York Shire (Province of New York) Manhattan Island, and the east side of the Hudson River coterminous with Westchester Like the original Yorkshire in England for which it was named, Yorkshire, New York was divided into three ridings: "East", "West" and "North". New York's East Riding consisted of modern Suffolk County, its West Riding Staten Island, modern Brooklyn and modern Elmhurst, Queens (also known as Newtown) and its North Riding the rest of modern Queens, Nassau County, Westchester County and the Bronx. On July 21, 1667, the Peace of Breda between England, France and the Netherlands confirmed the English conquest of New York from the Dutch
History of New York City (1855–1897) movement of the 1950s. Pre-war steam ferries had already made Brooklyn Heights into a bedroom community for affluent professionals on Wall Street and other urban areas. Elevated railroads, operated by the Manhattan Railway Company, and other new public transport expanded the commuter area of New York, allowing development of suburbs for commuters of more modest means in Upper West Side and other distant areas. Plans were made for subways to still more remote exurbs such as Harlem and the West Bronx. In the late 19th century, the island's schist bedrock encouraged the early skyscrapers whose successors characterize its skyline today.