River’s Meaning to Indians, Before and After Hudson

Although our awareness of the voyages of Henry Hudson, Robert Fulton and Samuel Champlain may have vastly increased over the past year — courtesy of exhibitions, performances and publications celebrating 400 years of European settlement in the Hudson River Valley — most of us are still fairly ignorant when it comes to the native people who once inhabited the region.

City looks to expand ferry service for commuters

Ship ahoy, straphangers.

Ridership on the New York Water Taxi line running between Manhattan and Long Island City, Williamsburg and Dumbo is up 10 percent from last year, with hundreds of New Yorkers turning to the private ferry service to save time and avoid subway crowding.

A Wooded Prairie Springs From a Site Once Piled High With Garbage

 South of the Belt Parkway near Exit 15 in Brooklyn, approaching Kennedy International Airport, an unassuming hill slopes upward, dotted with small, scraggly trees and bushes.

Looking back at Hudson River history on the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s epic sail

Just as a river is considered the lifeblood of any city, within the murky waters of the Hudson flows the history of New York – the great metropolis that began as a little Dutch trading colony named Nieuw Amsterdam.

Harbor Day festival plans set

Dutch treats of many varieties — tulips, windmills and beer — will sweeten a late-summer Sunday at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden.

Researchers breeding rare native ladybugs

A year after they launched a nationwide search for dwindling native ladybugs, New York researchers are breeding colonies of them from insects found by citizen scientists in Oregon and Colorado.

New York anglers aboard party and charter boats now allowed increased limits of porgies

For outdoorsmen as well as school kids, this is a busy transition time. Some saltwater anglers are taking advantage of changes in regulations, while youngsters are hanging on to borrowed time to catch snappers and blue claws.

One final weekend: Back rent still unpaid, Coney Island’s Dreamland reopens for Labor Day

 

 Coney Island’s Dreamland is back for one last weekend.

Governors Island Bike Tour

Like so many New Yorkers I’ve never been to Governors Island though it lies alluringly close to the southern tip of Manhattan — about 800 yards.

New York’s Coldest Case: A Murder Trail 400 Years Old

The victim: John Colman
Not much is known about him, much less about his murder. His body was hastily buried and has never been found. A weapon was recovered, but it vanished.

Divers rescue bell and 500-pound bit of Coney Island history

 Coney Island’s brassy bell is back.

Henry Hudson’s New York

Henry Hudson, an English explorer under contract to the Dutch, sailed into New York’s Upper Bay 400 years ago today — setting in motion mighty historical forces that led directly to the magnificent metropolis that exists today.

Maritime Festival at Pier 84

New York is a city of vehicles: just try to get a parking space. But long before it became famous for horn-blowing cars, careering taxis and crawling buses, it was renowned for a form of transportation that didn’t even use roads, at least not those made of pavement.

Walrus dies at Aquarium

Akituusaq, a two-year-old Pacific walrus that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg once said “melted the hearts of millions,” died on Tuesday of complications from pneumonia,

Tugboat Workers Strike

For the first time in nearly two decades, tugboat workers are going on strike.

NEW YORK REQUIRES LIFE JACKETS

New York has become the first state to require life jackets for everyone in all small pleasure craft during the six coldest months of the year, when capsized boaters drown faster in chilly water.