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New
York City is located
in southeastern
New
York State,
on the Hudson
River and
the East
River and
New
York Bay
(an arm of the Atlantic Ocean)
New
York City is subdivided into five boroughs that are
coextensive with five counties of New York State. In
descending order of area, the boroughs are
Queens
(Queens County), Brooklyn
(Kings County),
Staten
Island
(Richmond County), the
Bronx
(Bronx County), and
Manhattan
(New York County). Almost all of the Bronx is situated on the
mainland, but the other boroughs are situated on, or comprise,
islands: Brooklyn and Queens are located on the western end of
Long Island,
Staten Island encompasses an entire island, and Manhattan is
primarily made up of Manhattan Island, but also includes a
small exclave on the Bronx mainland. The city’s boroughs
include several small islands, of which
Roosevelt
Island, in
the East River, and City Island, in Long Island Sound, have
substantial populations. In all, New York City comprises some
50 islands. In postal addresses, "New York, New
York" is synonymous with "Manhattan."
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Manhattan
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The
main economic hub of New York City, Manhattan is one of the
world’s leading commercial, financial, cultural,
manufacturing, medical, and tourist centers. Manhattan Island,
which makes up almost all of the borough, is bounded on the
north and northeast by Spuyten Duyvil Creek and the Harlem
River, which separate it from the borough of the Bronx; on the
east by the East River, which separates it from the boroughs
of Queens and Brooklyn; on the south by Upper New York Bay;
and on the west by the Hudson River, which separates it from
New Jersey. The borough, about 80 sq km (about 31 sq mi) in
area, also encompasses a small exclave (Marble Hill) on the
Bronx mainland; several islands in the East River, including
Franklin D. Roosevelt Island (the site of a large modern
housing complex), Randalls Island, and Wards Island; and
Governors Island in Upper New York Bay.
Ethnic
and social groupings characterize some residential areas of
the borough. Lower Manhattan contains fairly well-defined
quarters inhabited by persons of Italian, Chinese, and
Hispanic descent. Also in the southern part of the borough are
Greenwich Village and SoHo, districts noted for artistic and
cultural activities. Battery Park City, a large-scale
residential and commercial development on landfill near the
tip of Manhattan Island, was constructed during the 1980s. One
of the most socially select sections of Manhattan is the Upper
East Side, which borders Central Park on the east and includes
portions of Park and Fifth avenues. The Upper West Side,
located adjacent to the western part of the park and including
a portion of Riverside Dr., is another major residential area.
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Manhattan
History |
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The
name Manhattan is derived from an Algonquian term for
"island of hills." In 1524 the island, then
inhabited by Native Americans, was probably seen by the
Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano. In 1609 the English
navigator Henry Hudson made an extensive exploration of the
area, to which the Dutch laid claim on that basis; in 1624 a
Dutch trading post, called New Amsterdam, was established on
southern Manhattan Island. To secure the Dutch claim, Peter
Minuit, the director general of the Dutch colony of New
Netherland, purchased (1626) the island from the Native
Americans for goods valued at about 60 guilders, or some $24.
New Amsterdam became the administrative center of New
Netherland.
In
1664 Charles II of England granted his brother, the duke of
York (later James II of England) a large area including
Manhattan Island. A fleet of English warships seized New
Amsterdam in the same year, and the settlement was renamed New
York in honor of the duke. The town was retaken by the Dutch
in 1673, but a year later they ceded it back to England.
During
the 18th century, New York City became one of the great
commercial centers of the British colonies in North America.
The Battery, situated at the southern tip of Manhattan Island,
was heavily fortified, and the settlement expanded northward.
It subsequently became a center of revolutionary activity by
American patriots. In 1776, American troops were forced to
evacuate the city, which remained under British occupation
until the end of the American Revolution.
From 1785 to 1790 New York was
the seat of the U.S. government. The first stock exchange was
established in 1792, and New York soon became the nation’s
leading financial and commercial center. |
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Manhattan Neighborhoods |
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Upper West Side:
Central Park South
(59th St.) to 96th St. - Central Park West ( 8th Ave) to
Riverside Dr. (Hudson River). |
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Upper East Side:
Central Park South
(59th St.) to 96th St. - 5th Avenue (Central Park) to
East River. |
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Midtown West:
42nd Street to Central
Park South (59th St.) - 5th Avenue to the Hudson River.
This area includes the Hells Kitchen neighborhood |
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Midtown East:
42nd Street to 59th Street
(Central Park South) - 5th Avenue to East River.
Murray Hill and Kips
Bay (42nd to 23rd Street) are included in this section
for the purpose of this website. |
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Helpful
New York City Information |
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MTA Network:
Public Transportation for the New York Region. The
Metropolitan Transportation Authority takes people in
the region wherever they need to go. In this link you
can see information on New York subways, buses and
trains. |
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Subways, buses and trains Maps: |
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New York City Subway Map |
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New York City Bus Map |
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Long Island Railroad Map |
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Metro North
Railroad Map
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