Situated southwest of the rest of NYC is what is sometimes referred to as the "forgotten borough" aka Staten Island. Though the third largest in square miles, it is the least populated of the five boroughs in New York City. Staten Island is primarily suburban and was once mainly dominated by dairy and poultry farms on the southern and central sections of the island. It has seen a steady increase in population since the opening of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in 1964.

The island was first discovered by Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524 who had sailed through the Narrows. Henry Hudson, in 1609, set up trade on the island and gave it the name, Staaten Eylandt after the Staten-Generaal, the Dutch parliament.

Staten Island had its first permanent settlement in 1661 after several attempts years earlier were defeated due to conflicts between the settlers and local Indian tribes. The first permanent settlers were a small group of Dutch Walloon and Huguenot families.

In 1667, the New Netherlands colony on the island was ceded to England in the Treaty of Breda and having been Anglicized to Staten Island it became part of the colony of New York. A few years later in 1683, the colony of New York was divided into ten separate counties and Staten Island became part of Richmond County.

The island was split into four administrative divisions which eventually became the four townships of Northfield, Southfield, Westfield and Castleton. By 1708, the island was divided out into 166 small farms and two large manorial estates.

Staten Island also has it's stake in the American Revolutionary War. In 1776, British forces had evacuated Boston in preparation to attack New York City under the leadership of William Howe. The forces used the strategic location of Staten Island as a staging ground for the attack.

In 1898, New York City consolidated and the county of Richmond became a borough. The borough remained relatively undeveloped except for the areas along the harbor until the opening of the Verazzano Bridge in 1964. The opening of the bridge made Staten Island much more accessible to Manhattan as well as direct access to Brooklyn thus making it a desirable location for residents of NYC to relocate to.

The borough of Richmond was renamed to the borough of Staten Island in 1975. The island still retains many open spaces which were incorporated into the Gateway National Recreation Area, part of the National Park System, in 1972. One other thing that is brought to mind when people think of Staten Island is the Fresh Kills Landfill. The landfill was the primary destination for refuse from NYC until 2001 when it was closed. It was re-opened temporarily after the 9/11 attacks to receive the ruins of the World Trade Center.

For more in depth history about Staten Island, please visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staten_Island