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View of Midtown from the Empire State Building, 1992.
New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the largest city in the United States and the world's most important center for global finance and communications. The city is also home to hundreds of world-class museums, galleries, and performance venues, making it the unrivaled cultural and entertainment capital of the western world.
With a population of over 8 million people (contained within 309 square miles), and large populations of immigrants from over 180 different countries, the city is often affectionately referred to as "theBig Apple." In addition to these new arrivals from overseas, the city has also become home to people from other parts of the U.S. who wish to experience a more cosmopolitan lifestyle than found in the rest of the country.
New York City lies at the heart of the New York Metropolitan Area, which, with over 22 million people, is one of the largest urban conglomerations in the world. The city is comprised of five boroughs: Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, each of which could be a major city in its own right. This area itself is the epicenter of the Tri-State area and the BosWashmegalopolis.
The city's gross metropolitan product was estimated in 2003 to be US$488.8 billion, the largest of any city in the United States and the sixth largest if compared to any U.S. state. If it were a nation, the city would have the 16th highest gross domestic product in the world, exceeding that of Russia ($433 billion). Though this value has been as high as 10 percent of the United States' GDP, in the last ten years it has been around 4.5 percent, fluctuating only recently. Along with London and Tokyo, New York City is considered one of the three primary "global cities" of the world. The United Nations has also had its headquarters in the city since 1951, a few years after its founding.
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. Many Huguenots seeking religious freedom also settled in the area. In 1664, English ships captured the city without struggle, and it was renamed New York, after James, Duke of York to whom the territory had been given by his brother Charles II. The Duke of York in turn took his title from the City of York in England, hence the prefix 'New'. When James
succeeded his brother as James II in 1685 the colony, including New Jersey, became a Royal one. 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 restructure its debt through the Municipal Assistance Corporation, headed by Felix Rohatyn. The city was also forced to accept increased scrutiny of its finances by an agency of New York State called the Financial Control Board.
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 seeking to live a cosmopolitan lifestyle that only New York City can offer. In the late 1990s, the dot com boom fueled another frenzy of financial speculation that sent the economy soaring.
The September 11, 2001 attacks 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' fiery 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.
A panoramic view of the lower Manhattan skyline, (which is a separate business district from Midtown Manhattan) summer of 2004File:Usgs photo five boroughs.jpgSatellite image of New York, showing the five boroughs.
Boroughs and neighborhoods
The City of New York is composed of five boroughs, each a county of New York State. Residents of the city often refer to the city itself as "the Five Boroughs," reserving the phrase "the City" to refer to Manhattan. Those less familiar with the city often (incorrectly) think
Manhattan is synonymous with New York City. The boroughs other than Manhattan are also referred to as "the Outer Boroughs."
Through the boroughs, there are hundreds of neighborhoods in the city, many with a definable history and character all their own. Some are gentrified, others are slums. Some are cosmopolitan, many are ethnic enclaves.
Manhattan (New York County, pop. 1,564,798) is the business center of the city, and the most superlatively urban. It is the most densely populated, and the home of most of the city's skyscrapers.
The Bronx (Bronx County, pop. 1,363,198) is known as the purported birthplace of Hip hop culture, as well as being the home of the New York Yankees. It is the only part of the city on the mainland.
Brooklyn (Kings County, pop. 2,472,523) is the most populous borough with a strong native identity. It ranges from a business district downtown to large residential tracts in the central area, and a near-rural southeast.
Queens (Queens County, pop. 2,225,486) is the most diverse county in the U.S., with more immigrants than anywhere else. It has more than one center, and the legacy of its old constituent towns is still evident.
Staten Island (Richmond County, pop. 459,737) is somewhat isolated and the most suburban part of the city. But it in the last decades it has been growing more a part of city life, which has bred controversy and even a recent attempt at secession.
New York City is governed pursuant to the New York City Charter, as amended. The charter is enacted and amended by the New York State legislature, and occasionally through referendum. Though subservient to the State of New York, the city enjoys a high degree of legislative and executive autonomy. Like most governmental entities in the United States, the city government is divided into executive, legislative and judicial branches.
Boroughs
The five boroughs are coterminous with their respective counties, but the counties do not have actual county governments. Each borough elects a Borough President, but under the current city charter, the Borough President's powers are limited—he or she has a small discretionary budget to spend on projects within the borough. (The last significant power of the borough presidents—to appoint a member of the Board of Education —was abolished, with the board, on June 30, 2002.) Currently, borough presidents
serve as ex officio members of various boards and committees.
Executive
The executive branch of New York City is headed by the Mayor, who is elected by direct popular vote. The mayor has executive authority over five divisions of city government as well as several independent government offices. The divisions, each comprising several city agencies and headed by an appointed Deputy Mayor, are:
The mayor has broad emergency powers which can be exercised in cases of emergency weather conditions, natural disaster, riots, civil unrest, invasion or other emergency. Most recently, Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared a state of emergency during the 2003 North America blackout.
Legislative
Legislative power in New York City is vested in a unicameral City Council, which contains 51 members, each representing a district of approximately 157,000 people. Council members are elected every four years, and the leader of the majority party is called the Speaker. The current Speaker of the City Council is Gifford Miller, a Democrat. Like most legislative bodies, the City Council is divided into committees which have oversight of various functions of the city government. Bills passed by a simple majority are sent to the mayor, who may sign it into law. If the mayor vetoes the bill, the
Council has 30 days to override the veto by a two-thirds majority vote.
Judicial
Unlike the rest of New York State, New York City does not have typical county courts. Instead, there is a single Civil Court, with a presence in each borough and city-wide jurisdiction, and a Criminal Court for each New York City county which handles lesser criminal offenses and
domestic violence cases, a responsibility shared with the Family Court. Unlike other counties in New York, judges for Family Courts in New York City are appointed for ten year terms by the mayor, instead of being elected.
Criminal cases are handled on indictment by the Supreme Court in each New York City county. The Supreme Court also handles larger civil cases, and grand juries sit in each county. Thus, unlike other states and the Federal Government, in New York, the Supreme Court is not the highest court. Appeals are handled by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. The highest court in the state is the Court of Appeals.
New York has had a reputation as a crime-ridden city, partly due to the hundreds of TV and movie crime dramas set in it. However, in recent years it has been ranked in the top ten safest large cities in the United States by City Crime Rankings (9th edition, 2003). In addition, New York has been growing safer for most of the last decade. The fight against crime has been aided by COMPSTAT, implemented in 1994 by the New York Police Department to map crimes, analyze problems and devise solutions. In the past decade, violent crime has dropped by two-thirds (see [http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/pct/cspdf.html New York Crime
Statistics]) and FBI data indicate that the murder rate in 2000 was the lowest since 1967.
New York City's crime rates vary by neighborhood and borough. Staten Island is the safest borough in the city, Queens and Manhattan are in the middle range, while Brooklyn and The Bronx have the highest crime rates.
There have been some notorious crime sprees. For example, on July 29, 1976 the "Son of Sam", pulling a gun from a paper bag, killed one person and seriously wounded another, in the first of a series of attacks that terrorized the city for the next year.
As soon as the SicilianMafia moved to New York in the 1920s, they became infamous with their hits on businesses that did not pay money to them. They had also set up smuggling rings and fixed boxing matches. The Mafia flourished due to a distrust of the police in the Italian-American communities in New York. The five largest crime families in New York were the Bonnanos, the Colombos, the Gambinos, the Genovese, and the Luchese. The assimilation of the Italian-American
population is choking the Mafia in New York, although they still operate.
New York city, viewed from the TERRA satellite. The prominent green rectangle is Central Park, on Manhattan island. Ground Zero can just be distinguished, as the largest of the pale spots near the southern tip of Manhattan.
Geography and climate
New York City is sited among an archipelago of islands astride the Atlantic Ocean off the Eastern Seaboard of North America, surrounding the fine New York Harbor, which was the very reason for the city's founding. The city itself has been built on the three major islands of Manhattan, Staten Island, and on western Long Island (Brooklyn and Queens), as well as on the mainland in the Bronx. There are also some smaller islands in the surrounding waters.
Upper New York Bay is surrounded by Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the coast of New Jersey, and is connected by the Narrows between Brooklyn and Staten Island to Lower New York Bay, which is partially surrounded by Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the coast of New
Jersey, and is open to the Atlantic Ocean.
The shape of the land has been altered substantially by human intervention, with considerable land reclamation along the waterfronts since Dutch times, most dramatically in Lower Manhattan, and continuing in modern developments like Battery Park City. Much of the natural variations in topography have been evened out, particularly in Manhattan. A number of smaller islands have been artificially enlarged, and the map of islands in Jamaica Bay has been completely transformed.
New York has a humid continental climate. The city is adjacent to water, so temperature changes are not as drastic as those inland. It snows in New York every winter due to the city's 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 (30 cm) of snow. Springs are mild, averaging in the 50s (degrees Fahrenheit, 10–15 degrees Celsius) in late March to the lower 80s °F (25–30 °C) in early June. Summers in New York are hot and humid. It is common for summer high temperatures to exceed 90 °F (32 °C), although it often stays below 100 °F (38 °C). Autumns are comfortable in New York. However, the weather in New York is notably unpredictable, 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 be large temperature swings from one day to the next. Travelers are advised to check forecasts and bring several layers of clothing in late fall and in the 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.
The median income for a household in the city is $38,293, and the median income for a family is $41,887. Males have a median income of $37,435 versus $32,949 for females. The per capita income for the city is $22,402. 21.2% of the population and 18.5% of families are below the
poverty line. Out of the total population, 30.0% of those under the age of 18 and 17.8% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 8,008,278 people, 3,021,588 households, and 1,852,233 families residing in the city. The population density is 10,194.2/km² (26,402.9/mi²). There are 3,200,912 housing units at an average density of 4,074.6/km² (10,553.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 44.66% White, 26.59% Black or African American, 0.52% Native American, 9.83% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 13.42% from other races, and 4.92% from two or more races. 26.98% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
35.9% of the population is foreign born (18.9% born in Latin America, 8.6% Asia, 7.0% Europe).
There are 3,021,588 households out of which 29.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.2% are married couples living together, 19.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 38.7% are non-families. 31.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.59 and the average family size is 3.32.
In the city the population is spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 85.9 males.
Historically, the city developed because of New York Harbor, widely considered the finest natural port in the world. The old port facility was at the South Street Seaport in Manhattan, but today there is only residual activity remaining at Red Hook in Brooklyn. Since the 1950s, most shipping activity in the area has shifted to Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal in New Jersey. But despite changes in international shipping, trade and the teritiary sector have always remained the real basis of New York's economy.
The city has also been a center of many other industries in the United States. New York was formerly a national center for clothing manufacture, and some continues, sometimes in sweatshops. Today, it is more the center of the fashion industry and haute couture, and the city is home to many prominent fashion designers. New York is
also considered a center of the mass media and journalism, and particularly the very first city in book and magazine publishing. Manhattan's Madison Avenue is well-known for its advertising agencies. The city was also the first center of the American film industry, until it moved to Hollywood, California, and still has some television and movie production. New York was and remains the primary center of the theater (with Broadway theatre), art, and music worlds in the United States.
Today, the city forms the economic center of the New York metropolitan area, and many of the workers in the city, particularly in Manhattan, are commuters from neighboring suburbs.
New York is also home to more Fortune 500 companies than anywhere else in the country, with companies as prominent and diverse as Altria Group, Time Warner, American International Group, Pfizer, and many others. Numerous other companies are based in the New York metropolitan area outside of the city limits.
A New York City resident is a New Yorker. There is also some borough identification, and the subways are crowded with proud Manhattanites, Bronxites, Brooklynites, Queensites and Staten Islanders. Sometimes people in the surrounding suburbs, many of city origin, are also called New Yorkers, but the term is rarely used to refer to
residents of Upstate New York. Residents generally refer to New York City (or sometimes just Manhattan) as "New York" or "the city". Ambiguity is resolved by writing "NYS" for the state and "NYC" for the city.
To some observers, New York, with its large immigrant population, seems more of an international city than something specifically "American." But to others, the city's very openness to newcomers makes it the archetype of a "nation of immigrants." Among large American cities only Los Angeles receives more immigrants, but immigration to New York is considerably more diverse. It is not without reason that the city government maintains translators in 180 languages. For illustration, although New York has a larger Jewish population than Jerusalem, still a majority of city residents are non-white. Residents are
accustomed to thinking of everyone in the city as a member of a minority in some sense, but they also have a shared identity as New Yorkers.
As in many major cities, immigrants to New York and sometimes their descendants tend to congregate into ethnic enclaves where they can talk and shop and work with people from their country of origin. This phenomenon is more pronounced in New York than in other U.S. cities, and the five boroughs are home to many distinct communities of Irish, Italians, Chinese, Korean, Puerto Ricans, Caribbeans, Jews , Hindus and many others, though there are also more multi-ethnic or cosmopolitan neighborhoods where people of different backgrounds can coexist in ease or in tension.
The everyday lifestyle of New Yorkers differs substantially from that of other Americans, and has in some ways been compared to that of urban Western Europeans. Despite the best efforts of Robert Moses, residents are less attuned than other Americans to the 'car culture'
that dominates most of the country. The well-designed New York Subway and the threat of congestion keep six in ten residents, including many middle class professionals, out of cars and off of the highways. Even the city's billionaire mayor is known to take the train to City Hall each morning. This pattern is strongest for Manhattanites, who live in an area with better subway service and worse traffic, but more moderated for residents of the outer boroughs, especially in more peripheral areas, though many here too commute by train to Manhattan. Also on Manhattan, between subway stops and destinations is built up the "walking
city", a real pedestrian culture unrivaled in the U.S.
The subway is a common denominator in the lives of many New Yorkers.
Unlike most Americans, although less untypically for city dwellers, the great majority of New Yorkers rent their housing in what is usually seen as a very overpriced and difficult market at all ends. In this crowded city few can afford the closet space they feel they really need, and self-storage is a strong local industry. Again, the pattern is strongest in Manhattan and moderated but still present in the outer boroughs, which do have a number of suburban-style homes. Growing up in an ultra-cosmopolitan city like New York can sometimes foster an impressive cultural awareness.
The common stereotype of the "hard-boiled New Yorker" is held by many. Denizens of the fast-paced big city are seen as self-centered, rude and brusque, with no time to spare for anyone else. These characters will not hold the door for anyone, and will scoff the genial tourist who does. They are urban cynics who openly mock and deliberately misguide naive tourists unfamiliar with the wiles of city life. And supposedly, New Yorkers are so jaded that things that others would consider drawbacks to life in The City (crime, racism, pollution, noise...) are instead marks of pride, the very lures that keep them from ever
leaving.
Some of this caricature is based on ignorance, some on misunderstanding, and much on fact. A visitor from a small town can have trouble understanding the situation of someone who daily walks through what is an essentially infinite social universe. When New Yorkers encounter so many random people a day, it should not be surprising if they exchange greetings with them less often than in places where strangers can be something of a novelty. Though crime has declined in recent years, the standard underground defense mechanism remains the "subway stare", a studiedly unfocused expression designed not to be reacted to. But life in New
York, though a bit neurotic, is essentially normal, filled with feeling, caring people whose reality is hardly reflected in old myths about urbanism that go back to stories of Babylon.
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the old stereotype, for a time at least, was turned around as Americans felt increased sympathy with New Yorkers. In the city itself, attitudes have also changed in some ways, but stayed the same in others. For example, pride in the city and their way of life have increased for many, though others show signs of paranoia. "Mets Suck!" was still graffitied on a scaffold near "Ground Zero." Cabbies still drive recklessly, though some civilian drivers are more polite than previously.
Although in much of the rest of the country American football has surpassed baseball as the most popular professional sport, in New York baseball arguably still stirs the most passion and interest. A World Series championship by either the New York Yankees or the New York Mets is considered to be worthy of the highest celebration, including a ticker-tape parade for the victorious team. For most baseball fans, the most intense rivalry is between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. In New York, the rivalry between the Yankees and the Mets is just as fierce. Outsiders are frequently unaware that few
baseball fans in New York are fans of both teams at once.
New York has an intense rivalry with the city of Boston, Massachusetts. This is perhaps the most infamous city rivalry in the United States.
Shopping is popular with some visitors, but few tourists come to the city looking for bargains. One popular if expensive stop is Manhattan's FAO Schwarz, with long lines stretching out of the building.
The World Trade Center was an important tourist destination before the September 11, 2001 attacks, which devastated the city and its tourist industry. The city was nearly devoid of tourists for months, and it took two years for the numbers to fully rebound with fewer international, but more domestic visitors. Now the World Trade Center site has itself become an important place for visitors to see.
Many tourists only think of "New York" in terms of Manhattan, but there are four boroughs more, which, if they can't compete in skyscrapers, still offer other kinds of attractions.
The New York City metropolitan area is the only one in the United States with more than one team in each of the four major sports (with nine such teams in all). The professional teams using "New York" in their names are:
In 2004, the New Jersey Nets was sold to Bruce Ratner, who announced plans to move it to Brooklyn and build a new state of the art arena. The New York Jets also hope to move to the West Side of Manhattan and build a retractable roof football stadium in 2008 once their lease at Giants Stadium expires. Both of these construction proposals have stirred considerable opposition.
New York City is a finalist to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, with plans to build many new sporting venues if chosen. The proposed Jets Stadium on the West Side would also be used for the Olympic track and field events, but the uncertainty as to whether that stadium will be built is a weakness in the New York City bid.
New York City has by far the most famous skyline in the world, which has become something of a tourist attraction in and of itself. Because of its high residential density, and the extremely high real estate values found in the city's central business districts, New York has amassed the largest collection of office and residential towers in the world. In fact, New York actually has three seperately recognizable skylines: Midtown Manhattan, Downtown Manhattan (also known as Lower Manhattan), and Downtown Brooklyn. The largest of these sklylines is in Midtown, which is the largest central business district in the U.S., and also home to such notable buildings as the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and Rockefeller Center. The Downtown skyline was once characterized by the presence of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Today it is undergoing the rapid reconstruction of Lower Manhattan, and will some day include the new "Freedom Tower" which will be the tallest building in the world when it is completed in 2007. The Downtown skyline will also be getting notable additions soon from such architects as Santiago Calatrava and Frank Gehry.
The Midtown Manhattan skyline viewed from across the Hudson River, 1981.
The Downtown Brooklyn skyline is the smallest of the three, and is centered around a major transportation hub in Northwestern Brooklyn. The borough of Queens has also been developing its own skyline in recent years with a Citigroup office building (which is currently the tallest building in NYC outside Manhattan), and the City Lights development of several residential towers along the East River waterfront.
Transportation
Unlike most of America's car-oriented urban areas, public transportation is the common mode of travel for the majority of New York City residents. High parking fees, alternate side of the street parking rules and traffic jams discourage driving, and the New York Subway—fast, efficient, but not always clean—provides the best alternative. There are also numerous bus routes in all five boroughs, and walking is often favored by locals as a practical and pleasant transportation method for trips of two or so miles or less. People living in the suburbs in eastern Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and
upstate New York either drive or use the city's far-reaching commuter railroad system to travel to the city.
High tollway fees on bridges and underground tunnels help raise revenue and discourage too many commuters from using the crossings. New Yorkers who live in the city tend to take taxis, buses, subways, and elevated trains. Ferries are also taken between Manhattan and New Jersey, as well as other parts of New York City.
===Mass transit===
The 42nd Street entrance to Grand Central Terminal
New York City boasts the most extensive network of public transportation in the United States. Responsibility for providing public transportation falls to a variety of government agencies and private corporations.
Many private ferries are run by NY Waterway, which provides several lines across the Hudson River, New York Water Taxi, with lines connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan, and other operators. There is also the free Staten Island Ferry between Manhattan and Staten Island, operated by the New York City Department of Transportation.
Taxis
Taxicabs are operated by private companies and licensed by the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission. There are two kinds of taxis: "medallion taxis," which are the familiar yellow taxis, and "car services," which may only be radio- or computer-dispatched to pick up customers who have called for a taxi. Yellow cabs patrol most of Manhattan and may be hailed with a raised hand and taken--depending on the driver--anywhere within the five boroughs and parts of New Jersey. As of May 2004, fares begin at $2.50 ($3.00 after 8 pm, and $3.50 during peak, weekday hours). Prices go up based on time elapsed and
distance traveled.
New York City is served by the publicly-run City University of New York (CUNY), the largest urban university in the United States, which has a number of campuses throughout the five boroughs. The city is also home to a number of other institutions of higher learning, some of national or even international reputation, including Columbia University and New York University, among many others.
Newark is typically thought of as New York's sister city in another sense, as the two cities share a common location, history, economy, industry, and culture of immigration and ethnic diversity; however Newark is only a microcosm of everything that New York is.
Further reading
The encyclopedia of New York City, ed. by Kenneth T. Jackson, 1350 pages, Yale University Press 1995
