Ellis Island Is in Upper New York Bay—Not the Open Atlantic

Ellis Island sits in Upper New York Bay, a sheltered estuary connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Narrows and Lower New York Bay. While the bay opens to the Atlantic, the island itself is not "in the Atlantic Ocean" in the geographic sense—it's in a protected harbor, roughly 1 mile from Manhattan and 300 yards from Liberty Island. This location was chosen precisely for its calm waters and proximity to the port of New York.