East River: Difference between revisions

The section known as "Hell Gate" – from the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] name {{lang|nl|Hellegat}} meaning either "bright strait" or "clear opening", given to the entire river in 1614 by explorer [[Adriaen Block]] when he passed through it in his ship ''Tyger''<ref name="fed420">{{cite fednyc}} pp.419–20</ref><ref name=wolfe /> – is a narrow, turbulent, and particularly treacherous stretch of the river. Tides from the Long Island Sound, New York Harbor and the [[Harlem River]] meet there, making it difficult to navigate, especially because of the number of rocky islets which once dotted it, with names such as "Frying Pan", "Pot, Bread and Cheese", "Hen and Chicken", "Heel Top"; "Flood"; and "Gridiron", roughly 12 islets and reefs in all,<ref>Eldredge & Horenstein (2104), p.91</ref> all of which led to a number of shipwrecks, including [[HMS Hussar (1763)|HMS ''Hussar'']], a British [[frigate]] that sank in 1780 while supposedly carrying gold and silver intended to pay British troops. The stretch has since been cleared of rocks and widened.<ref name=wolfe>Wolfe, Gerard R., "Hell Gate and Hell Gate Bridge", in Jackson, pp.588–589</ref> [[Washington Irving]] wrote of Hell Gate that the current sounded "like a bull bellowing for more drink" at half tide, while at full tide it slept "as soundly as an alderman after dinner". He said it was like "a peaceable fellow enough when he has no liquor at all, or when he has a skinful, but who, when half-seas over, plays the very devil."<ref name=fed420 /> The tidal regime is complex, with the two major tides – from the Long Island Sound and from the Atlantic Ocean – separated by about two hours; and this is without consideration of the tidal influence of the Harlem River, all of which creates a "dangerous cataract", as one ship's captain put it.<ref>Eldredge & Horenstein (2014), pp.92–93</ref>

The largest land mass in the River south of Roosevelt Island is [[U Thant Island]], an artificial islet created during the construction of the [[Steinway Tunnel]] (which currently serves the [[7 (New York City Subway service)|subway's 7 and <7> lines)]]. Officially named Belmont Island after one of the tunnel's financiers, the landmass owes its popular name (after [[Myanmar|Burmese]] diplomat [[U Thant]], former [[Secretary-General of the United Nations]]) to the efforts of a group associated with the guru [[Sri Chinmoy]] that held mediation meetings on the island in the 1970s. Today, the island is owned by New York State and serves as a migratory bird sanctuary that is closed to visitors.

Proceeding north and east from Roosevelt Island, the River's principal islands include Manhattan's [[Mill Rock]], an {{convert|8.6|acre|adj=on}} island located about 1000 feet from Manhattan's East 96th Street; Manhattan's 520 -acre [[Randalls and Wards Islands]], two formerly separate islands joined by landfill that are home to a large public park, a number of public institutions, and the supports for the [[Triborough Bridge|Triborough]] and the [[Hell Gate Bridge]]s; the Bronx's [[Rikers Island]], once under {{convert|100|acre|km2|abbr=}} but now over {{convert|400|acres|km2|abbr=}}<ref>Steinberg, p.214</ref> following extensive landfill expansion after the island's 1884 purchase by the city as a prison farm<ref>Steinberg, p 148</ref> and still home to New York City's massive and controversial primary jail complex; and [[North and South Brother Islands (New York City)|North and South Brother Islands]], both of which also constitute part of the Bronx.<ref name="encnyc" />

Dutch settlement of what became [[New Amsterdam]] began in 1623.<ref name=history /> Some of the earliest of the small settlements in the area were along the west bank of the East River on sites that had previously been Native American settlements. As with the Native Americans, the river was central to their lives for transportation for trading and for fishing.<ref name="living">Baard, Erik (2008) [http://www.eastrivernyc.org/content/history/living-on-the-river/index.html "East River: Living on the River"] {{Webarchivewebarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126005915/http://www.eastrivernyc.org/content/history/living-on-the-river/index.html |date=January 26, 2017 }} ''East River NYC''</ref> They gathered marsh grass to feed their cattle, and the East River's tides helped to power mills which ground grain to flour. By 1642 there was a ferry running on the river between Manhattan island and what is now Brooklyn, and the first pier on the river was built in 1647 at Pearl and Broad Streets. After the British took over the colony in 1664, which was renamed "New York", the development of the waterfront continued, and a [[shipbuilding]] industry grew up once New York started exporting flour. By the end of the 17th century, the Great Dock, located at [[Lower East Side|Corlear's Hook]] on the East River, had been built.<ref name="history">Baard, Erik (2008) [http://www.eastrivernyc.org/content/history/history-to-1815/index.html "East River: History to 1815"] {{Webarchivewebarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408035959/http://www.eastrivernyc.org/content/history/history-to-1815/index.html |date=April 8, 2016 }} ''East River NYC''</ref>