Manhattan is NOT an island!

actually there is Manhattan Island.

HOWEVER, the New York City borough of Manhattan which is defined by the boundaries of New York County (side note - is New York City the only place where there are multiple counties within the city limits? I think it might be), contains a section that is attached to the mainland, better known as the Bronx.

Marble Hill was once part of Manhattan Island. Then in the late 1800s they decided to redirect the Harlem River and annexed Marble Hill. Later they filled in the real Harlem River and wa-la ... mainland! Apparently there was much dispute over whether is should still be part of Manhattan or should become part of the Bronx. Eventually, it was ruled that it should remain part of the borough of Manhattan although it gets services from the Bronx. I mean, who wants their firefighters coming over suspension bridges? Not the residents of Marble Hill apparently. However, Marble Hill residents received a scathing blow to their manhattanness when it was determined that they had to switch to the 718 area code like Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island and could not keep the Manhattan 212. Suckers!

Read it on wikipedia here.

next stop ... long island. what the hell is? and what do people really mean when they say it?