History of New York City (prehistory–1664) with the ethnic and racial balance of the community. The economic activity brought in a wide variety of ethnic groups to the fledgling city during the 17th century, including Spanish, Jews, and Africans, some of them as slaves. The Dutch origins can still be seen in many names in New York City, such as Coney Island (from "Konijnen Eiland" – Dutch for "Rabbit Island"), Bowery from "bouwerij" (modern Dutch "boerderij" = "farm"), Brooklyn (from Breukelen), Harlem from Haarlem (formalized in 1658 as "Nieuw Haarlem"), Greenwich Village (from Greenwijck, meaning "pine wood quarter"), Flushing (from Vlissingen) and Staten Island (from "Staaten
New York State School for the Deaf year, the school began operating as the Central New York Institution for Deaf-Mutes. Within three years, attendance rose to 100 and more buildings began construction. In 1887, the New York State Legislature appropriated funds for several buildings, including Gallaudet Hall, as it was later named. In 1931 the school became the Central New York School for the Deaf. In 1963, by act of the Legislature, the school became part of the New York State Education Department and underwent a further name change to its current name, the New York State School for the Deaf. Multimillion-dollar appropriations in the 1960s resulted