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New York travel guide

about New York

New York — officially named City of New York and often called New York City to distinguish it from the state of New York, in which it is located — is the most populous city in the United States, and the second most populous in North America after Mexico City.

New York City is known affectionately as the "Big Apple" and recognized as one of several "world cities". Giving some credence to the city's self-designation as "capital of the world", the United Nations headquarters is located in New York.

New York City is among the most densely populated places in the United States. Its population is more than eight million (2000 U.S. Census), and its land area is 831 km² (320 square miles); hence the density is ca. 10,000/km².

New York City is part of the New York metropolitan area with a population of around 21 million.

New York geography

New York City comprises Manhattan Island, Staten Island, the western part of Long Island, part of the North American mainland (the Bronx), and several small islands in New York Harbor.

New York has a humid continental climate. The city is adjacent to water, so temperature changes are not as drastic as those inland. Every winter, it snows in New York due to its latitude. Because of its key position, New York had been king in the shipping passenger trade between Europe and the Americas for quite some time, until the airplane came into wider use across the Atlantic.

New York winters are typically cold, and sometimes feature snowstorms that can paralyze the city with over a foot of snow. Springs are mild, averaging in the 50s (10-15 degrees celsius) in late March to lower 80s (25-30 degrees celsius) in early June. Summers in New York are hot and humid. It is common for temperatures to exceed 90 degrees fahrenheit (32 degrees celsius) but often stay below 100 degrees fahrenheit (40 degrees celsius). Autumns are comfortable in New York. However, weather is notably unpredictable in New York, even if not to the degree experienced in some other parts of the world. Mild, almost snowless winters and chilly summers surprise New Yorkers from time to time, there have been huge snowstorms as late as the second week in April, and there can occasionally be large temperature swings from one day to the next, so travellers are advised to check forecasts and bring several layers of clothing in late fall and early spring months (e.g., November, March, April).

Staten Island is hilly and spacious, and is the least populated borough in New York City. By contrast, space is sparse and valuable on Manhattan; there is nowhere to build but up, and that is why there are so many tall buildings in that borough.

The city will be threatened if the current patterns of global warming continue to raise the sea level.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1,214.4 km² (468.9 mi²). 785.6 km² (303.3 mi²) of it is land and 428.8 km² (165.6 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 35.31% water.

New York history

The area that now constitutes New York City was inhabited by such Native American tribes as the Manahattoes and Canarsies long before the arrival of European settlers, as attested to by discoveries of arrowheads and other artifacts in areas of the city that are not occupied by buildings today, such as Inwood Hill Park and Riverside Park. European settlement began with the founding of the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam (Nieuw Amsterdam) on the southern tip of Manhattan in 1626. In 1664, English ships captured the city without struggle, and it was renamed New York, after the Duke of York. At the end of the Second Anglo-Dutch War in 1667, in the Treaty of Breda the Dutch formally signed New York over to the English and received the colony of Suriname in return.

At the start of the American Revolutionary War, the city was the scene of important early fighting at the Battle of Brooklyn, suffered a great fire in which much of it burned, and fell into British control for the remainder of the war, not to be regained by the Americans until 1783. "Evacuation Day" was long celebrated in New York.

During the 19th century, the city population boomed by an influx of a vast number of immigrants. In 1811, the city street grid was expanded to encompass all of Manhattan with a visionary development proposal called the Commissioner's Plan. By 1835, New York City overtook Philadelphia as the largest city in the United States.

During the Civil War, the city's strong commercial ties to the South, as well as its growing immigrant population, led to a split in sympathy between the Union and Confederacy, culminating in the Draft Riots of 1863, the worst civil unrest in American history.

After the war, the rate of immigration from Europe grew steeply, and New York became the first stop for millions seeking a new and better life in the United States.

In 1898, New York City took the political form in which it exists to this day. Prior to 1898, New York City consisted of Manhattan and the Bronx, which was annexed by the city from southern Westchester County in two separate actions: the western portion in 1874, and the remaining portion in 1895. In 1898, a new municipal government, originally called Greater New York, was created by new legislation. It was divided into five boroughs. The Boroughs of Manhattan and The Bronx covered the original city and the rest of New York County. The Borough of Brooklyn consisted of the City of Brooklyn as well as several municipalities in eastern Kings County. The Borough of Queens was established in western Queens County, and covered several small cities and towns, including Long Island City, Astoria and Flushing. The Borough of Staten Island contained all of Richmond County. All municipal governments contained within the boroughs were abolished. A year later, the area of Queens County not contained within the Borough of Queens became Nassau County. In 1914, the state legislature created Bronx County, shrinking New York County so it contained only Manhattan. The five boroughs are now considered to be generally coterminous with their respective counties.

In the first half of the 20th century, the city became a world center for industry, commerce, and communication. Interborough Rapid Transit (the first subway company) began operating in 1904. The New York skyline soared in the 1930s with the building of some of the world's tallest skyscrapers.

In the decades after World War II, however, the city slid into gradual decline with the loss of population to the suburbs and the erosion of its industrial base. Like many US cities, New York suffered severe race riots in the 1960s, and by the 1970s, the city had gained a reputation for being a crime-ridden relic of history. In 1975, the city hit bottom and had to declare bankruptcy.

The 1980s saw a rebirth of Wall Street, and the city reclaimed its role at the center of the world-wide financial industry. In the 1990s, crime rates dropped drastically and the outflow of population turned around, as the city once again became the destination not only of immigrants from around the world, but of many U.S. citizens fueled another frenzy of financial speculation that sent the economy soaring.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 also struck at Washington, D.C., but New York was the city most affected, because of the attack on the World Trade Center and the thick, acrid smoke that continued to pour out of its ruins for a few months following the Twin Towers' firey collapse. However, cleanup of Ground Zero was completed ahead of schedule, and the city has since rebounded and pushed forward new plans for the destroyed areas of the World Trade Center. The Freedom Tower, to be built on the site, is intended to be the world's highest skyscraper after its scheduled completion in 2008.

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "New York, New York".

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