New York City

New York City is located on the Eastern Atlantic coast of the United States, at the mouth of the Hudson River. New York was the US Capital from 1789 to 1790 and was New York’s state capital until 1797.

New York City, is one of the world’s most vibrant and sprawling city.

New York is divided in five boroughs, each with its own distinct identity. In 1898 a new charter was adopted, making the city Greater New York, a metropolis of five boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island.

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Manhattan is home to the most recognizable sites, dominates popular perception of New York City among the most famous districts:

Chelsea

Chelsea takes its name from a Federal-style house of British Major Thomas Clarke, who named his home after the manor of Chelsea, London. Chelsea Market, Chelsea Piers and Madison Square Garden are a few highlights of this Manhattan neighborhood transitioning from a predominantly industrial area to one where living, shopping, eating and entertainment take center stage. The Chelsea area has become a posh address in recent years.

It is located to the south of Hell’s Kitchen and the Garment District starting at 34th Street, and north of Greenwich Village, and the Meatpacking District that centers on West 14th Street. West – East boundaries are from West Street to 5th Ave. below 23rd St, and Broadway above 23rd St.

As rents in Greenwich Village rose, the vibrant gay community moved upwards to occupy Chelsea’s many brownstones and loft spaces. Others followed, and today it reflects all of New York’s ethnic and cultural diversity.
A mecca for gourmet food lovers is the Chelsea Market, at 75 9th Ave., between 15th and 16th Streets. The building originally was the old Nabisco plant, where in 1898, the Oreo Cookie was born. The Chelsea Market is enormous and takes up an entire city block. Also notable is the Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment Complex, a 30-acre waterfront recreation complex located between 17th and 23rd Streets along the Hudson River.

Chinatown

In Chinatown one can expect plenty of Asian restaurants, grocery stores and trinket shops line the crowded streets of Chinatown which is considered the largest in the United States and is the largest concentration of Chinese in the western hemisphere. Chinatown is located on the lower east side of Manhattan. Its two square miles are bounded by Kenmore and Delancey streets on the north, East and Worth streets on the south, Allen street on the east, and Broadway on the west. With a population estimated between 70,000 and 150,000,
The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882-1943), to date the only non-wartime federal law which excluded a people based on nationality, was a reaction to rising anti-Chinese sentiment. The resentment was a result of the perception that the Chinese would work for far less money and their reluctance to assimilate. The Exclusion Act grew more and more restrictive over the following decades, and was finally lifted during World War II. Today’s Chinatown offers visitors a vast array of restaurants, fruit and fish markets.

East Village

Bordered by Houston Street to the south, Third Avenue and/or the Bowery to the west, the East River to the east, and 14th Street to the north, the East Village was originally considered—and still is, by some—to be part of the Lower East Side.

Most of what is today the East Village was originally part of a sprawling farm owned by Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch governor of New Amsterdam.

Today the East Village has become synonymous with artists, students, yuppies and a louche hipster aesthetic have gone a long way towards gentrifying the long poor and multi-ethnic neighborhood, indie boutiques and sidewalk cafes.

Notable sites are St. Mark’s-in-the-Bowery Church, urban gardens, like Tompkins Square Park. The East Village is also the neighborhood with the highest concentration of bars in the city.

A typical two-bedroom apartment costs an average of $3,000 per month, it’s expensive. It’s in close proximity to NYU.

Gramercy /Flatiron

Serene and upscale, the Gramercy Park neighborhood stretch from 20th Street until the start of Murray Hill at 34th Street, and are bordered by the East River and Park Avenue to the west.

The townhouses around the park, built before the Civil War, are among the oldest and most outstanding in the city, sought after for its classic architecture and proximity to fine dining, shopping and Gramercy Park.

The Flatiron District is bounded on the north by the triangular Flatiron building built in 1902, at the corner of 23rd Street, south to 15th Street, extends as far east as Park Avenue South and west to Sixth Avenue. Union Square sits on the southern boundary of the Flatiron neighborhood. When first built, the Flatiron building was New York City’s first skyscraper, and the tallest building in the world. Nearby is the birthplace of Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States of America.
Today this neighborhood has plenty of restaurants, shopping, and convenience.

Greenwich Village

Greenwich Village was once populated by writers, artists, and political activists, including poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, playwright Eugene O’Neill and the writer Allen Ginsberg. It was known in the late 19th to mid-20th centuries as the bohemian capital and the East Coast, birthplace of the Beat movement a literary movement which also spun another movement created the beatniks.
A celebrated counterculture continues to thrive here. Today, its townhouses are some of the most expensive in the city. New York University students gather in Washington Square Park. A diverse array of shops, bars and music clubs exist along Bleecker Street.
The neighborhood is bounded by Broadway on the east, the Hudson River on the west, Houston Street on the south, and 14th Street on the north. The neighborhoods surrounding it are the East Village to the east, SoHo and Hudson Square to the south, and Chelsea to the north.

Harlem

Settled by the Dutch in 1658, Harlem, it was named for a city in the Netherlands. In modern times it has been the national epicenter of African-American culture, Harlem was home to the Harlem Renaissance, arguably this country’s most influential artistic, literary and cultural movement. Harlem is known for its jazz clubs and Southern restaurants.
Historic sites and museums of this neighborhood include the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Abyssinian Baptist Church, Museum of the City of New York, Studio Museum in Harlem, The Apollo Theater, and the Dance Theater of Harlem. Harlem is situated in the Northern part of Manhattan is the biggest district in New York City.
Harlem stretches from the East River west to the Hudson River between 155th Street, where it meets Washington Heights to a border along the south. Central Harlem begins at 110th Street, at the northern boundary of Central Park, Spanish Harlem extends east Harlem’s boundaries south to 96th Street.

Little Italy

Little Italy is located in Lower Manhattan, between Canal and Houston Streets and Lafayette and the Bowery, bordering Chinatown. No place in New York City can you get as much authentic Italian cuisine as in Little Italy.

The Feast of San Gennaro along Mulberry Street between Houston and Mosco Streets is held in Little Italy in mid-September, it’s a religious event that includes a procession honoring the patron saint of Naples.

Other Italian American neighborhoods in New York City include Little Italy of the Bronx on Arthur Avenue, in the Fordham section of The Bronx, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Howard Beach, Queens, Ozone Park, Queens, Middle Village, Queens, Morris Park, in the Bronx, Pelham Bay, Bronx, and various parts of Staten Island.

Lower East Side

The Lower East Side was once the world’s largest Jewish community, today it is best known for great shopping bargains and delicious food. The historic Orchard Street Shopping District is home to several hip bars and nightclubs. It’s conveniently located in Lower Manhattan, it’s bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street. Be sure to visit the Tenement, a New York City Museum that tells the stories of immigrants who lived in 97 Orchard Street, a tenement built in 1863 on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Sundays are the best weekend days for visiting the Lower East Side, as many shop owners close on Saturdays to observe the Sabbath.

Midtown

As the name implies, Midtown is smack in the middle of everything.

Nobody is really sure where Midtown begins (most would say somewhere at the 30-block), but most agree it stops around Central Park. Midtown Manhattan is the largest central business district in the United States and is home to the highest concentration of the city’s skyscrapers.

Here you can find some of the best shopping in the world the famed 5th avenue, including Tiffany, Saks and Bloomingdale. Among the attractions in Midtown are St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Television and Radio Ed Sullivan Theatre, Carnegie Hall, Empire State Building and the Rockefeller Center.

Soho

Prior to the mid-20th century, Soho was once described as an industrial wasteland. It was filled with factories and conditions were less than ideal. It is bound by Houston Street to the north, Lafayette St. to the east, Canal Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. The name for the area derives from the fact that it is South of Houston. In the 1960’s, artists transformed this area to the fashionable district known today. It is famous for the restaurants, galleries and shops lining its streets. The neighborhood’s streets are often filled with street vendors selling everything from jewelry to bags and books.

Times Square and Hell’s Kitchen

Originally called Longacre Square, the area adopted the name Times Square after The New York Times moved to the area. The glaring neon lights, huge stores blaring loud music, masses of people crowding the streets, visitors adore everything from souvenir shops to enormous billboards and Broadway musicals.

A few blocks west lies Hell’s Kitchen, a community filled with eclectic restaurants and shops. Hell’s Kitchen was once the seedy center of the New York underworld, the name has stuck despite attempts to call it the more neutral such as Midtown West.

Besides Broadway productions and shopping, Times Square is famous for the annual New Year’s party, it’s considered by many as the world’s largest New Year’s bash. The Toys ‘R’ Us flagship store is a must see with its infamous 60 foot tall indoor Ferris wheel.

Tribeca

Once home to factories, artists moved in and transformed the area into a bustling urban mecca. Tribeca could be considered the best place to live in the city. It enjoys low crime rates, great schools, great transportation and waterfront access. It is bounded by Vesey St. to Canal St., Broadway to Hudson River.

Tribeca is home to the Tribeca Film Festival launched in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal and Robert DeNiro.

Upper East Side

The Upper East Side is bounded by 59th Street, 96th Street, Central Park and the East River Park, Fifth and Madison. It has some of the most expensive real estate anywhere in the world. As a result, push shops adorn Madison Avenue. The upper east side is home to the Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum, Whitney Museum, Museum of the City of New York and the Jewish Museum.
It is also home to Gracie Mansion, the Mayors of New York City residence.
During the winter the fir trees on Park Avenue come alive strung with tiny white lights, the ice rinks whirling with skaters at Central Park’s Wollman Rink.

Upper West Side

Home to notable New York landmarks such as the Lincoln Center, Columbia University, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Dakota Apartments, and Zabar’s food emporium, the Upper West Side stretches from 59th Street to 125th Street, including Morningside Heights. It is bounded by Central Park on the east and the Hudson River on the west.

The Upper West Side was originally settled by Dutch immigrants in the early and mid-seventeenth century. In 1703, Bloomingdale Road which became the Boulevard, and eventually became Broadway, was built to handle due to a dramatic increase in commerce. The road originated at what is now 23rd Street and stretched to 114th Street. By the late eighteenth century, many wealthy merchants had country estates in the relative isolation and wilderness of Bloomingdale, and fine homes and farms dotted the area.

Wall Street and the Financial District

The Financial District is located at the southern tip of Manhattan and is the economic center of the United States. George Washington was inaugurated on the Federal Hall National Monument steps in the financial district located across the street from the New York Stock Exchange.

Battery Park draws people for its panoramic views. The World Trade Center was also one of the area’s most popular destinations, until its destruction by an act of terrorism on September 11, 2001.
Near the US Customs House a Bronze Statue of Bull representing the Bull Market, makes for a great photo. At St. Paul’s Chapel you can see the pew where Washington worshiped each Sunday. At Trinity Church graveyard you can see monuments erected to Alexander Hamilton and Robert Fulton. At the very tip of Manhattan, you’ll find Battery Park where you can get aboard the Staten Island Ferry crossing New York Harbor, or visit Elllis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

The other Boroughs of New York

The Bronx

This borough is home to the Yankees, one of the nation’s finest zoos , and an extraordinary Botanical Garden. It is the northernmost county in New York City, located across the Harlem River from Manhattan. It also lies across the East River from Queens. The Bronx is the home of such notables as Babe Ruth, Derek Jeter, Roger Clemens and Edgar Allen Poe. The Bronx is the only borough of New York that is part of the mainland, the other four are islands. The most famous attractions are the Bronx Zoo, New York Botanical Garden, Yankees Stadium, Bronx Museum of the Arts, Judaica Museum, North Wind Undersea Institute and the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is New York City’s most populous borough with some 2.4 million residents. This massive borough stretches from Coney Island to elegant Brooklyn Heights. Brooklyn is across from Manhattan, on the East River.
When the Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883, it was then the longest suspension bridge in the world and a boat was no longer the only means of transportation from Manhattan. Among the place to visit are the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn Children’s Museum the first ever museum dedicated to children, Brooklyn History Museum, New York Transit Museum, Waterfront Museum an the Coney Island Museum.

Queens

Located on the western portion of Long Island, the community was named after Catherine of Braganza, queen of Charles II. From Flushing to Astoria, Queens is experiencing a minor boom, as Manhattan’s high rents become unaffordable for most.
Queens is the home to 2 out of the 3 New York City’s Airports, the highest volume shopping center in the country, The New York Mets, many great parks and golf courses and it was the home of two worlds fairs.

Staten Island

First sighted by Giovanni da Verrazano in 1524, Staten Island is located in the southwest part of the city. Separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay. It is the least populated of the 5 boroughs of New York City. The Island is shaped like a triangle and is 13.9 miles long and 7.3 miles wide, a total of 60.9 square miles.
In 1993, a proposed charter for the City of Staten Island was presented to the voters and in November 1993, a non-binding referendum to secede from New York City was approved by the voters of Staten Island by a margin of 2-1.

Geo

Latitude: 40.7141667 N
Longitude: -74.0063889 W
Elevation is 6 feet

Average High Temperature (July): 82.5° F
Average Low Temperature (January): 20.8° F

Bio

New York’s population according to the Census bureau estimate for 2008 is 8,363,710.