![]() ![]() įor census purposes, the New York City government classifies City Island as part of a larger neighborhood tabulation area called Pelham Bay-Country Club-City Island. Demographics Looking southwest at marina and distant Throgs Neck BridgeĪs of the 2020 Census, the island had a population of 4,417. A City Island resident not born on the island is known as a "mussel sucker". Īccording to local tradition, anyone actually born on the island is known as a "clam digger". A 43-unit condo complex called On the Sound, built in 2015, was the first major residential project on the island since around 2000. City Island has generally remained sparsely developed with a suburban feel. In the mid-20th century, City Island developed as a shipbuilding community, before becoming a daytrippers' destination. The island continued to host harbor defenses through the early 20th century. It narrowly voted to become a part of New York City in 1895, in exchange for a new bridge to the mainland, and was consolidated as part of the Bronx in 1898. In 1819, City Island was annexed to the town of Pelham, Westchester County. It would be another sixty years before the island again started to be developed when oystermen, pilots of Hell Gate, a set of nearby narrows, and eventually shipbuilders arrived and introduced these industries. Palmer's vision never fully materialized, however, as the timing just before the American Revolution halted all progress, and the war depleted the capital of Palmer and his investors. Palmer also is responsible for changing the name from Minefer's Island to City Island in anticipation of things to come. ![]() This patent, known as the "Palmer Grant" is unique to City Island it has been contested in courts since, but has always been upheld. Benjamin Palmer appealed to the British Crown and received letters patent that covered the ownership of waterfront properties 400 feet out from the high tide mark under water and around the perimeter of the Island. He went as far as to have the island mapped out in different plots designated as shipyards, docks, business, farms, homes, schools, and houses of worship, along with streets, paths, and access routes. He envisioned shipyards, and stores that could cater to the ships. He knew that ships heading north and south passed City Island using Long Island Sound as a safe inshore waterway. Palmer had the vision of developing the island into a port, which could rival that of New York. ![]() It had a population of about 1000 people, who tended farms and livestock. Up to this point the island had been inhabited by only a few homes and farms. Palmer changed the name to New City Island, later dropping the “New.” The island, known by different names including: Minnewits, Minneford, Minefer’s, Great Mulberry Island, was purchased in 1761 by Benjamin Palmer of New York, who planned to make it a major seaport in western Long Island Sound. The island was part of a very large property, about 50,000 acres, to which the English physician Thomas Pell established ownership in a treaty signed by five Lenape sachems in 1654. Prior to European colonialism, the island now known as City Island was inhabited by Native Americans, possibly the Wiechquaeskeck band of the Lenape people who left shell middens indicating that they had gathered, cooked, and consumed oysters and clams on the island. The island is part of Bronx Community District 10, and its ZIP Code is 10464. Its land area is 0.395 square miles (1.02 km 2). The Stepping Stones Light, marking the main shipping channel into New York, is off the southern tip of City Island, near the Long Island shore.Īs of the 2020 Census, the island had a population of 4,417. The small island adjacent to the northeast is High Island. The body of water between City Island and the even smaller, uninhabited Hart Island to the east is known as City Island Harbor. City Island is part of the Pelham Islands, a group of islands that once belonged to Thomas Pell. Īt one time the island was incorporated within the boundaries of Pelham, Westchester County, New York, but the island is now part of New York City. City Island is located at the extreme western end of Long Island Sound, south of Pelham Bay Park, and east of Eastchester Bay. City Island is a neighborhood in the northeastern Bronx in New York City, located on an island of the same name approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long by 0.5 miles (0.80 km) wide. ![]()
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