New York City

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NYC and New York, New York redirect here. For other uses, see New York City
(disambiguation); NYC (disambiguation); and New York, New York (disambiguation).
New York City
City
City of New York
Clockwise, from top Midtown Manhattan, Times Square, the Unisphere in Queens, the
Brooklyn Bridge, Lower Manhattan with One World Trade Center, Central Park, the
headquarters of the United Nations, and the Statue of Liberty
Clockwise, from top Midtown Manhattan, Times Square, the Unisphere in Queens, the
Brooklyn Bridge, Lower Manhattan with One World Trade Center, Central Park, the
headquarters of the United Nations, and the Statue of Liberty
Flag of New York City
Flag Official seal of New York City
Seal
Nickname(s) See Nicknames of New York City
Location within the U.S. state of New York
Location within the U.S. state of New York
New York City is located in the US New York CityNew York City
Show map of the US
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Show all
Location in the contiguous United States and New York
Coordinates 4042'46?N 7400'21?WCoordinates 4042'46?N 7400'21?W[1]
Country United States
State New York
Counties (Boroughs)
Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), New York (Manhattan), Queens, Richmond (Staten Island)
Historic colonies New Netherland
Province of New York
Settled 1624
Consolidated 1898
Named for James, Duke of York
Government[2]
Type MayorCouncil
Body New York City Council
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D)
Area[1]
Total 468.484 sq mi (1,213.37 km2)
Land 302.643 sq mi (783.84 km2)
Water 165.841 sq mi (429.53 km2)
Metro 13,318 sq mi (34,490 km2)
Elevation[3] 33 ft (10 m)
Population (2010)[6]
Total 8,175,133
Estimate (2016)[7] 8,537,673
Rank 1st, U.S.
Density 28,210sq mi (10,890km2)
MSA (2016) 20,153,634[4] (1st)
CSA (2016) 23,689,255[5] (1st)
Demonym(s) New Yorker
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code(s) 100xx104xx, 1100405, 111xx114xx, 116xx
Area code(s) 212646332, 718347929, 917
FIPS code 36-51000
GNIS feature ID 975772
Largest borough by area Queens 109 square miles (280 km2)
Largest borough by population Brooklyn (2,636,735 2015 est)[8]
Website NYC.gov
Part of a series on
Regions of New York
Map of New York Economic Regions.svg
Downstate New York[hide]
New York City Long Island Hudson Valley (Lower)
Upstate New York[hide]
Hudson Valley (Middle and Upper) Capital District North Country Southern Tier
Mohawk Valley Central New York Finger Lakes Western New York
Administrative divisions[show]
Timelines of town creation[show]
v t e
The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most
populous city in the United States.[9] With an estimated 2016 population of
8,537,673[7] distributed over a land area of about 302.6 square miles (784 km2),
[10][11] New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the United
States.[12] Located at the southern tip of the state of New York, the city is the
center of the New York metropolitan area, one of the most populous urban
agglomerations in the world.[13][14] A global power city,[15] New York City exerts
a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media and entertainment, art, fashion,
research, technology, education, politics, and sports, its fast pace[16][17]
defining the term New York minute.[18] Home to the headquarters of the United
Nations,[19] New York is an important center for international diplomacy[20] and
has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital[21][22] of the
world.[23][24][25][26][27]

Situated on one of the world's largest natural harbors,[28][29] New York City
consists of five boroughs, each of which is a separate county of New York State.
[30] The five boroughs Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island
were consolidated into a single city in 1898.[31] The city and its metropolitan
area constitute the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States,[32]
[33][34] and as many as 800 languages are spoken in New York,[35][36][37] making it
the most linguistically diverse city in the world.[36][38][39] New York City is
home to more than 3.2 million residents born outside the United States,[40] the
world's largest foreign-born population of any city.[41] By 2016 estimates, the New
York City metropolitan region remains by a significant margin the most populous in
the United States, as defined by both the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), 20.2
million residents,[4] and the Combined Statistical Area (CSA), 23.7 million
residents.[5] In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of
nearly US$1.39 trillion.[42] In 2012, the CSA[43] generated a GMP of over US$1.55
trillion. NYC's MSA and CSA GDP are higher than the GDPs of all but 11 and 12
countries, respectively.[44]

New York City traces its origin to the 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan of a
trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic; the post was named New Amsterdam
in 1626.[45] The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664[45]
and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his
brother, the Duke of York.[46] New York served as the capital of the United States
from 1785 until 1790.[47] It has been the country's largest city since 1790.[48]
The Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas
by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries[49] and is a symbol of the United
States and its democracy.[50] In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a global
node of creativity and entrepreneurship,[51] social tolerance,[52] and
environmental sustainability,[53][54] and as a world symbol of freedom and cultural
diversity.[55]

Many districts and landmarks in New York City have become well known, and the city
received a record 61 million tourists in 2016,[56] hosting three of the world's ten
most visited tourist attractions in 2013.[57] Several sources have ranked New York
the most photographed city in the world.[58][59] Times Square, iconic as the
world's heart[60] and its Crossroads,[61] is the brightly illuminated hub of the
Broadway Theater District,[62] one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections,
[63][64] and a major center of the world's entertainment industry.[65] The names of
many of the city's bridges, tapered skyscrapers,[66] and parks are known around the
world. Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New
York City has been called both the most economically powerful city and the leading
financial center of the world,[27][67][68][69] and the city is home to the world's
two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the New York Stock
Exchange and NASDAQ.[70][71] Manhattan's real estate market is among the most
expensive in the world.[72][73] Manhattan's Chinatown incorporates the highest
concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere,[74][75] with multiple
signature Chinatowns developing across the city.[76][77] Providing continuous 247
service,[78] the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems
worldwide, with 472 stations in operation.[79][80][81] Over 120 colleges and
universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York
University, and Rockefeller University, which have been ranked among the top 35 in
the world.[82][83]

Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 Etymology
1.2 Early history
1.3 Dutch rule
1.4 English rule
1.5 American Revolution
1.6 Nineteenth century
1.7 Modern history
2 Geography
2.1 Cityscape
2.2 Architecture
2.3 Boroughs
2.4 Climate
2.5 Parks
2.5.1 National parks
2.5.2 State parks
2.5.3 City parks
2.6 Military installations
3 Demographics
3.1 Population density
3.2 Race and ethnicity
3.3 Sexual orientation and gender identity
3.3.1 Transgender contribution
3.4 Religion
3.5 Income
4 Economy
4.1 City economic overview
4.2 Wall Street
4.3 Silicon Alley
4.4 Tourism
4.5 Media and entertainment
5 Human resources
5.1 Education and scholarly activity
5.1.1 Primary and secondary education
5.1.2 Higher education and research
5.1.3 Public library system
5.2 Public health
5.3 Public safety
5.3.1 Police and law enforcement
5.3.2 Firefighting
6 Culture and contemporary life
6.1 Arts
6.1.1 Performing arts
6.1.2 Visual arts
6.2 Cuisine
6.3 Parades
6.4 Accent and dialect
6.5 Sports
7 Transportation
7.1 Rapid transit
7.1.1 Rail
7.1.2 Buses
7.2 Air
7.3 Ferries
7.4 Taxis, transport startups, and trams
7.5 Streets and highways
7.5.1 River crossings
8 Environment
8.1 Environmental impact reduction
8.2 Water purity and availability
8.3 Environmental revitalization
9 Government and politics
9.1 Government
9.2 Politics
10 Notable people
11 Global outreach
12 Notes
13 References
14 Further reading
15 External links
History
Main article History of New York City
See also Timeline of New York City
Etymology
In 1664, the city was named after then Duke of York, and future King of England
James II. James had been named by his older brother Charles II as proprietor of the
former territory of New Netherlands and its main city of New Amsterdam, which had
recently been seized from the Dutch.

Early history
During the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the
edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away
large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the geologic foundation
for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would
contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island.[84]

In the precolonial era, the area of present-day New York City was inhabited by
various bands of Algonquian tribes of Native Americans, including the Lenape, whose
homeland, known as Lenapehoking, included Staten Island; the western portion of
Long Island, including the area that would become Brooklyn and Queens; Manhattan;
the Bronx; and the Lower Hudson Valley.[85]

The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a

Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown, who sailed his ship La
Dauphine into New York Harbor. He claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle
Angoulme (New Angoulme).[86]
A pen drawing of two men in 16th-century Dutch clothing presenting an open box of
items to a group of Native Americans in feather headdresses stereotypical of plains
tribes.
Peter Minuit is credited with the purchase of the island of Manhattan in 1626.
A Spanish expedition led by captain Estvo Gomes, a Portuguese sailing for Emperor
Charles V, arrived in New York Harbor in January 1525 aboard the purpose-built
caravel La Anunciada and charted the mouth of the Hudson River, which he named Ro
de San Antonio (Saint Anthony's River). Heavy ice kept him from further
exploration, and he returned to Spain in August. The Padrn Real of 1527, the first
scientific map to show North America's east coast continuously, was informed by
Gomes' expedition and labeled the Northeastern U.S. as Tierra de Esteban Gmez in
his honor.[87]

In 1609, the English explorer Henry Hudson rediscovered the region when he sailed
his ship the Halve Maen (Half Moon in Dutch) into New York Harbor while searching
for the Northwest Passage to the Orient for the Dutch East India Company. He
proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River (now the Hudson
River), named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange.
Hudson's first mate described the harbor as a very good Harbour for all windes and
the river as a mile broad and full of fish.[88] Hudson sailed roughly 150 miles
north,[89] past the site of the present-day Albany, in the belief that it might be
an oceanic tributary before the river became too shallow to continue.[88] He made a
ten-day exploration of the area and claimed the region for the Dutch East India
Company. In 1614, the area between Cape Cod and Delaware Bay would be claimed by
the Netherlands and called Nieuw-Nederland (New Netherland).

The first non-Native American inhabitant of what would eventually become New York
City was Juan Rodriguez (transliterated to Dutch as Jan Rodrigues), a merchant from
Santo Domingo. Born in Santo Domingo of Portuguese and African descent, he arrived
in Manhattan during the winter of 16131614, trapping for pelts and trading with
the local population as a representative of the Dutch. Broadway, from 159th Street
to 218th Street in Upper Manhattan, is named Juan Rodriguez Way in his honor.[90]
[91]

A painting of a coastline dotted with red roof houses and a windmill, with several
masted ships sailing close to shore under blue sky.
New Amsterdam, centered in the eventual Lower Manhattan, in 1664, the year England
took control and renamed it New York.
Dutch rule
A permanent European presence in New Netherland began in 1624 making New York the
12th oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the
continental United States[92] with the founding of a Dutch fur trading settlement
on Governors Island. In 1625, construction was started on a citadel and Fort
Amsterdam on Manhattan Island, later called Nieuw Amsterdam (New Amsterdam).[93]
[94] The colony of New Amsterdam was centered at the site which would eventually
become Lower Manhattan. In 1626, the Dutch colonial Director-General Peter Minuit,
acting as charged by the Dutch West India Company, purchased the island of
Manhattan from the Canarsie, a small Lenape band,[95] for 60 guilders[96] (about
$1,000 in 2006).[97] A disproved legend claims that Manhattan was purchased for $24
worth of glass beads.[98][99]

Following the purchase, New Amsterdam grew slowly.[100] To attract settlers, the
Dutch instituted the patroon system in 1628, whereby wealthy Dutchmen (patroons, or
patrons) who brought 50 colonists to New Netherland would be awarded swathes of
land, along with local political autonomy and rights to participate in the
lucrative fur trade. This program had little success.[101]

Since 1621, the Dutch West India Company had operated as a monopoly in New
Netherland, on authority granted by the Dutch States General. In 16391640, in an
effort to bolster economy growth, the Dutch West India Company relinquished its
monopoly over the fur trade, leading to growth in the production and trade of food,
timber, tobacco, and slaves (particularly with the Dutch West Indies).[100][102]

In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant began his tenure as the last Director-General of New
Netherland. During his tenure, the population of New Amsterdam grew from 2,000 to
8,000. Stuyvesant has been credited with improving law and order in the colony;
however, he also earned a reputation as a despotic leader. He instituted
regulations on liquor sales, attempted to assert control over the Dutch Reformed
Church, and blocked other religious groups (including Quakers, Jews, and Lutherans)
from establishing houses of worship.[103] The Dutch West India Company would
eventually attempt to ease tensions between Stuyvesant and residents of New
Amsterdam