Lower New York Bay is a section of New York Bay south of

the Narrows __NOTOC__ The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson Riv ...

(the strait between Staten Island and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

). The eastern end of the Bay is marked by two spits of land, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and

Rockaway, Queens The Rockaway Peninsula, commonly referred to as The Rockaways or Rockaway, is a peninsula at the southern edge of the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, New York. Relatively isolated from Manhattan and other more urban parts of the ...

. The waterway between the spits connects the Bay to 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's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

at the New York Bight. Traversing the floor of the Bay southeasterly from the Narrows to the Bight and beyond is Hudson Canyon. Roughly the northeastern portion of the Bay from the Narrows to Sandy Hook is known as the Lower Bay (named in relation to the neighboring Upper ew YorkBay); roughly the western portion of the Bay (including the portion at the mouth of New Jersey's

Raritan River Raritan River is a major river of New Jersey. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. History Geologists assert that the lower Raritan provided t ...

) is called

Raritan Bay Raritan Bay is a bay located at the southern portion of Lower New York Bay between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey and is part of the New York Bight. The bay is bounded on the northwest by New York's Staten Island, on the west by Per ...

; and roughly the southeastern portion of the Bay (that is, the portion south and the portion southwest from Sandy Hook) is known as Sandy Hook Bay.

History and geography

Since before the time of the Lenape, the Native American inhabitants of the area, the Lower Bay has sustained a rich

marine ecosystem Marine ecosystems are the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems and exist in waters that have a high salt content. These systems contrast with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine waters cover more than 70% of the sur ...

with multiple fish species and

molluscs Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estim ...

, especially

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 ...

clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two shel ...

and mussel beds. In the 20th century, due to increased population and industrial pollution, the water quality of the bay and its ability to support marine life was severely diminished. The water quality of the bay began to improve with the passage of the 1972 Clean Water Act. The main shipping channel through Lower New York Bay is the Ambrose Channel, wide and dredged to a depth of . The channel is navigable by ships with up to a 37-foot draft at low tide. The entrance to the Ambrose Channel was marked for many years by the Lightship Ambrose, which was superseded by the Ambrose Light. The bay contains popular beaches at

Brighton Beach Brighton Beach is a neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach is bounded by Coney Island proper at Ocean Parkway to the ...

and Coney Island in

. There are also beaches on Staten Island. Just outside the bay, facing the Atlantic, are the beaches of Sandy Hook and the Rockaways.

Lighthouses

Several lighthouses were built to aid navigation in and around Lower New York Bay, located both on land and in the bay itself. The earliest, at Sandy Hook, was built in colonial times. In New Jersey: * Chapel Hill Rear Range Light * Conover Beacon * Great Beds Light *

Navesink Twin Lights The Navesink Twin Lights is a non-operational lighthouse and museum located in Highlands, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, overlooking Sandy Hook Bay, the entrance to the New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean. The Twin Lights, as the ...

* Sandy Hook Light In New York: * Coney Island Light *

New Dorp Light The New Dorp Lighthouse is a decommissioned lighthouse located in the New Dorp, Staten Island, New Dorp section of Staten Island, New York City. Funds for the lighthouse were approved by United States Congress on August 31, 1852 and the structure w ...

* Princes Bay Light * Staten Island Light * Fort Wadsworth Light Within Lower New York Bay: * Romer Shoal Light *

West Bank Light West Bank Light, officially West Bank Front Range Light, is a lighthouse in Lower New York Bay, within New York City, and acts as the front range light for the Ambrose Channel. It is currently active and not open to the public. The tower was built ...

* Old Orchard Shoal Light

Islands

There are two small

artificial island An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those th ...

s in Lower New York Bay, both located a mile offshore from

South Beach, Staten Island South Beach is a neighborhood on the East Shore of Staten Island, New York City, situated directly south of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. South Beach is bounded by New York Bay on the southeast, Seaview Avenue on the southwest, Laconia Avenue ...

. *

Hoffman Island Hoffman Island is an artificial island in the Lower New York Bay, off the South Beach of Staten Island, New York City. A smaller, artificial island, Swinburne Island, lies immediately to the south. Created in 1873 upon the Orchard Shoal by the ...

was created in 1873 from Orchard Shoals. It was named for former New York City mayor (1866–1868) and then-current New York Governor (1869–1871) John T. Hoffman. Hoffman Island covers 11 acres (4.45 hectares). * Swinburne Island, with an area of about 4 acres (16,000 m²), lies immediately to the south.Kenneth T. Jackson. ''The Encyclopedia of New York City''. The

New-York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum ...

;

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...

; 1995. p. 149 Swinburne Island was originally called Dix Island, but was renamed in honor of Dr. John Swinburne, a noted military surgeon during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. In the early 20th century, both islands were used as a

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

station, housing immigrants found to have been carrying contagious diseases when they landed at

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mil ...

. At the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

the

United States 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 ...

used both islands as a training station (which opened in 1938); the

Quonset hut A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semi cylindrical cross-section. The design was developed in the United States, based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War ...

s built during this period still stand on Swinburne Island. The other major use for the two islands during World War II were as anchorages for

antisubmarine net An anti-submarine net or anti-submarine boom is a boom (navigational barrier), boom placed across the mouth of a harbour or a strait for protection against submarines. Examples of anti-submarine nets *Anti-submarine boom (Lake Macquarie WWII), L ...

s that fenced off New York Bay from the Atlantic Ocean to keep enemy submarines out. Both islands are now part of

Gateway National Recreation Area Gateway National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area in New York City and Monmouth County, New Jersey. It provides recreational opportunities that are not commonly found in a dense urban environment, including ocean swimming, bir ...

Fort Lafayette Fort Lafayette was an island coastal fortification in the Narrows of New York Harbor, built offshore from Fort Hamilton at the southern tip of what is now Bay Ridge in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The fort was built on a natural island ...

was on a small island in the Narrows, just off the Brooklyn shore. That island was removed during construction of the

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge ( ) is a suspension bridge connecting the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. It spans the Narrows, a body of water linking the relatively enclosed New York Harbor with Lower New York Bay and t ...

. Coney Island, originally separated from the southern shore of Brooklyn by a narrow strait, has since been connected to the main part of Long Island by landfill, and is now a peninsula despite its name.

References

{{Authority control Bays of New Jersey Bays of New York (state) Hudson River Borders of New Jersey Borders of New York (state) Estuaries of New Jersey Estuaries of New York (state) Bays of Kings County, New York Bays of Queens County, New York Bodies of water of Monmouth County, New Jersey Bodies of water of Staten Island Bodies of water of Queens, New York Bodies of water of Brooklyn Bodies of water of New York City

History and geography

Lighthouses

Islands

See also

References