide and connects Newark Bay with Upper New York Bay. The Robbins Reef Light marks ...
, and to Long Island Sound by the
East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Que ...
, which, despite its name, is actually a tidal strait. It provides the main passage for the waters of the Hudson River as it empties through the Narrows. The channel of the Hudson as it passes through the harbor is called the Anchorage Channel and is approximately 50 feet deep in the midpoint of the harbor. A project to replace two water mains between Brooklyn and Staten Island, which will eventually allow for dredging of the channel to nearly , was begun in April 2012. The harbor contains several islands including
Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...
, near the mouth of the East River, as well Ellis Island, Liberty Island, and Robbins Reef which are supported by a large underwater reef on the
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
side of the harbor. The reef was historically one of the largest
oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not a ...
beds in the world and provided a staple for the diet of all classes of citizens both locally and regionally until the end of the 19th century, when the beds succumbed to pollution. Historically, it has played an extremely important role in the commerce of the
New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass, at , and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The vast metropolitan area ...
. The Statue of Liberty National Monument recalls the immigrant experience during the late 19th and early 20th century. Since the 1950s,
container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermoda ...
traffic has been primarily routed through the Kill Van Kull to Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, where it is consolidated for easier automated transfer to land conveyance. As a consequence, the waterfront industries of the Harbor experienced a decline leading to diverse plans for revitalization, though important maritime uses remain at Red Hook, Port Jersey, MOTBY, Constable Hook, and parts of the Staten Island shore. Liberty State Park opened in 1976. In recent years, it has become a popular site for recreation sailing and
kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each ...
ing. The harbor is traversed by the Staten Island Ferry, which runs between Whitehall Street at the southernmost tip of
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
near Battery Park ( South Ferry) and St. George Ferry Terminal on Richmond Terrace in
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
near Richmond County Borough Hall and Richmond County Supreme Court. NY Waterway operates routes across the bay and through The Narrows to locations near Sandy Hook. The harbor supports a very diverse population of marine species, allowing for recreational fishing, most commonly for striped bass and bluefish.Hudson River Estuary
NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation website; accessed May 3, 2020.


History


Colonial era

The original population of the 16th century New York Harbor, the
Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...
, used the waterways for fishing and travel. In 1524 Giovanni da Verrazzano anchored in what is now called the Narrows, the strait between
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
and Long Island that connects the
Upper Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...
and Lower New York Bay, where he received a canoe party of Lenape. A party of his sailors may have taken on fresh water at a spring called "the watering place" on Staten Island—a monument stands in a tiny park on the corner of Bay Street and Victory Boulevard at the approximate spot—but Verrazzano's descriptions of the geography of the area are a bit ambiguous. It is fairly firmly held by historians that his ship anchored at the approximate location of the modern Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge's approach viaduct in Brooklyn. He also observed what he believed to be a large freshwater lake to the north (apparently Upper New York Bay). He apparently did not travel north to observe the existence of the Hudson River. In 1609
Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and ...
entered the Harbor and explored a stretch of the river that now bears his name. His journey prompted others to explore the region and engage in trade with the local population. The first permanent European settlement was started on
Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...
in 1624, and in Brooklyn eight years after that; soon these were connected by ferry operation.''The New York Waterfront: Evolution and Building Culture of the Port and Harbor'', edited by Kevin Bone, The Monacelli Press, 1997. () The colonial Dutch Director-General of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant, ordered construction of the first wharf on the
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
bank of the lower
East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Que ...
sheltered from winds and ice, which was completed late in 1648 and called Schreyers Hook Dock (near what is now Pearl and Broad Streets). This prepared New York as a leading
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...
for the British colonies and then within the newly independent
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
.New York's Port, Beyond Dubai
,''Gotham Gazette'' March 2006.
In 1686, the British colonial officials gave the municipality control over the waterfront.


19th century

In 1808, Lieutenant Thomas Gedney of the United States Coast Survey discovered a new, deeper channel through the Narrows into New York Harbor. Previously, the passage was complex and shallow enough that loaded ships would wait outside the harbor until high tide, to avoid running into the huge sandbar, which was interrupted in a number of places by channels of fairly shallow depth: at low tide and at high tide. Because of the difficulty of the navigation required, since 1694, New York had required all ships to be guided into the harbor by an experienced pilot. The new channel Gedney discovered was deeper, enough of an added margin that fully laden ships could come into the harbor even at slack tide. Gedney's Channel, as it came to be called, was also shorter than the previous channel, another benefit appreciated by the ship owners and the merchants they sold to. Gedney received the praise of the city, as well as an expensive silver
service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...
. In her 1832 book '' Domestic Manners of the Americans'',
Fanny Trollope Frances Milton Trollope, also known as Fanny Trollope (10 March 1779 – 6 October 1863), was an English novelist who wrote as Mrs. Trollope or Mrs. Frances Trollope. Her book, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'' (1832), observations from a t ...
wrote of her impressions upon entering New York Harbor for the first time:
I have never seen the bay of Naples, I can therefore make no comparison, but my imagination is incapable of conceiving any thing of the kind more beautiful than the harbour of New York. Various and lovely are the objects which meet the eye on every side, but the naming them would only be to give a list of words, without conveying the faintest idea of the scene. I doubt if ever the pencil of Turner could do it justice, bright and glorious as it rose upon us. We seemed to enter the harbour of New York upon waves of liquid gold, and as we darted past the green isles which rise from its bosom, like guardian centinels of the fair city, the setting sun stretched his horizontal beams farther and farther at each moment, as if to point out to us some new glory in the landscape.
In 1824 the first American
drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
was completed on the East River. Because of its location and depth, the Port grew rapidly with the introduction of steamships; and then with the completion in 1825 of the
Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly redu ...
New York became the most important
transshipping Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey ( ...
port between Europe and the interior of the United States, as well as
coastwise The modern terms short-sea shipping (sometimes unhyphenated), marine highway, and motorways of the sea, and the more historical terms coastal trade, coastal shipping, coasting trade, and coastwise trade, all encompass the movement of cargo and pass ...
see also Maritime geography#Brown water destinations. By about 1840, more passengers and a greater tonnage of cargo came through the port of New York than all other major harbors in the country combined and by 1900 it was one of the great international ports.The Erie Canal: A Brief History
New York State Canal Corporation (2001).
The Morris Canal carried anthracite and freight from
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
through
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
to its terminus at the mouth of the Hudson in Jersey City. Portions in the harbor are now part of Liberty State Park. In 1870, the city established the Department of Docks to systematize waterfront development, with George B. McClellan as the first engineer in chief. By the turn of the 20th century numerous railroad terminals lined the western banks of the North River (Hudson River) in
Hudson County, New Jersey Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...
, transporting passengers and freight from all over the United States. The freight was ferried across by the competing railroads with small fleets of towboats, barges, and 323
car float A railroad car float or rail barge is a specialised form of lighter with railway tracks mounted on its deck used to move rolling stock across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go. An unpowered barge, it is towed by a ...
s, specially designed barges with rails so cars could be rolled on.''New York in the Forties'', Andreas Feininger, Dover Books.() New York subsidized this service which undercut rival ports.Lighterage Controversy
, Louis L. Jaffe, Mercer Beasley Law Review, v. 2, no. 2, p. 136–170, 1933.
Major road improvements allowing for trucking and containerization diminished the need. The harbor saw major federal investment at the end of the century when Congress passed the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. Over $1.2 million of initial funding was appropriated for the dredging of 40 ft (12.2 m)-deep channels at Bay Ridge, Red Hook, and Sandy Hook. The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World'') stands on Liberty Island in the harbor, while the nearby main port of entry at Ellis Island processed 12 million arrivals from 1892 to 1954. The Statue of Liberty National Monument, encompassing both islands, recalls the period of massive immigration to the United States at the turn of the 20th centuryEllis Island History
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., 2000 (source NPS)
While many stayed in the region, others spread across America, with more than 10 million leaving from the nearby Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal.''Jersey City Past and Present''


20th century


World War II

After the United States entered World War II, the German navy's Operation Drumbeat set the top
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
aces loose against the merchant fleet in U.S. territorial waters in January 1942, starting the Second happy time. The U-boat captains were able to silhouette target ships against the glow of city lights, and attacked with relative impunity, in spite of U.S. naval concentrations within the Harbor. Casualties included the tankers ''Coimbria'' off Sandy Hook and ''Norness'' off Long Island. New York Harbor, as the major
convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be use ...
embarkation point for the U.S., was effectively a staging area in the
Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blocka ...
, with the
U.S. Merchant Marine United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...
losses of 1 of 26 mariners, a rate exceeding those of the other U.S. forces.U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II
, U.S. Maritime Service Veterans, 1998–2006.
Bright city lights made it easier for German
U-boats U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
to spot targets at night, but local officials resisted suggestions that they follow
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
's lead and blackout the lights of coastal cities. However, some lights were darkened, including those of the amusement parks in
Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to th ...
,
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
, and the Coney Island Light, and Sandy Hook Lighthouse. The Harbor reached its peak activity in March 1943 during World War II, with 543 ships at anchor awaiting assignment to convoy or berthing (with as many as 426 seagoing vessel already at one of the 750 piers or docks). Eleven hundred
warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, ...
s with nearly of enclosed space served freight along with 575 tugboats and 39 active
shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance ...
s, the largest being
Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...
. With a large inventory of heavy equipment, this made New York Harbor the busiest in the world."Port in a Storm: The Port of New York in World War II"
, Joseph F. Meany Jr. ''et al.'', NY State Museum, 1992–1998.


Post-World War II

Deterrence and investigation of criminal activity, especially relating to organized crime, is the responsibility of the bi-state
Waterfront Commission The Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor (WCNYH) is a regulatory agency in Port of New York and New Jersey in the United States. The bi-state agency was founded in 1953 by a Congressional authorized compact between New York and New Jersey "for t ...
.Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor
(WCNYH).
The commission was set up in 1953 (a year before the movie '' On the Waterfront''), to combat labor racketeering. It is held that the Gambino crime family controlled the New York waterfront and the Genovese crime family controlled the New Jersey side.Watching the Waterfront
, ''The New Yorker'', June 19, 2006.
synopsis
).
In 1984 the Teamsters local was put under Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) trusteeship, and in 2005 a similar suit was brought against the International Longshoremen's Association local.The RICO Trusteeships after Twenty Years
, 2004, ABA, republished by Laborers for Justice

, Civil Action No. 82-689, US District of New Jersey, February 8, 1984. In March 2006, the Port passenger facility was to be transferred to Dubai Ports World. There was considerable security controversy over the ownership by a foreign corporation, particularly Arabic, of a U.S. port operation, this in spite of the fact the current operator was the British-based
P&O Ports P&O (in full, The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) is a British shipping and logistics company dating from the early 19th century. Formerly a public company, it was sold to DP World in March 2006 for £3.9 billion. DP World c ...
,Fact Sheet on Acquisition of P&O Ports by DP World
, American Association of Port Authorities, 2006.
and the fact that Orient Overseas Investment Limited, a company dominated by a Chinese Communist official, has the operating contract for Howland Hook Marine Terminal.OOIL in Howland Hook
NPR, March 1, 2006.
An additional concern is the U.S. Customs "green lane" program, in which trusted shippers have fewer containers inspected, providing easier access for contraband material.The Docks of New York
, ''The New Yorker'', June 19, 2006.


Water quality

The
water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through ...
in New York Harbor has been affected by centuries of shipping activity, industrial development and
urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
. Water pollution from these sources has been a constant phenomenon, although there have been improvements in some areas of the harbor complex in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. A 2019 study of the harbor identifies water quality trends in nine regions of the harbor, using data collected during 1996 to 2017. The Lower New York Bay region has the highest quality, due to frequent exchange of water with the Atlantic Ocean. The poorest regions are those with limited exchange of water flows: Newtown Creek, Flushing Bay and Jamaica Bay. High levels of nutrient pollution (nitrogen and phosphorus) were observed throughout the various harbor regions, although there has been a general lowering trend in total nitrogen, and some other indicator parameters show improvements. The implementation of pollution control laws, cleanup programs and conservation measures throughout the region have begun to yield some improvements, and the authors state that "the New York Harbor ecosystem is much healthier than it was 30 years ago."


Container shipping and air travel

The Port of New York and New Jersey is the largest oil importing port and third largest container port in the nation.PANYNJ seaport facilities
.
The commercial activity of the port of New York City, including the waterfronts of the five boroughs and nearby cities in New Jersey, since 1921 has been formalized under a single bi-state
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...
.The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Since the 1950s, the New York and Brooklyn commercial port has been almost completely eclipsed by the
container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermoda ...
facility at nearby Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal in
Newark Bay Newark Bay is a tidal bay at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in northeastern New Jersey. It is home to the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the largest container shipping facility in Port of New York and New Jer ...
, which is the largest such port on the Eastern Seaboard. The port has diminished in importance to passenger travel, but the Port Authority operates all three major airports, La Guardia (built 1939) and JFK/Idlewild (built 1948) in New York, and Newark (built 1928) in New Jersey.''Guide to Civil Engineering Projects in and around New York City'', Metropolitan Section, American Society of Engineers, 1997, available fro
ASCE Metropolitan Section


Ferries and cruise ships

The harbor is still served by
cruise line A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships that operate on ocean or rivers A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into ...
s, commuter
ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
, and tourist excursion boats. Although most ferry service is private, the Staten Island Ferry is operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. Passenger ship facilities are
New York Passenger Ship Terminal The Manhattan Cruise Terminal, formerly known as the New York Passenger Ship Terminal or Port Authority Passenger Ship Terminal is a ship terminal for ocean-going passenger ships in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. History The New Y ...
, the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal at Red Hook, and MOTBY at Bayonne.


Gallery

File:New-york-bay.jpg,
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
, across the bay from Liberty State Park File:RobbinsReefLight MOTBY Port Jersey 01.JPG, Robbins Reef Light, MOTBY, and Port Jersey File:DN-ST-87-01292.jpg, Liberty Weekend 1986 File:USA-NYC-Ellis Island crop.jpg, Ellis Island File:Liberty Island photo D Ramey Logan.jpg, The Statue of Liberty


See also

* History of New York City transportation * Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne * Brooklyn Army Terminal * New York Harbor Storm-Surge Barrier * Marine life of New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary * Geography of New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary * Commissioner of Docks and Ferries of the City of New York


References


Further reading

* ''The Works: Anatomy of a City'', Kate Ascher, researcher Wendy Marech, designer Alexander Isley Inc. Penguin Press, New York, 2005. () * ''The Rise of New York Port (1815–1860)'', Robert G. Albion with the collaboration of Jennie Barnes Pope, Northeastern University Press, 1967. () * ''South Street: A Maritime History of New York'', Richard McKay, 1934 and 1971. () * ''Maritime History of New York'', WPA Writers Project, 1941; reissued by Going Coastal, Inc. 2004. () *
History of New York Shipyards
', John H. Morrison, Wm. F. Sametz and Co., New York, 1909 * ''On the Waterfront'', Malcolm Johnson, ("Crime on the Waterfront", ''New York Sun'' in 24 parts, 1948; Pulitzer Prize, 1949); additional material, Budd Schulberg; introduction, Haynes Johnson; Chamberlain Bros. 2005. () * ''Great Ships in New York Harbor: 175 Historic Photographs, 1935–2005'', William H. Miller Jr., Dover Books. () * ''Operation Drumbeat'', Michael Gannon, Harper and Row, 1991. ()


External links


New York Harbor Webcam
Live streaming views from Staten Island using an HD-quality camera.


National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy
National Parks and other recreational and educational sites on the harbor
New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program
Partnership to protect and restore the Harbor Estuary.

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...
, New York District.
Digging Deeper in New York
''Mechanical Engineering Magazine'', November 2003.
Public Parks, Recreational Access, and the Post-Industrial Harbor of New York
Gotham Gazette, 2000.
Cornell NY harbor tour summary
September 24, 2005.

by Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Dept. of Economics & Geography, Hofstra University, 1998–2006.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey: Global Changes, Regional Gains and Local Challenges in Port Development
Jean-Paul Rodrigue Department of Economics & Geography, Hofstra University, ''Les Cahiers Scientifiques du Transport'', February 2004.



map and tables by year of convoys (in German).
New York Harbor: Immigrants, Mobsters and Treasures
{{coord, 40, 40, 06, N, 74, 02, 44, W, type:waterbody_region:US-NY, display=title Estuaries of New York (state) Bodies of water of Hudson County, New Jersey Estuaries of New Jersey Geography of New York City Port of New York and New Jersey Ports and harbors of New Jersey Ports and harbors of New York (state) Ports and harbors of the United States Atlantic coast Water transportation in New York City Yachting in New York City