The Mills of New York City

When New York City had a more rural character a couple of centuries ago, grist mills, in which grain is ground into flour, were primary engines of commerce. Though none are left within the five boroughs, maps nonetheless are stocked with lanes and roads called Mill, some major, some minor—Manhattan (one), Brooklyn (five), Bronx (one) and Staten Island (three) all have Mills or Old Mills in them, and all likely led, at one time, to actual mills—most are near the water.

I was recently ambling down car-choked Cropsey Ave.