97 Facts About New York City

1.

New York City is a global cultural, financial, and media center with a significant influence on commerce, health care and life sciences, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, dining, art, fashion, and sports.

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2.

Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy, an established safe haven for global investors, and is sometimes described as the capital of the world.

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3.

New York is home to the highest number of billionaires of any city in the world.

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4.

New York City was the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790, and has been the largest US city since 1790.

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5.

In 2019, New York was voted the greatest city in the world per a survey of over 30,000 people from 48 cities worldwide, citing its cultural diversity.

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6.

Many districts and monuments in New York City are major landmarks, including three of the world's ten most visited tourist attractions in 2013.

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7.

New York City claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angouleme.

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8.

New York City proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange.

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9.

New York City made a ten-day exploration of the area and claimed the region for the Dutch East India Company.

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10.

The colony of New York City Amsterdam was centered on what would ultimately be known as Lower Manhattan.

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11.

New York City instituted regulations on liquor sales, attempted to assert control over the Dutch Reformed Church, and blocked other religious groups from establishing houses of worship.

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12.

New York experienced several yellow fever epidemics in the 18th century, losing ten percent of its population to the disease in 1702 alone.

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13.

Shortly after the British occupation began, the Great Fire of New York occurred, a large conflagration on the West Side of Lower Manhattan, which destroyed about a quarter of the buildings in the city, including Trinity Church.

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14.

New York was the last capital of the US under the Articles of Confederation and the first capital under the Constitution of the United States.

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15.

The 1825 completion of the Erie Canal through central New York connected the Atlantic port to the agricultural markets and commodities of the North American interior via the Hudson River and the Great Lakes.

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16.

In 1898, the modern City of New York was formed with the consolidation of Brooklyn, the County of New York, the County of Richmond, and the western portion of the County of Queens.

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17.

New York City was a prime destination in the early twentieth century for African Americans during the Great Migration from the American South, and by 1916, New York City had become home to the largest urban African diaspora in North America.

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18.

New York became the most populous urbanized area in the world in the early 1920s, overtaking London.

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19.

New York emerged from the war unscathed as the leading city of the world, with Wall Street leading America's place as the world's dominant economic power.

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20.

The transgender community in New York City played a significant role in fighting for LGBT equality during the period of the Stonewall riots and thereafter.

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21.

New York City suffered the bulk of the economic damage and largest loss of human life in the aftermath of the September 11,2001, attacks.

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22.

In 2022, the LGBT community in New York City became the epicenter of the monkeypox outbreak in the Western Hemisphere, prompting New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared corresponding public health emergencies in the state and city, respectively, in July 2022.

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23.

New York City is situated in the northeastern United States, in southeastern New York State, approximately halfway between Washington, DC and Boston.

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24.

Between New York City and Troy, New York, the river is an estuary.

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25.

New York City's land has been altered substantially by human intervention, with considerable land reclamation along the waterfronts since Dutch colonial times; reclamation is most prominent in Lower Manhattan, with developments such as Battery Park New York City in the 1970s and 1980s.

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26.

Manhattan is the cultural, administrative, and financial center of New York City and contains the headquarters of many major multinational corporations, the United Nations Headquarters, Wall Street, and a number of important universities.

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27.

New York City's remaining four boroughs are collectively referred to as the Outer Boroughs.

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28.

In contrast, New York City has neighborhoods that are less densely populated and feature free-standing dwellings.

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29.

In 2021, the New York City Council banned the use of synthetic pesticides by city agencies and instead required organic lawn management.

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30.

New York City has over 28,000 acres of municipal parkland and 14 miles of public beaches.

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31.

New York City is the most populous city in the United States, with 8,804,190 residents incorporating more immigration into the city than outmigration since the 2010 United States census.

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32.

New York City gained more residents between 2010 and 2020 than any other US city, and a greater amount than the total sum of the gains over the same decade of the next four largest US cities, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Phoenix, Arizona combined.

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33.

New York contains the highest total Asian population of any US city proper.

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34.

New York City has the largest European and non-Hispanic White population of any American city.

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35.

Wider New York City metropolitan statistical area, with more than twenty million people, about fifty percent more than second-place Los Angeles, is ethnically diverse, with the largest foreign-born population of any metropolitan region in the world.

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36.

In 2022, New York City began receiving thousands of Latino immigrants bused from the state of Texas, mostly originating from Venezuela, Ecuador, Columbia, and Honduras.

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37.

Qantas Airways of Australia and Air New Zealand have been planning for long-haul flights from New York to Sydney and Auckland, which would both rank among the longest non-stop flights in the world.

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38.

LGBT travel guide Queer in the World states, "The fabulosity of Gay New York is unrivaled on Earth, and queer culture seeps into every corner of its five boroughs".

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39.

New York City is home to the largest transgender population in the world, estimated at more than 50,000 in 2018, concentrated in Manhattan and Queens; however, until the June 1969 Stonewall riots, this community had felt marginalized and neglected by the gay community.

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40.

New York had the highest density of millionaires per capita among major US cities in 2014, at 4.

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41.

New York City is one of the relatively few American cities levying an income tax on its residents.

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42.

New York City is a global hub of business and commerce and an established safe haven for global investors, and is sometimes described as the capital of the world.

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43.

The Port of New York and New Jersey is a major economic engine, handling record cargo volume in 2017, over 6.

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44.

Many Fortune 500 corporations are headquartered in New York City, as are a large number of multinational corporations.

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45.

New York City has been ranked first among cities across the globe in attracting capital, business, and tourists.

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46.

The non-profit Partnership for New York City, currently headed by Kathryn Wylde, is the city's pre-eminent private business association, comprising approximately 330 corporate leaders in membership.

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47.

In 2015, fewer than 23,000 New York City residents were employed in the manufacture of garments, accessories, and finished textiles, although efforts to revive the industry were underway, and the American fashion industry continues to be metonymized as Seventh Avenue.

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48.

New York City remains the largest global center for trading in public equity and debt capital markets, driven in part by the size and financial development of the US economy.

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49.

New York leads in hedge fund management; private equity; and the monetary volume of mergers and acquisitions.

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50.

New York is the principal commercial banking center of the United States.

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51.

Silicon Alley, centered in New York, has evolved into a metonym for the sphere encompassing the metropolitan region's high technology industries involving the internet, new media, financial technology and cryptocurrency, telecommunications, digital media, software development, biotechnology, game design, and other fields within information technology that are supported by its entrepreneurship ecosystem and venture capital investments.

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52.

Biotechnology sector is growing in New York City, based upon the city's strength in academic scientific research and public and commercial financial support.

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53.

New York City is home to some of the nation's—and the world's—most valuable real estate.

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54.

New York has witnessed a growing combined volume of international and domestic tourists, reflecting over 60 million visitors to the city per year, the world's busiest tourist destination.

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55.

New York City has been described as the digital media capital of the world.

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56.

New York City is the center for the advertising, music, newspaper, digital media, and publishing industries and is the largest media market in North America.

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57.

The New York Amsterdam News, published in Harlem, is a prominent African American newspaper.

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58.

The television and radio industry developed in New York and is a significant employer in the city's economy.

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59.

The City of New York operates a public broadcast service, NYC Media, which has produced several original Emmy Award-winning shows covering music and culture in city neighborhoods and city government.

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60.

New York is a major center for non-commercial educational media.

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61.

The public State University of New York system includes campuses in New York City, including: Downstate Health Sciences University, Fashion Institute of Technology, Maritime College, and the College of Optometry.

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62.

New York City is home to such notable private universities as Barnard College, Columbia University, Cooper Union, Fordham University, New York University, New York Institute of Technology, Rockefeller University, and Yeshiva University; several of these universities are ranked among the top universities in the world, while some of the world's most prestigious instituions like Princeton University and Yale University remain in the New York metropolitan area.

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63.

New York City has the most postgraduate life sciences degrees awarded annually in the United States, with 127 Nobel laureates having roots in local institutions as of 2005; while in 2012,43,523 licensed physicians were practicing in New York City.

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64.

In 2014, New York City had the third lowest murder rate among the largest US cities, having become significantly safer after a spike in crime in the 1970s through 1990s.

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65.

New York City has been described as the cultural capital of the world by Manhattan's Baruch College.

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66.

New York has long had a flourishing scene for Jewish American literature.

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67.

New York City has been considered the dance capital of the world.

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68.

New York has frequently been ranked the top fashion capital of the world on the annual list compiled by the Global Language Monitor.

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69.

One of the most common traits attributed to New York City is its fast pace, which spawned the term New York minute.

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70.

New York City has more than 2,000 arts and cultural organizations and more than 500 art galleries.

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71.

New York City itself is the subject or background of many plays and musicals.

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72.

New York City is home to hundreds of cultural institutions and historic sites.

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73.

New York City is well known for its street parades, which celebrate a broad array of themes, including holidays, nationalities, human rights, and major league sports team championship victories.

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74.

Classic version of the New York City dialect is generally centered on middle and working-class New Yorkers.

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75.

New York City is home to the headquarters of the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer.

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76.

New York City has played host to more than forty major professional teams in the five sports and their respective competing leagues.

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77.

New York was the first of eight American cities to have won titles in all four major leagues, having done so following the Knicks' 1970 title.

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78.

Additionally, there have been 14 World Series in which two New York City teams played each other, known as a Subway Series and occurring most recently in 2000.

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79.

In soccer, New York City is represented by New York City FC of Major League Soccer, who play their home games at Yankee Stadium and the New York Red Bulls, who play their home games at Red Bull Arena in nearby Harrison, New Jersey.

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80.

New York will be one of eleven US host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

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81.

Environmental issues in New York City are affected by the city's size, density, abundant public transportation infrastructure, and location at the mouth of the Hudson River.

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82.

New York City has focused on reducing its environmental impact and carbon footprint.

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83.

New York City is the host of Climate Week NYC, the largest Climate Week to take place globally and regarded as major annual climate summit.

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84.

New York City drinking water supply is extracted from the protected Catskill Mountains watershed.

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85.

New York City has been a metropolitan municipality with a Strong mayor–council form of government since its consolidation in 1898.

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86.

The New York City Council is a unicameral body consisting of 51 council members whose districts are defined by geographic population boundaries.

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87.

Uniquely among major American cities, New York is divided between, and is host to the main branches of, two different US district courts: the District Court for the Southern District of New York, whose main courthouse is on Foley Square near City Hall in Manhattan and whose jurisdiction includes Manhattan and the Bronx; and the District Court for the Eastern District of New York, whose main courthouse is in Brooklyn and whose jurisdiction includes Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.

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88.

New York City has not been carried by a Republican in a statewide or presidential election since President Calvin Coolidge won the five boroughs in 1924.

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89.

New York is one of the most important sources of political fundraising in the United States.

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90.

The New York City Subway is the busiest metropolitan rail transit system in the Western Hemisphere, with 1.

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91.

For intercity rail, New York City is served by Amtrak, whose busiest station by a significant margin is Pennsylvania Station on the West Side of Manhattan, from which Amtrak provides connections to Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC along the Northeast Corridor, and long-distance train service to other North American cities.

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92.

Multibillion-dollar heavy rail transit projects under construction in New York City include the Second Avenue Subway, and the East Side Access project.

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93.

New York City has an extensive web of freeways and parkways, which link the city's boroughs to each other and to North Jersey, Westchester County, Long Island, and southwestern Connecticut through various bridges and tunnels.

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94.

New York City is known for its rules regarding turning at red lights.

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95.

New York City is located on one of the world's largest natural harbors, and the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island are primarily coterminous with islands of the same names, while Queens and Brooklyn are located at the west end of the larger Long Island, and the Bronx is located on New York State's mainland.

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96.

The Holland Tunnel, connecting Lower Manhattan to Jersey City, New Jersey, was the world's first mechanically ventilated vehicular tunnel when it opened in 1927.

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97.

Cycling in New York City is associated with mixed cycling conditions that include urban density, relatively flat terrain, congested roadways with "stop-and-go" traffic, and many pedestrians.

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