City Island, Bronx
Encyclopedia
City Island is a small island approximately 1.5 mi (2.4 km) long by .5 mi (1 km) wide. At one time attached to the town of Pelham
Pelham (town), New York
Pelham is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 12,396. Historically, Pelham was composed of five villages and became known as "the Pelhams"...

, Westchester County, it is now part of the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...

 of the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...

. As of the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

 the island had a population of 4,520. Its land area is 1.023 km² (0.395 sq mi, or 252.835 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...

s). The island is part of Bronx Community Board 10
Bronx Community Board 10
Bronx Community Board 10 is a local government unit of the New York City borough of the Bronx, encompassing the neighborhoods of City Island, Co-op City, Pelham Bay, Throggs Neck and Westchester Square...

.

City Island is located at the extreme western end of Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...

, south of Pelham Bay
Pelham Bay
Pelham Bay is a small bay, between City Island and Orchard Beach in the Bronx, New York.Technically, it is a sound, not a bay, since it is open to larger bodies of water at both ends. It connects to Eastchester Bay at the south, and opens onto Long Island Sound and City Island Harbor at the...

 and east of Eastchester Bay
Eastchester Bay
Eastchester Bay is a protected body of water between City Island and the mainland Bronx, New York. Technically, it is a sound, not a bay, since it is open to larger bodies of water at both ends. The northern end connects via a narrow channel to Pelham Bay...

. The body of water between City Island and the even smaller (and uninhabited) Hart Island
Hart Island, New York
Hart Island, sometimes referred to as Hart's Island, is a small island in New York City at the western end of Long Island Sound. It is approximately a mile long and one quarter of a mile wide and is located to the northeast of City Island in the Pelham Islands group...

 to the east is known as City Island Harbor
City Island Harbor
City Island Harbor is the protected body of water between City Island and Hart Island in New York, open to Long Island Sound at its northern and southern extremities. It is not a true harbor, but a Sound. Other minor islands in and around City Island Harbor include the Chimney Sweeps, The Blauzes,...

. The small island adjacent to the northeast is High Island. Stepping Stones Lighthouse, marking the main shipping channel into New York, is off the southern tip of the island, near the Long Island shore. It is part of the Pelham Islands, a group of islands originally belonging to Thomas Pell
Thomas Pell
Dates may not be entirely accurate in this article due to disagreements between sources.Thomas Pell was a physician who was famous for buying the area known as Pelham, Westchester, New York, as well as land that now includes the eastern Bronx and southern Westchester County. He founded the town...

.

Geology

City Island was created by glacial deposits at the end of the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...

. There is a layer of bedrock
Bedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...

 and then a thick layer of red clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...

 topped with sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...

, with topsoil above that. The southern end has deposits of rare blue clay. The area is strewn with glacial erratic
Glacial erratic
A glacial erratic is a piece of rock that differs from the size and type of rock native to the area in which it rests. "Erratics" take their name from the Latin word errare, and are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundreds of kilometres...

 boulders. Local bedrock is Manhattan schist
Manhattan schist
The Manhattan schist is a formation of mica schist rock that underlies much of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is well suited for the foundations of tall buildings, and the two large concentrations of skyscrapers on the island occur in locations where the formation is close to the...

 with glacial striations
Glacial striations
Glacial striations or glacial grooves are scratches or gouges cut into bedrock by process of glacial abrasion. Glacial striations usually occur as multiple straight, parallel grooves representing the movement of the sediment-loaded base of the glacier...

.

Indigenous wildlife

City Island is an urbanized
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 area, reminiscent of a small New England town. The forms of animal life on the island are typical of such an environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....

: raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, skunk
Skunk
Skunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance varies from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...

, and occasional deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

. Coyotes and turkeys have also been sighted.

The real diversity of wildlife on and around City Island is among birds, especially aquatic
Aquatic animal
An aquatic animal is an animal, either vertebrate or invertebrate, which lives in water for most or all of its life. It may breathe air or extract its oxygen from that dissolved in water through specialised organs called gills, or directly through its skin. Natural environments and the animals that...

 species. There are many varieties of duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...

; bufflehead
Bufflehead
The Bufflehead is a small American sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Anas albeola.-Description:...

s, goldeneyes
Goldeneye (duck)
Goldeneye are small tree-hole nesting northern hemisphere seaducks belonging to the genus Bucephala. Their plumage is black and white, and they eat fish, crustaceans and other marine life....

, mallard
Mallard
The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....

s, and cormorant
Cormorant
The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...

s. Canada geese
Canada Goose
The Canada Goose is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body....

 are common, as are mute swan
Mute Swan
The Mute Swan is a species of swan, and thus a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is native to much of Europe and Asia, and the far north of Africa. It is also an introduced species in North America, Australasia and southern Africa. The name 'mute' derives from it being less...

s, great blue heron
Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores and England...

s, great white egrets
Great Egret
The Great Egret , also known as the Great White Egret or Common Egret, White Heron, or Great White Heron, is a large, widely-distributed egret. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, in southern Europe it is rather localized...

, and several types of gull
Gull
Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...

. A small protected wetlands area on west Ditmars Street is home to many of these species. Of course, no list of urban wildlife would be complete without New York's ubiquitous feral pigeon
Feral Pigeon
Feral pigeons , also called city doves, flying rats, city pigeons or street pigeons, are derived from domestic pigeons that have returned to the wild. The domestic pigeon was originally bred from the wild Rock Pigeon, which naturally inhabits sea-cliffs and mountains. All three types readily...

.

Surprisingly, bright green parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...

s (monk parakeets
Monk Parakeet
The Monk Parakeet, also known as the Quaker Parrot, is a species of parrot, in most treatments the only member of the genus Myiopsitta. It originates from the temperate to subtropical areas of Argentina and the surrounding countries in South America...

), originally imported from South America as pets, have adapted to the climate and breed in the wild in New York. They are a common sight on City Island and in nearby Pelham Bay Park
Pelham Bay Park
Pelham Bay Park, located in the northeast corner of the New York City borough of The Bronx and extending partially into Westchester County, is at the largest public park in New York City. The section of the park within New York City's borders is more than three times the size of Manhattan's...

. Flocks of wild turkeys
Turkey (bird)
A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species...

 also are often seen in the park. A herd of five or more deer live in Pelham Bay Park, but one deer made a couple of short visits to City Island by crossing the bridge.

Another surprising resident of the island is the brown or dekay's snake
Storeria dekayi
Storeria dekayi, commonly known as the brown snake or De Kay's snake, is a small species of colubrid snake.-Geographic range:...

. This small serpent has adapted superbly to life amongst the island's growing community. Natives often tell stories of encounters with these snakes while gardening.

History

Originally inhabited by the Siwanoy
Siwanoy
The Native American Siwanoy or Sinanoy were a band of Algonquian-speaking people, the Wappinger, in what is now the New York City area. By the mid-17th century, when their territory became hotly contested between Dutch and English colonial interests, the Siwanoy were settled along the East River...

 band of Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...

 Indians, City Island later was settled by Europeans as part of property and estate bought by English nobleman, Thomas Pell
Thomas Pell
Dates may not be entirely accurate in this article due to disagreements between sources.Thomas Pell was a physician who was famous for buying the area known as Pelham, Westchester, New York, as well as land that now includes the eastern Bronx and southern Westchester County. He founded the town...

, in 1654. Prior to that, English settlers led by Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts...

 (seeking religious freedom) settled in an area nearby on the river (now known as the Hutchinson River) in 1642.

After changing hands several times, in 1761 the Island (at that time known as Minefer's Island), was bought by Benjamin Palmer of New York. Up to this point the island had been inhabited by only a few homes and farms. It had a population of about 1000 people, who tended farms and livestock. Palmer had the vision of developing the island into a port, which could rival that of New York. He knew that ships heading north and south passed City Island using Long Island Sound as a safe inshore waterway. He envisioned shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...

s, and stores that could cater to the ships. He went as far as to have the island mapped out in different plots designated as shipyards, docks, business, farms, homes, schools, and houses of worship, along with streets, paths, and access routes. Benjamin Palmer appealed to the British Crown and received letters patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...

 that covered the ownership of waterfront properties 400' out from the high tide mark under water and around the perimeter of the Island. This patent, known as the "Palmer Grant" is unique to City Island; it has been contested in courts since, but has always been upheld.

Palmer also is responsible for changing the name from Minefer's Island to City Island in anticipation of things to come. Palmer's vision never fully materialized, however, as the timing just before the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

 halted all progress, and the war depleted the capital of Palmer and his investors. It would be another sixty years before the island again started to be developed when oystermen, Hell-Gate pilots, and eventually shipbuilders arrived and introduced these industries.

The history of the island has been chronicled in Tales Of The Clamdiggers by Alice Payne (ISBN 0-9747823-1-9) and City Island and Orchard Beach (Images Of America) by Catherine A Scott (ISBN 0-7385-3546-X). According to local tradition, anyone actually born on the island is known as a "clamdigger". A City Island resident not born on the island is known as a "musselsucker."

Description

The island has the look and feel of a small New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 fishing village, with no spot more than a few minutes' walking distance to the water. Most businesses are clustered along centrally-located City Island Avenue. There are two small supermarkets, a gas station, a pharmacy, a bank, a hardware store, and a variety of other small shops. The island is most famous for its numerous seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...

 restaurants and antique stores, which line both sides of the avenue.

Government services include the City Island Station post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 (10464) and a FDNY
New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department or the Fire Department of the City of New York has the responsibility for protecting the citizens and property of New York City's five boroughs from fires and fire hazards, providing emergency medical services, technical rescue as well as providing first response...

 firehouse (Engine 70, Ladder 53). The New York City Police Department
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...

 presence (mostly traffic control on summer weekends) is provided by the 45th Precinct, located in the mainland Bronx. The City Island Branch is possibly the smallest of the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...

 system, even after the recent expansion which doubled the size of the building.

Houses of worship are Saint Mary's Star of the Sea Holy Roman Catholic Church, Trinity United Methodist Church, Grace Episcopal Church, and Temple Beth El.

A local paper, The Island Current is printed ten times a year, and chronicles mostly community issues and local news.

Education

City Island is within the New York City Department of Education
New York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...

.

P.S. 175 City Island School, located on City Island Avenue, serves grades K-8 for the island.

The School of St. Mary Star of the Sea is a Catholic grade school on City Island.

The former Public School 17
Public School 17
Public School 17 is a historic school located at City Island, The Bronx, New York, New York. It was designed by noted architect C. B. J. Snyder and built in 1897 in the Neo-Georgian style. A rear addition was built in 1930. It is a two story, five bay brick building on a high basement. It...

 houses the City Island Historical Society and Nautical Museum. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1984.

Bridges and transportation

Starting in 1760, a small ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 powered by a rope between Rodman's Neck
Rodman's Neck
Rodman's Neck refers to a peninsula of land in the Bronx, New York jutting out into Long Island Sound.The southern third of the 'neck' is used as a firing range by the New York Police Department; the remaining wooded section is part of Pelham Bay Park...

 and City Island was used to transport people and supplies between the mainland and City Island. It was not until 1873 that a bridge was built by a syndicate of City Island businessman including G.W. Horton, Ben Hedgeman, and David Carll. Then, in 1901, City Island became connected to the mainland by a new, steel three-lane City Island Bridge
City Island Bridge
The City Island Bridge is a bridge in the New York City borough of the Bronx, connecting City Island and Rodman's Neck on the mainland. It is of stone and steel construction, and spans 950 ft . Construction was begun in 1899 and completed in 1901, at a cost of $200,000...

. There is another small, private bridge on the northeastern end of City Island which connects it to High Island
High Island, New York
High Island is a small private island, part of The Pelham Islands group in the New York City borough of the Bronx. It lies east of the north end of City Island between City Island Harbor and Pelham Bay in Long Island Sound. It is an island at most times, but is connected to City Island by a sandbar...

, site of the radio transmitter for New York AM stations, WFAN
WFAN
WFAN , also known as "Sports Radio 66" or "The FAN", is a radio station in New York City. The station broadcasts on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio...

 (660) and WCBS
WCBS (AM)
WCBS , often referred to as "WCBS Newsradio 880" , is a radio station in New York City. Owned by CBS Radio, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of the CBS Radio Network...

 (880); a security gate prevents access to High Island.

In the early 1900s, the Pelham Park and City Island Railroad
Pelham Park and City Island Railroad
The Pelham Park & City Island Railroad was a short street railway in The Bronx, New York City, which connected City Island with the Bartow station of the New Haven Railroad on the mainland of The Bronx. For most of its existence it was horse-drawn; between 1910 and 1914, the portion on the...

 provided rail service to the island.

Bus transportation consists of the Bx29 local bus to Bay Plaza via the Pelham Bay Park subway station and the two rush-hour extended roundtrips of the BxM8 express bus to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

, both run by the MTA
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S...

. There is also the City Island Seaside Trolley run by the Bronx Tourism Council. Although the island was not displayed on previous prints of the NYC Subway Map, it clearly is placed on recent prints of the Subway Map.

Local businesses and attractions

The island is famous for its seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...

 restaurants, with lobster
American lobster
The American lobster, Homarus americanus, is a species of lobster found on the Atlantic coast of North America, chiefly from Labrador to New Jersey. Within North America, it is also known as the northern lobster or Maine lobster. It can reach a body length of , and a mass of over , making it the...

 being a common specialty. Over thirty eating establishments compete for business, ranging from fast food (Johnny's Reef) to The Lobster Box to a French bed and breakfast and a popular spot, The Black Whale, famous for its desserts. The 'Snug' is a popular local Irish pub. While a few of the restaurants close during the winter months, most are open year round.
Local shops include Focal Point Gallery (a gallery of photography), Starving Artist Cafe and Gallery (featuring musical talents), Exotiqa International Arts (featuring art objects, gift items, and jewelry from around the world), Early Ruth's Antiques, Midtown Antiques, My Dolls And Things, and Calico Juno Designs, a handcrafted jewelry store where all the jewelry offered for sale is handmade on the premises.

The City Island Nautical Museum displays maritime artifacts and antiques. It is located at 190 Fordham Street and is open only on Saturday and Sunday afternoons (other times by appointment). Admission is free and there is a small gift shop. The building was PS17 in its prior life.

The Island has several landmarks such as the Samuel Pell Mansion on City Island Avenue near St. Mary Star of the Sea Church. It is where Arsenic and Old Lace starring Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...

 was filmed for TV; there are a number of old Victorian mansions located throughout City Island, mostly on the Sound side, complete with tall pointy spires and gables with gazebos, such as Delmours Point on Tier Street.

The City Island Theater Group is the local community theater that produces entertaining shows year round.

Boating

The island has four yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...

 clubs, all situated on the Eastchester Bay side of the island. They are, from north to south, the Harlem Yacht Club, Stuyvesant Yacht Club, City Island Yacht Club, and Morris Yacht and Beach Club. The Touring Kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...

 Club is on the west side of the island. There are two active sail lofts (UK-Halsey and Doyle). The island also has several commercial marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....

s.

The island has what are called "special anchorages" where boats of all sizes are freely moored or anchored, and there are many docks with boat slips for mooring boats in a secure and restricted way. There are also many large piers around the island that can receive large ships.

The island is home to the Columbia University Sailing Team, whose fleet of dinghies is docked at City Island Yacht Club. The team comes from Manhattan four times a week to practice off the western shore of City Island. Fordham University's Sailing Team sails out of Morris Yacht and Beach Club.

In the novel Bluebeard, by Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...

, the character Dan Gregory states that his 80 feet (24.4 m) yacht, the Ararat, was dry-docked on City Island.

Many of the boats which competed and won in the America's Cup
America's Cup
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...

 in years past were built in The Minneford Boat Yard on City Island. The Eastchester Bay Yacht Racing Association is the major organizer for sailboat races in the area. J/24
J/24
The J/24 is an International One-Design keelboat class as defined by the International Sailing Federation. The J/24 is a one design class created to fulfill the diverse needs of recreational sailors such as cruising, one design racing, day sailing and handicap racing.The J/24 is the world's most...

 sailboats are the active one design racing fleet on the island.

A small fleet of head boats take paying passengers on fishing trips to Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...

. Smaller boats are also available for rent by the day. The sail and power boating industry has been declining in recent years as boatyards are being sold and being turned into condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...

s.

City Island in film and TV

Numerous films, television shows, and commercials have been filmed on City Island. Films include BUtterfield 8
BUtterfield 8
BUtterfield 8 is a 1960 Metrocolor drama film directed by Daniel Mann, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey. Taylor, then 28 years old, won an Academy Award for her performance...

starring Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...

, Long Day's Journey Into Night
Long Day's Journey into Night (1962 film)
Long Day's Journey into Night is a 1962 film adaptation of the Eugene O'Neill play. It was directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Ely Landau with Joseph E. Levine and Jack J. Dreyfus, Jr. as executive producers. The screenplay was by Eugene O'Neill, the music score by André Previn and the...

(Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...

), Awakenings
Awakenings
Awakenings is a 1990 American drama film based on Oliver Sacks's 1973 memoir Awakenings. It tells the true story of British neurologist Oliver Sacks, fictionalized as American Malcolm Sayer and portrayed by Robin Williams who, in 1969, discovers beneficial effects of the then-new drug L-Dopa...

(Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...

 and Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...

), Love Is All There Is
Love Is All There Is
Love Is All There Is is a 1996 romantic comedy film directed by Joseph Bologna and Renee Taylor, who also both star in the movie.- Plot :...

(Lainie Kazan
Lainie Kazan
Lainie Kazan is an American actress and singer.-Personal life:Kazan was born Lanie Levine in Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of a Russian Ashkenazi Jewish father who worked as a bookie and a Turkish Sephardic Jewish mother, Carole, whom Kazan has described as "neurotic, fragile and...

 and Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...

), and A Bronx Tale
A Bronx Tale
A Bronx Tale is a 1993 American crime drama film set in The Bronx during the turbulent era of the 1960s. It was the directorial debut of Robert De Niro, and follows a young Italian-American teenager as his path in life is guided by two father figures, played by De Niro and Chazz Palminteri...

(Robert De Niro and Chazz Palminteri
Chazz Palminteri
Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri is an American actor and writer, best known for his performances in The Usual Suspects, A Bronx Tale, and his Academy Award nominated role for Best Supporting Actor in Bullets Over Broadway....

), which featured the City Island Bridge and one scene which was filmed in the parking lot of Johnny's Reef Restaurant.
Michael Douglas filmed Don't Say a Word
Don't Say a Word
Don't Say a Word is a 2001 psychological thriller film starring Michael Douglas, Brittany Murphy and Sean Bean based on the novel of the same title by Andrew Klavan...

at the Hart Island Ferry and Hart Island. Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Royal Tenenbaums is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson. The film stars Gene Hackman and Anjelica Huston, with Danny Glover, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, and Owen Wilson....

was filmed at Delmours Point, which is the mansion where Long Days Journey Into Night was filmed.

The movie City Island
City Island (film)
City Island is a 2009 American comedy-drama film directed and written by Raymond De Felitta and starring Andy García, Julianna Margulies and Alan Arkin. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on April 26, 2009...

, starring Andy García and Julianna Margulies, is set on City Island and also was shot there. Its release date was March 19, 2010. The film won the Audience Favorite Award at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...

.

City Island was also the setting for the 2006 film The Groomsmen
The Groomsmen
The Groomsmen is a 2006 comedy film written and directed by Edward Burns. It opened in New York and Los Angeles on July 14, 2006. Filming took place at many locations on City Island, New York.-Plot:...

, which was directed by Edward Burns
Edward Burns
Edward Fitzgerald Burns is an American actor, film producer, writer and director.-Early life:Burns was born in Woodside, Queens, New York, the son of Molly , a federal agency manager, and Edward J. Burns, a public relations spokesman and police officer. He was raised a Roman Catholic...

; filming took place at many locations on City Island.

In 1999, Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....

 directed and produced Summer of Sam
Summer of Sam
Summer of Sam is a 1999 crime-drama based around the Son of Sam serial murders. It was directed and produced by Spike Lee.-Plot:Summer of Sam is the story of a group of people in New York City in the summer of 1977, a time when the headlines were dominated by the Son of Sam serial killer...

, a crime drama based around the Son of Sam murders, and set in the neighborhood of City Island.

In 2006, Margot at the Wedding
Margot at the Wedding
Margot at the Wedding is a 2007 tragicomedy written and directed by Noah Baumbach.The film premiered August 31, 2007 at the 34th Telluride Film Festival.-Plot:...

starring Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...

 and Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He has built up a reputation as a versatile character actor appearing in such high profile films as Road to Perdition, The Phantom of the Opera, Munich, There Will Be Blood and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His television roles include...

 was filmed on City Island Avenue and other locations on the island.

In 2008, actor Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...

 returned to City Island with actor Danny DeVito
Danny DeVito
Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...

 to film Solitary Man
Solitary Man (film)
Solitary Man is a 2009 American film co-directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien. The film stars Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Jenna Fischer, Jesse Eisenberg, Mary-Louise Parker and Danny DeVito.-Plot:...

(2009) in the City Island Diner and Jessica Alba was filmed in An Invisible Sign of My Own (2009) there as well.

A very early film shot in a City Island studio was Richard III, made in 1912.

Television series that were filmed on the island include the classic Coronet Blue
Coronet Blue
Coronet Blue is an American TV series that ran on CBS from May 29, 1967, to September 4, 1967.It starred Frank Converse as Michael Alden, an amnesiac in search of his identity. Brian Bedford costarred...

, Naked City
Naked City (TV series)
Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic "semi-documentary" format....

, Car 54, Where Are You?
Car 54, Where Are You?
Car 54, Where Are You? is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1961 to 1963. Episodes had various directors, the most recognized being Al De Caprio. Stanley Prager and Nat Hiken also directed several episodes. Most of its filming was on location in The Bronx, and at Biograph...

and, more recently, an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...

called "Sound Bodies" which was based on a real-life story of several local teenagers who drowned in Long Island Sound near City Island. The fictional city of Hyde in the series finale of the US version of Life on Mars
Life on Mars (U.S. TV series)
Life on Mars was a science fiction crime drama television series which originally aired on ABC from October 9, 2008 to April 1, 2009. It is an adaptation of the BAFTA-winning original UK series of the same name produced by the BBC...

 was filmed on City Island. Also the Law and Order episode "Maritime" showing the City Island bridge.

Since 2002, the film production company Harrington Talents has had its offices and studio located on City Island. Notable celebrities who have worked on their productions include rapper and actor Ice-T
ICE-T
* Ice-T, an American rapper and actor* ICE T , a tilting model of the German InterCityExpress series of high-speed trains...

, professional wrestler Bruno Sammartino
Bruno Sammartino
Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino is an Italian-American former professional wrestler, best known for being the longest-running champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation , holding the title across two reigns for over 11 years in total, as well as the longest single WWE Championship reign...

. They also shot many scenes from their movie Doughboys starring Louis Lombardi, Vincent Pastore, Andrew Keengan, Mike Star, and James Madio. The company is owned and operated by Frank Mosca, Stephen Franciosa Jr., and John Morena.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of the island include:
  • Anthony (b. 1920) and Sally Amato (1917–2000); founders & directors, Amato Opera
    Amato Opera
    The Amato Opera was an opera company located in the East Village neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City. The company was produced by the husband and wife team of Anthony and Sally Amato and presented opera on a small scale with a reduced orchestra at low prices...

  • Harry Carey (1878–1947), one of silent film's earliest superstars
  • Adolfo Carrión, Jr. (born 1961), former Bronx Borough President
    Borough president
    Borough President is an elective office in each of the five boroughs of New York City.-Reasons for establishment:...

  • Bruce McRae
    Bruce McRae
    Bruce McRae Bruce McRae Bruce McRae (January 15, 1867, India - May 7, 1927 City Island, New York, was an American stage and early silent film actor.Born in India in 1867 he entered acting as a stage actor. He was the first actor to play Dr. Watson to William Gillette's Sherlock Holmes. For several...

     (1867–1927), silent film actor
  • George Meany
    George Meany
    William George Meany led labor union federations in the United States. As an officer of the American Federation of Labor, he represented the AFL on the National War Labor Board during World War II....

     (1894–1980), union leader who served as president of the AFL-CIO
    AFL-CIO
    The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...

  • Henry B. Nevins
    Henry B. Nevins
    Henry B. Nevins was a master yacht builder and author on vessel construction in City Island, New York. Born in New York in 1878, Nevins wanted to be a doctor but was too frail, so he decided to work Gas Engine & Power Company before deciding upon his hobby, shipbuilding by apprenticing at Charles...

     (1878–1959), master yacht builder and author
  • Vincent Pastore
    Vincent Pastore
    Vincent Pastore is an Italian-American actor, often cast as a mobster and best known for the role of Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on The Sopranos.-Early life:...

     (born 1946), actor known for his role on the TV series The Sopranos
    The Sopranos
    The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...

  • Carlos D. Ramirez
    Carlos D. Ramirez
    Carlos D. Ramirez was an American publisher who purchased El Diario La Prensa — the oldest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States — from the Gannett Company in 1989, and succeeded in turning around the paper's longstanding decline in readership and returned it to profitability.Ramirez was...

     (1946–1999), publisher of El Diario La Prensa
    El Diario La Prensa
    El Diario la Prensa is the largest and oldest Spanish-language daily newspaper in New York City, and the oldest Spanish-language daily in the United States. Published by ImpreMedia, the paper covers local, national and international news with an emphasis on Latin America, as well as human-interest...

  • Oliver Sacks
    Oliver Sacks
    Oliver Wolf Sacks, CBE , is a British neurologist and psychologist residing in New York City. He is a professor of neurology and psychiatry at Columbia University, where he also holds the position of Columbia Artist...

     (born 1933), who wrote the book Awakenings
    Awakenings (book)
    Awakenings is a 1973 non-fiction book by Oliver Sacks. It recounts the life histories of those who had been victims of the 1920s encephalitis lethargica epidemic. Sacks chronicles his efforts in the late 1960s to help these patients at the Beth Abraham Hospital in the Bronx, New York. The...

    , whose adaptation was filmed at a house similar to his own, but on a different street on the island
  • Salvatore Santoro
    Salvatore Santoro
    Salvatore T. "Tom Mix" Santoro, Sr. served as Underboss in the Lucchese crime family during the 1980s before being convicted in the Mafia Commission Trial and sentenced to 100 years in federal prison.-Early life:...

     (1913–2000), Lucchese crime family
    Lucchese crime family
    The Lucchese crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano "Tommy" Reina serving as boss up until his murder...

     underboss
    Underboss
    Underboss is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss...

  • Richard Waring
    Richard Waring
    Richard Waring was a British-born American actor, appearing in both Hollywood movies and in many Broadway plays....

     (1911–1994), television and film actor
  • Warren Weith, columnist for Car and Driver
    Car and Driver
    Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011...

    in the 1960s and 1970s

See also

  • The Pelham Islands
    The Pelham Islands
    The Pelham Islands is a historical name for a group of islands in western Long Island Sound that once belonged to Thomas Pell. The main islands in the group are City Island, Hart Island, Hunters Island, Twin Island, Goose Island, Davids' Island, High Island, Rat Island, the Chimney Sweeps, the...

  • Fort Slocum
    Fort Slocum (New York)
    Fort Slocum, New York was a US military base occupying Davids' Island and Hart Island at the western end of Long Island Sound. The fort was named for Major General Henry W...

  • Battle of Pell's Point
    Battle of Pell's Point
    The Battle of Pell's Point , also known as the Battle of Pelham, was a skirmish fought between British and American troops during the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War...

  • Green Flats
    Green Flats Reef (New York)
    Green Flats is a reef in City Island Harbor, between City Island and Rat Island.The reef is composed of mostly small round glacial alluvial rocks and a number of glacial erratics made of granite. It is covered in green seamoss and kelp...

  • Cuban Ledge
    The Cuban Ledge, New York
    The Cuban Ledge, New York is a reef composed chiefly of sand and small rocks in Eastchester Bay, The Bronx, in Long Island Sound. It is located between Rodman's Neck and Country Club in Eastchester Bay and only appears during periods of low-tide....

  • Execution Rocks Lighthouse
    Execution Rocks Lighthouse
    Execution Rocks Light is a lighthouse in the middle of Long Island Sound on the border between New Rochelle and Sands Point, New York. It stands 55 feet tall, with a white light flashing every 10 seconds. The granite tower is painted white with a brown band around the middle...

  • Big Tom
    Big Tom, Bronx
    Big Tom is a submerged rock in Eastchester Bay, New York, one quarter mile west of Belden Point. It is only visible at very low tide, however it is nonetheless referred to in historical journals. It is thought to be named after Thomas Pell who owned City Island...


Miscellaneous


Businesses


Maps and charts



Americana


Literature

  • City Island & Orchard Beach (ISBN 0-7385-3546-X)
  • The Other Islands Of New York City (ISBN 0-88150-502-1)
  • East Bronx, East Of The Bronx River (ISBN 0-7385-0301-0)
  • Tales of the Clamdiggers (ISBN 0-9747823-1-9)
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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