New York - city and port located at the mouth of the Hudson River,
southeastern New York state, northeastern U.S. New York City is the
centre of the largest urban agglomeration in the United States. It
occupies Manhattan and Staten islands, the western end of Long Island, a
portion of the mainland, and various islands in New York Harbor and
Long Island Sound. Its urban area extends into neighbouring parts of New
York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
New York City is an ethnic melting pot where the most dramatic
cultural contrasts are commonplace. It is among the most geographically
and demographically complex of world cities, its economy one of the most
diverse, and its cultural scene among the richest and most variegated.
A brief treatment of New York City follows. For full treatment, see New York City.
The city consists of five boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn,
Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island [formerly Richmond]), which
correspond to five counties of New York state (New York, Kings, Queens,
Bronx, and Richmond, respectively). All are located near the point where
the Hudson River empties into Upper New York Bay of the Atlantic Ocean.
The city's only land boundaries are Westchester county on the north and
Nassau county on Long Island to the east. The city's waterfront is used
for shipping and recreation.
The city may be described as a collection of many
neighbourhoods, each with its own character and life-style. Manhattan is
the economic and cultural heart of the city and is often considered to
be "the city." Administration and services, however, have become
increasingly decentralized as community planning boards have assumed
more power in areas such as education, health, housing, and public
works. Manhattan, the magnet for tourists and businessmen, is at first
glance a city of skyscrapers, glaring lights, and frenetic pace. The
shopping promenade of Fifth Avenue, the financial institutions of Wall
Street, the residential mansions of Park Avenue, or the bohemian life in
the East Village and SoHo give typical impressions. Only Brooklyn of
the other boroughs has a similar ethnic heterogeneity and a similar
range of social life, with commercial and industrial districts and
residential areas ranging from the wealth of Brooklyn Heights to the
most abject poverty of parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant. Queens is mainly
residential and middle class, and Staten Island is partly suburban but
still rural in some areas. In the Bronx luxurious residences and solid
middle-class apartments prevail in some sections, but other areas,
especially the South Bronx, are the scene of severe urban blight.
Ethnic pockets abound throughout Manhattan, from black and
Spanish Harlem in the north, to the various enclaves of the Lower East
Side such as Little Italy and Chinatown. New York City also has large
numbers of Italians, Irish, Puerto Ricans, and West Indians, as well as
the largest Jewish population of any city in the world. This ethnic and
racial mix is the result of the waves of immigration that the city has
absorbed during its history. The Statue of Liberty, located on Liberty
Island off Manhattan, has long stood as a symbol of refuge and
opportunity.
New York City is a centre of world trade and finance,
communications, art and entertainment, and fashion. The city is the
financial capital of the United States and holds the headquarters of
many of the world's largest corporations. Wall Street in Manhattan is
home to the nation's largest stock exchange and is the headquarters of
the country's largest brokerage firms. With the headquarters of the
nation's television and radio networks and the main offices of the
largest advertising agencies, New York City is the heart of the mass
media in the United States. Printing and publishing are also of great
importance, and most of the nation's major publishing houses are based
in midtown Manhattan. The city's economic life also depends on the great
diversity of its numerous small businesses and manufacturing
establishments.
Wearing apparel, symbolized by its famous garment district,
continues to be New York City's major manufacturing industry.
White-collar jobs, however, are far more numerous. The main
nonmanufacturing employers include service businesses; wholesale and
retail trades; finance, insurance, and real estate; transport and public
utilities; government; and construction.
Automation and mergers have resulted in the loss of many jobs
in the city. In addition, escalating rents and taxes and high crime
rates have caused many firms to leave. Steps have been taken by the city
government, however, to alleviate these problems and to provide
incentives for remaining.
The artists of New York City exhibit in a wide variety of
forms, ranging from traditional crafts to the most avant-garde work,
flavoured by complex blends of ethnic and national influences.
Theatrical arts and entertainment are also widespread: Broadway is the
synonym for musical comedies and legitimate drama; Carnegie Hall is one
of the most famous concert halls in the world; and Lincoln Center for
the Performing Arts is the home of the Metropolitan Opera, the New York
City Opera, the New York Philharmonic, and the New York City Ballet.
Though the importance of Broadway has declined, theatre is very much
alive in the more venturesome Off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway
productions. The city has numerous motion-picture theatres, among which
are many revival and foreign-film houses.
The New York Public Library is one of the best research
libraries in the world. Most famous among the city's many museums are
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R.
Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the American
Museum of Natural History. Many lesser known museums house special
collections. The city's extensive system of public parks includes
Central Park in Manhattan.
New York City has an extensive public university system.
Outstanding private colleges and universities in the city include
Columbia, New York, Rockefeller, and Fordham universities, numerous
medical schools, the New School for Social Research, and the Juilliard
School.
New York City's subway system carries more than one-third of
all mass-transit passengers in the metropolitan area, with the balance
provided by commuter rail lines and buses. The once-famous docks of
Hell's Kitchen along the Hudson River in Manhattan have disappeared, and
considerable shipping has shifted to the New Jersey side of the
harbour. Rail lines radiate in all directions. International and
domestic air service is provided by Kennedy, La Guardia, and Newark (New
Jersey) international airports. Area city, 304 square miles (787 square
km); metropolitan area, 1 384 square miles (3 585 square km). Pop.
(1990) city, 7 322 564; New York PMSA, 8 546 846; New York-Northern New
Jersey-Long Island CMSA, 18 087 251.