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
Schodack, New York Schodack, New York Schodack is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 12,794 at the 2010 census. The town name is derived from the Mahican word, Escotak. The town is in the southwestern part of the county. Schodack is southeast of Albany, New York. Prior to the arrival of the Dutch, the region was at the heart of the Mahican tribe. The location of their principal village was "Esquatak, the "fireplace of the nation." The town was partly explored by Henry Hudson in 1609. The town was first settled by Europeans in the 17th Century