----------------------------Original message----------------------------
 
               State University of New York at Stony Brook
                       Stony Brook, NY 11794-3331
 
                                            David Y Allen
                                            Library-Reference
                                            516 632-7110
                                            26-Nov-1996 09:50am EST
FROM:  DYALLEN
TO:    Remote Addressee                     ( [log in to unmask] )
 
Subject: Islands as Peninsulas
 
        I have been away from my desk for four weeks and just encountered the
thread on counties that are islands.
        It may surprise some of you to learn that the islands around New York
harbor are not legally "islands" at all.  Manhattan (New York County) has been
regarded as part of the mainland for a long time because it is only separated
from the Bronx by the shallow Harlem River.  In 1985 (U.S. v. Maine) the
Supreme Court ruled that Long Island is also part of the mainland.  The court's
reasoning in this decision is complex, but a crucial part of it is that the
East River is too narrow and shallow to really constitute an arm of the sea.  I
don't know anything definite about the legal status of Staten Island (Richmond
County), but I suspect that following this line of reasoning it would also not
qualify as an island in the eyes of the law.  Arthur Kill, which separates
Staten Island from New Jersey, is even less impressive as a tidal waterway than
the East River.
        So happy holidays to you all from New York's beautiful Long Peninsula.