Geography of New York City the coast of the Northeastern United States at the mouth of the Hudson River in southeastern New York state. It is located in the New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary, the centerpiece of which is the New York Harbor, whose deep waters and sheltered bays helped the city grow in significance as a trading city. Much of New York is built on the three islands of Manhattan, Staten Island, and western Long Island, making land scarce and encouraging a high population density. The Hudson River flows from the Hudson Valley into New York Bay, becoming a tidal estuary that separates the
New Jersey v. New York New Jersey v. New York New Jersey v. New York, 523 U.S. 767 (1998), was a United States Supreme Court case in which it was determined that roughly 90% of Ellis Island was part of New Jersey rather than New York. An interstate compact had been signed between New York and New Jersey in 1834, prior to Ellis Island becoming a major immigration center. This compact granted New York the rights to all islands in the water channel separating the two states including both Ellis Island and Liberty Island, but granting New Jersey the rights to half of the water