Staten Island: The Island Borough!

Staten Island is like a special island part of New York City, but it's the furthest away! It's surrounded by water, like a moat around a castle. To get there, you can take a boat called a ferry, or drive over big bridges. It's the most southern part of New York City, which means it's the closest to the ocean. It's a bit like a quiet neighbor to the busy city parts.

Long before anyone built houses, Native American people called the Lenape lived on this island. Then, people from a country called the Netherlands came and started living there too. It was one of the first places in New York to be settled!

Later, it became part of New York City, but sometimes people felt like it was forgotten. Now, it's known as the 'borough of parks' because there are so many green spaces to play in!

Guess what? Staten Island has tons of parks, over 170 of them! It's sometimes called the 'borough of parks.' There's a super long boardwalk, which is like a wooden path by the water, that's as long as 10 football fields! You can also see amazing views of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from the ferry. It's a great place to explore nature and have fun outdoors.

You can get to Staten Island by driving over huge bridges, like the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which is super tall! Or, you can take the free Staten Island Ferry. This ferry is awesome because it's free and you can see the Statue of Liberty! There's also a train called the Staten Island Railway that takes you around the island. It's the only part of New York City that doesn't have a subway.