Staten Island
Staten Island, a borough of New York City, is situated almost entirely on the island of the same name in the extreme southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay. Geographically, Staten Island was formed in the wake of the last ice age. In the late Pleistocene between 20,000 and 14,000 years ago, the ice sheet that covered northeastern North America reached as far south as present day New York City, to a depth of approximately the same height as the Empire State Building. Staten Island is connected to New Jersey via three vehicular bridges and one railroad bridge. The borough is accessible to Brooklyn via the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. 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. Staten Island is the least populated of the five boroughs but is the third largest in area.
Staten Island is overall the most suburban of the five boroughs of New York City. The North Shore, especially the neighborhoods of St. George, Tompkinsville, Park Hill, 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 homes. Staten Island (Richmond County) has a higher percentage of Italian-Americans than any other county in the United States. The centralized New York City government is responsible for public education, correctional institutions, libraries, public safety, recreational facilities, sanitation, water supply, and welfare services on Staten Island.