Geography of New York City of the Staten Island Greenbelt. New York New Jersey New York City comprises five boroughs, an unusual form of government used to administer the five constituent counties that make up the city. Throughout the boroughs there are hundreds of distinct , many with a definable history and character all their own. If the boroughs were each independent cities, four of the boroughs (Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx) would be among the ten most populous cities in the United States. Although it is not in the subtropics and its winters are cold, New York has a humid subtropical climate according
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.