City of Greater New York City of Greater New York The City of Greater New York was the term used by many politicians and scholars for the expanded City of New York created on January 1, 1898, by consolidating the existing City of New York with the East Bronx, Brooklyn, western Queens County, and Staten Island. The section of the Bronx west of the Bronx River had been annexed to the City and County of New York in 1874 and was known as the Annexed District. In the years leading up to consolidation, the City of Brooklyn had expanded by annexing all of the other
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.