----------------------------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.