New York’s Original Signature Dish: Four Hundred Years of Oysters in New York Harbor

When Henry Hudson first sailed into New York Harbor in 1609, the sprawling estuary at the base of the river that would come to bear his name was the single largest oyster habitat on the planet. The brackish waters and marshy wetlands surrounding the New York islands may have been home to something like 220,000 acres of oyster reefs. The abundant bivalves had long served as a key dietary staple for local Lenape Indians and the earliest European settlers in the area quickly caught on.

Over the next several centuries, oysters would become an entire industry in New York City, especially in parts of Lower Manhattan and Staten Island. At first the mollusks were harvested by hand or with long, garden-rake-like tongs. Soon, however, large commercial operations were using sail and eventually steam power to harvest oysters on an industrial scale. Whole towns and communities, including the free black settlement of Sandy Ground in southern Staten Island, sprang up to take advantage of the jobs available in fishing, sorting, processing, and packing. The oyster became New York’s signature food. From the finest restaurants to the cheapest street carts, nearly all New Yorkers took advantage of this plentiful, accessible food source.

By the early 20^th century, however, even New York’s tremendous oyster population could no longer withstand the explosive growth of the city. Decimated by years of pollution and overfishing, local shellfish beds dwindled to near extinction levels. By 1927, city officials finally declared New York Harbor oysters unsafe to eat. Thus the story remained until the beginning of the 21^st century, when, as the rest of this panel will explain, a new chapter opened for New York’s oysters.