New York Bay New York Bay New York Bay is the collective term for the marine areas surrounding the river mouth of the Hudson River into the Atlantic Ocean, in New Jersey and New York City. Its two largest components, which are connected by The Narrows, are: The term New York Harbor usually refers to the Upper New York Bay and Port of New York and New Jersey, but sometimes is taken to be a synonym of New York Bay. To the south of Manhattan are several islands in the New York Bay: Liberty Island, where the Statue of Liberty is; Ellis Island;
New Jersey v. New York channel. This agreement was fashioned in order to allow New Jersey to build docks on the riverfront, while allowing New York to control islands that it already considered integral parts of its territory. This led to places such as Ellis Island located on the New Jersey side of the river, but belonging to New York. Between the 1890s and 1934, Ellis Island was expanded through land reclamation and soon became a major center for immigrants coming from Europe to the New World. This land was added by the federal government and considered part of New York for decades before New