Introduction to Geography of New York City
New York City, New York, the largest city in the United States and one of the largest in the world. It is located at the mouth of the Hudson River on the Atlantic Ocean, in the extreme southeastern part of the state.
New York City is a major world center of trade, manufacturing, transportation, finance, communications, and culture, and it is the headquarters of the United Nations.
There are only 11 states in the United States that have more people than New York City. For many years, almost all immigrants to the United States entered the country through New York City---and many of them stayed here. There are still thousands of persons here from all parts of the world. Many are from European countries but there are sizable numbers from the West Indies, South and Central America, the Middle East, and eastern Asia. More Puerto Ricans and more Jews live in New York City than in any other city in the world. New York City also has a larger black population than any other United States city.
General Description
Each of the five boroughs that make up New York City has the same boundaries as the county in which it lies. This is a city of islands, with only one borough, the Bronx, on the mainland. Manhattan and Staten Island are on separate islands, and Brooklyn and Queens are on Long Island. All five boroughs are connected by a complex system of tunnels, bridges, and ferry-boat lines. Manhattan is the focal point of the main road and railway systems. The commercial airports serving the city are in Queens and Newark, New Jersey.
The general description that follows is limited to the borough of Manhattan. For a general description of other boroughs,
Manhattan is the smallest of the five boroughs in area and follows Brooklyn and Queens in population. However, it is the part of New York City that developed first, and it has long been the commercial and cultural center of the city. The borough includes several small offshore islands, but only Manhattan Island is considered in this article.
Manhattan Island is about 12 miles (19 km) long and less than 3 miles (5 km) across at its widest point. It is separated from the Bronx on the northeast by the Harlem River; from Brooklyn and Queens on the southeast by the East River; from Staten Island on the southwest by Upper New York Bay; and from New Jersey on the west by the Hudson River.
Manhattan is commonly divided into three section---Upper, Midtown, and Lower Manhattan. Except in most of Lower Manhattan, streets follow a fairly regular grid pattern. Avenues, running the length of the island, are numbered from the East River. Streets, crossing the island southeastward, are numbered from Houston Street. They are divided into east and west by Fifth Avenue. Some streets are named rather than numbered.
site of the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam in the 17th century, was the first area settled. The street pattern here seems rather haphazard because it is related to landmarks that no longer exist. Wall Street lies along the site of a wail built by the Dutch for defensive purposes. Canal Street follows an old canal route, and both Water and Front streets followed the shoreline of the island before it was extended. Broadway once joined the Dutch settlements of New Amsterdam and New Haarlem (the present Harlem). In Lower Manhattan are the financial district, Chinatown, and Greenwich Village.
extends from 23rd Street to the southern boundary of Central Park at 59th Street. In this area are the major entertainment section, along Broad way, and the main shopping district, along Fifth Avenue. The Midtown area also contains most of the large hotels and many the points of interest, such as the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Madison Square Garden, the United Nations buildings, and St. Patrick's Cathedral.
stretches from 59th Street to the Harlem River, the northern boundary of Manhattan. In the south part is Central Park, which contains the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and is bordered by the American Museum of Natural History and the Rose Center for Earth and Space. To the north of the park is Harlem, home of many of the city's blacks. In the easterly part, called Spanish Harlem, live a large percentage of New York's Puerto Ricans.
Commerce and Industry
New York City leads all other United States cities in retail and wholesale trade, publishing, and banking and finance, and is a leading manufacturing center. New York City is also a major world center for commerce and finance.
Most manufacturing plants are small or medium-sized. Measured both by employment and by product value, Manhattan accounts for about 60 per cent of the city's manufacturing; Brooklyn and Queens account for most of the rest.
The manufacturing of clothing is one of the largest industries in New York, and in production the city leads the nation. It centers principally in Manhattan's garment district---an area roughly bounded by 29th and 42nd streets on the south and north and Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) and Eighth Avenue on the east and west. Women's dresses and coats, fur goods, knitted outerwear, and accessories are the most important items.
About equally important is printing and publishing. Many of the nation's books, magazines, newspapers, legal and financial documents, and other printed materials are produced here. Manhattan is the center of publishing activity. Jobs in the printing and clothing industries combined account for a large percentage of all manufacturing employment in the city.
Electrical and electronic equipment, chemicals, and foods rank high in value. Also important are paper products, leather goods, scientific instruments, machinery, and miscellaneous goods, including toys and jewelry.
New York's retail trade is unsurpassed nationally. Manhattan establishments account for about 35 per cent of the trade. Those in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx account for virtually all the rest.
Manhattan's central business district is the main focus of retail trade. It centers between Third and Tenth avenues on the east and west, and Canal and 59th streets on the south and north. Here are many of the World's most famous shops, galleries, and Stores. Shoppers come great distances to purchase fine clothing, jewelry, silverware, paintings and sculpture, and other goods.
About 7 per cent of all wholesale trade in the United States is conducted in New York. Dry goods, apparel, nonferrous metals, and jewelry are leading items. Most of New York's wholesale establishments are in Manhattan, but Brooklyn and Queens are of some importance.
Manhattan is the banking and financial center of the United States and one of the world's leading financial centers. Many of the nation's largest commercial banks, including the giant Citibank and Chase Manhattan Bank, are located here. Also in New York is the largest of all Federal Reserve banks.
The city dominates securities trading. Of all stock and bond sales made in the nation through security exchanges, the vast majority are made through the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange.
In New York are many of the largest brokerage houses, insurance underwriting firms, management consulting services, accounting firms, credit information and collection bureaus, and other financial businesses.
Although there are relatively few port facilities still operating within New York City itself, the city has long been a major center for handling the business aspects of foreign trade.
Business establishments in this category range from hotels, advertising agencies, and theaters to barbershops and dry-cleaning plants. New York is especially noted for its variety and quality of restaurants. Total receipts from services are particularly large compared to those of virtually all other cities, mainly because of the large number of businesspeople, tourists, and conventioneers who visit New York each year.
Transportation
New York City is the center of a network of interconnecting local, state, and interstate transportation facilities. Local transportation, including subways and buses, is managed by three agencies, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The NYCTA is responsible for operating most of the buses and subways in the city. The MTA operates several bridges and tunnels as well as some commuter trains and buses. The Port Authority is a joint New York State-New Jersey agency that directs transportation between the two states and also manages most international facilities.
John F. Kennedy International Airport at Idlewild, Queens, is one of the nation's leading international air terminals. La Guardia Airport, also in Queens, serves domestic flights. These two fields, and several heliports in Manhattan, are operated by the Port Authority.
New York City's nontoll bridges are under the jurisdiction of the Division of Bridges of the Department of Public Works. These include Brooklyn Bridge, the first large suspension bridge ever built.
Toll bridges operated by the MTA include the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, one of the longest suspension bridges in the world. Other toil bridges are the Bronx-Whitestone, Cross Bay Veterans Memorial, Marine Parkway, Throgs Neck, and Triborough bridges.
Port Authority bridges include three connecting Staten Island and New Jersey-Bayonne, Goethals, and Outerbridge Crossing. Also under the Port Authority is the double-decked George Washington Bridge, connecting Upper Manhattan and Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Ferry lines link Manhattan with Staten Island, Liberty Island (site of the Statue of Liberty), and a few other points. The two Hudson River vehicular tunnels connecting Manhattan and New Jersey—the Holland and Lincoln tunnels-are Port Authority facilities. The Queens-Midtown Tunnel and the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel are operated by the MTA.
Express highways, many of them part of the Interstate system, link various sections of the city. The Port Authority operates truck and bus terminals. The Midtown Manhattan bus terminal is one of the world's largest facilities of its kind.
New York City's subways, forming one of the longest and busiest systems in the world, are part of the rapid transit system operated by the NYCTA. While elevated tracks are used in other boroughs, Manhattan's transit lines are all under, ground. Bus lines, also managed by the NYCTA, reach virtually all parts of the city.
New York City has several railway terminals. The two largest stations are Grand Central and Pennsylvania, both in Midtown Manhattan. The Pennsylvania station is under Madison Square Garden.
The Port Authority's most extensive port facilities within New York City are in Brooklyn and Queens. They serve cargo ships. Manhattan's frontage includes docking facilities for passenger vessels.
The harbor area is the southern terminus of the New York State Barge Canal System. It is also a hub of coastwise shipping.
Parks and Recreation Areas
Scattered throughout New York's five boroughs are numerous playgrounds, swimming pools and beach areas, sports fields, and parks of all sizes.
The oldest park, Bowling Green in Lower Manhattan, was established as a lawn bowling club in 1732. The two largest parks are both in the Bronx—Pelham Bay, 2,118 acres (857 hectares), and Van Cortlandt, 1, 100 acres (445 ha). Manhattan's largest park, covering 840 acres (340 ha), is Central Park. Bronx Park, almost the same size as Central Park, is divided between the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Wildlife Conservation Park (Bronx Zoo). There are smaller botanical gardens in Queens and Brooklyn, and smaller zoos in Queens, on Staten Island, at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, and in Central Park. Battery park on the southern tip of Manhattan is one of the oldest of the city's parks. Gramercy park in Lower Manhattan is open only to neighborhood residents. Coney Island in Brooklyn is a beach and amusement center. There is also parkland on Randalls and Wards islands in the East River.
Landmarks and Places of Interest
In Upper New York Bay off the tip of Manhattan lie three small islands, each significant in the city's history. On Liberty Island stands the Statue of Liberty, a national monument and a symbol of the nation; it was donated by the people of France in 1885. Nearby Ellis Island was the main receiving center for immigrants entering the United States from 1892 until 1943. Governors Island, the largest and most easterly of the three islands, has been the site of harbor fortifications since 1776.
At the southern tip of Manhattan in Battery Park is Castle Clinton National Monument This round structure, completed in 1811, was originally built as a harbor fortification and named Fort Clinton. In 1824 it was converted to an entertainment center and renamed Castle Garden. From 1855 until 1890 it served as an immigrant landing depot, and from 1896 until 1941 as the city aquarium. Adjoining Bowling Green, where Peter Minuit reputedly bought Manhattan Island from the Algonquin Indians in 1626, stands the former U.S. Customs House. It presents a monumental facade of gray granite adorned with statuary, including Daniel Chester French's The Four Continents. Inside are murals by Reginald Marsh.
A few blocks east is Fraunces Tavern, built in 1719. Its Long Room was the scene of George Washington's farewell to his officers after the Revolutionary War in 1783. Skyscrapers of the financial district rise in the area around Wall Street. Located here are the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and many of the nation's largest commercial banks.
At the west end of Wall Street stands Trinity Church, completed in 1846. It is one of the nation's outstanding examples of Gothic Revival architecture. In its churchyard are buried Alexander Hamilton, Robert Fulton, and other famous people. Also on Wall Street is Federal Hall National Memorial, site of Washington's inauguration as first President of the United States.
In the area northwest of Trinity Church is the site of the former World Trade Center, destroyed during terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. A focal point of international trade and finance, it was completed in the early 1970's. The center's twin 110-story towers, which rose 1,350 feet (411 m), were the tallest in New York. Nearby is Battery Park City, a residential and commercial development. The World Financial Center, a complex where some of the world's largest financial-services companies have headquarters, is here. On Broadway is St. Paul's Chapel. Built in 1766, it is the city's oldest church. George Washington worshiped here, and his pew, with the Great Seal of the United States above it, is preserved. Farther north on Broadway are City Hall, seat of city government since 1811; the Civic Center; and the Woolworth Building, tallest in the world from 1913 until 1930.
In the vicinity of the Lower East Side is Chinatown. It is a small area, inhabited by Chinese for many generations, and known for its restaurants, shops, and Chinese New Year's celebrations. Running north from Chinatown is the Bowery, a street once wealthy but later a notorious skid row, with many missions, soup kitchens, and cheap hotels. Just west of the Bowery is the Old Merchant's House, a mansion of the 1830's preserved with its original furnishings.
At the north end of the Bowery stands Cooper Union, a college noted for its schools of engineering and art. Nearby is St. Mark's-in-the-Bowerie Church, built in 1795 on the site of Peter Stuyvesant's family chapel. In the cemetery are buried Stuyvesant and other prominent New Yorkers. A few blocks away, near Gramercy Park, is the birthplace and boyhood home of Theodore Roosevelt. It is a national historic site and contains many items relating to the President's career and travels.
Greenwich Village, lying west of Broad-way between Spring and 14th streets, is an area long associated with artists and bohemian life. Many of the streets are lined by coffee shops; restaurants; craft, curio, and antique shops; art galleries; "off-Broadway" theaters; and nightclubs. There are also quiet side streets with quaint old homes, many of them fashionably renovated. Among the village's most notable landmarks are Washington Arch, in Washington Square at the foot of Fifth Avenue, and Grace Church, built in 1846 in Gothic Revival style. East of Washington Square lies the East Village, an extension of Greenwich Village that has several "off-Broadway" theaters. Immediately to the south is the SoHo district, site of numerous art galleries and artists' studios.
Many of the skyscrapers for which New York is famous state Midtown Manhattan. The Empire State Building was the world's tallest building until 1970. Not including its television tower, it rises 1,250 feet (381 m) at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. From its observation deck on top there is a magnificent view of the city, especially at dusk. The Chrysler Building, rising 1,046 feet (319 m), was also the world's tallest at one time. A block west, built above part of Grand Central Terminal, is the MetLife Building, one of the world's largest in commercial office space.
Times Square, at Broadway and 42nd Street, lies in the heart of New York's theater district. Most of the theaters are located either on or near Broadway. Rockefeller Center, between Fifth and Sixth avenues from 48th to 52nd Street, is a cluster of tall buildings with street-level and rooftop gardens and an outdoor skating rink. Here, too, is the Radio City Music Hall, a large motion picture theater known especially for its dancing "Rockettes." Across on Fifth Avenue is St. Patrick's a magnificent Gothic cathedral built during the latter part of the 19th century.
On Madison Avenue, one block east, are office buildings housing many large advertising agencies. A block farther east is Park Avenue, with its impressive glass-walled office buildings. These include Union Carbide, 47th-48th; Seagram, 52nd-53rd; and Lever House, 53rd-54th.
Near 34th Street on the West Side is Madison Square Garden, a modern sports, entertainment, convention, and office complex. Across town and fronting on the East River is the headquarters of the United Nations, one of New York's chief attractions. Also in Midtown are the large television studios of ABC, CBS, and NBC and such famous department stores as Macy's, Gimbel's, and Bloomingdale's.
The official residence of the mayor of New York is Gracie Mansion, overlooking the East River at 88th Street. It was built in 1799, designed by Pierre C. L'Enfant, the original planner of Washington, D.C. Along upper Fifth Avenue are numerous town houses built around 1900 and now housing institutes and organizations.
Just west of the northwest corner of Central Park is the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine. It was begun in 1892 and will be the largest Gothic church in the world when completed. The interdenominational Riverside Church, on Riverside Drive at 122nd Street, is Gothic also. It has superb stained-glass windows and a large carillon. Diagonally across the drive is the General Grant National Memorial, where the former President and his wife are entombed.
Historic houses in Upper Manhattan include Hamilton Grange (1802), Morris-Jumel Mansion (1765), and Dyckman House (1783), the only Dutch farmhouse remaining in Manhattan.
Richmondtown Restoration on Staten Island is a restoration of buildings of major historical and architectural interest. Included is the country's oldest known schoolhouse (1696). Conference House in Tottenville was built about 1680. It was the scene of a Revolutionary War conference in which conciliatory proposals made by Admiral Richard Howe of Great Britain were rejected by members of the Continental Congress.
The Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims in Brooklyn was the pastorate of Henry Ward Beecher and a center of the abolitionist movement before the Civil War. Other historic buildings in Brooklyn include Wyckoff House (1639) and the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Flatbush (1796). In Queens there are the Bowne House (1661) and King Mansion (1757). Notable in the Bronx are the Van Cortlandt Mansion (1748) and the Bartow-Pell Mansion (1836-42).
Education and Culture
New York City has the largest elementary and secondary school enrollment in the country. Approximately three-fourths of the students at these levels are in public schools; about one-fourth attend private schools, most of which are affiliated with religious groups.
The City University of New York is a municipal system of large senior colleges, such as Bernard M. Baruch, Brooklyn, City, Hunter, Herbert H. Lehman, and Queens colleges, numerous two-year community colleges, a medical school, and a college of criminal justice. Public education is also provided by units of the State University of New York, including the Health Science Center at Brooklyn and the Maritime College.
Largest of the many private universities in New York are Columbia University (founded 1754) and New York University (1832).
Also prominent are:
Cooper Union
Fordham University
Juilliard School
Long Island University (Brooklyn Campus)
Manhattan College
New School University
Pace University
Polytechnic University of New York
Pratt Institute
St. John's University
Yeshiva University
There are also accredited specialized schools of design, business, law, medicine, music, technology, and theology.
New York City is the cultural capital of the United States. It has excellent museums, the country's leading opera company, outstanding dance companies and symphony orchestras, and a preeminent position in the professional theater.
Most noted of the many art museums is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with its medieval branch, the Cloisters. The Frick Collection displays fine paintings, sculpture, and furniture of the 14th through the 19th century in the former mansion of millionaire Henry Clay Frick.
Art of the 20th century is featured at the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. El Museo del Barrio is devoted to Puerto Rican and other Hispanic art.
Historical exhibits may be seen at the Museum of the City of New York and the New-York Historical Society. At the South Street Seaport Museum, on the East River near the Brooklyn Bridge, are refurbished old sailing ships and displays dealing with the city's maritime history. Outstanding in scientific fields is the American Museum of Natural History, including the Rose Center for Earth and Space. In Washington Heights are the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Hispanic Society of America, American Numismatic Society, and American Geographical Society. Other museums include the National Museum of the American Indian, Museum of Television and Radio, the Police Museum, and the Jewish Museum.
The New York Public Library is one of the finest reference libraries in the world. Its main building, at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, was completed in 1911. There are more than 80 branches in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Brooklyn and Queens have separate library systems. The Pierpont Morgan Library contains one of the nation's richest collections of rare books, manuscripts, drawings, engravings, and works of art.
The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts provides auditoriums for music, dance, and drama. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Ballet, and the New York City Opera. Lincoln Center also includes the New York State Theater, the Juilliard School, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and the Guggenheim Band Shell.
Carnegie Hall is known for its orchestral performances and recitals. Concerts, lectures, and other cultural events are presented in Town Hall. City Center, a municipally owned theater, and the Joyce Theater are major centers of dance. In summer, free concerts and opera performances are given at numerous city parks, including Central and Prospect parks. In summer also, a Shakespearean troupe performs in the outdoor Delacorte Theater in Central Park.
The professional theater in New York is divided between Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway. Broadway signifies the commercial theater district located mainly on the side streets running west from Broadway in the Times Square area. Off-Broadway productions are usually smaller ventures presented in small theaters away from the main theater district. Off-Off-Broadway plays, often experimental and controversial, are performed in lofts, churches, and other buildings not originally designed as theaters.
Sports
New York has many professional sports teams, including the Mets and the Yankees (baseball); the Jets and the Giants (football); the Islanders and the Rangers (hockey); and the Knicks and the New York Liberty (basketball). The Knicks, the New York Liberty, and the Rangers play at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. Nassau Coliseum, on Long Island, is home to the Islanders. The Jets and the Giants play at the Meadowlands Stadium in nearby East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Yankees play at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Shea Stadium, in Queens, is home to the Mets. Also in Queens are Aqueduct Race Track, for thoroughbred horse racing, and the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow, site of the U.S. Open. Belmont Park, on Long Island, is a well-known thoroughbred track.
Government
New York City is governed under a charter adopted in 1975, effective in 1977. The charter was significantly revised in 1989, with changes taking place gradually until 1991. The board of estimate, which had administrative duties and prepared the budget, was abolished and the powers of the mayor and the city council were broadened.
The mayor, comptroller, and president of the city council are elected for four-year terms. The mayor recommends legislation and appoints many officials. Each of the five boroughs---Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island---elects a president for four years. The city council has 51 members (not including the president) elected for four years. The council members are elected from single-member districts.
Each borough is a separate county. There are a few county officials, but most county functions have been taken over by the city.
