in 1898, the cities of new york and brooklyn came together with the bronx, staten island, and the western towns in queens county to make greater new york. this is the total area of the city of new york today. around this time, many new immigrants came into new york city. they came in at ellis island, an island in new york's harbor near the statue of liberty. many of them then moved to the lower east side neighborhood in manhattan, which had over a million people living in just a few square miles.