Long Island and Rhode Island. In 1609, the English navigator Henry Hudson explored the harbor and purportedly landed at Coney Island. Adriaen Block followed in 1615 and is credited as the first European to determine that both Manhattan and Long Island are islands. Native American land deeds recorded by the Dutch from 1636 state that the Indians referred to Long Island as "Sewanhaka" ("Sewanhacky" and "Sewanhacking" were other spellings in the transliteration of Lenape). "Sewan" was one of the terms for wampum (commemorative stringed shell beads, for a while also used as currency by colonists in trades with the Lenape), and is
New Amsterdam Plein and Pavilion to make room for a larger South Ferry Terminal. This paved the way for the creation of Peter Minuit Plaza, a plaza named after the Dutch merchant, representative of the Dutch East India Company, who is known for brokering the deal between the Dutch and the Lenape Indians to share the island. When Henry Hudson first arrived on the island in 1609 it was named Manna-Hata by Native Americans and was soon established as a desirable location for the new Dutch settlement. The first Dutch settlers arrived in 1626 and renamed it New Amsterdam. The Pavilion is geographically located at