|
 |
The
Facts!
America's most populous city, New York, the "Big Apple",
is one of the world's leading commercial, financial, and cultural centres.
It is subdivided into five boroughs; in descending order of area, the boroughs
are Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, the Bronx, and Manhattan. Almost all
of the Bronx is situated on the mainland, but the other boroughs are situated
on, or comprise, islands. In all, New York comprises some 50 islands
New York is a financial, commercial, manufacturing, and
tourist centre. A national focus of road, rail, water, and air transport,
it also contains the headquarters of many major corporations. The financial
district of Lower Manhattan, centred on Wall and Broad streets, includes
the New York Stock Exchange and a United States Federal Reserve bank as
well as other prominent banking, brokerage, and financial institutions.
Two international airports-La Guardia and John F. Kennedy,
both in Queens-are major air-cargo terminals, and large amounts of freight
pass through the city's port facilities. Nearby ports in New Jersey, however,
with Newark International Airport, now handle much of the freight that
formerly passed through New York.
The city is particularly noted for its many retail outlets,
including large department stores and specialized shops. Fifth and Madison
avenues, in Manhattan, are especially famous for their elegant shops. The
leading national television and radio networks have headquarters in the
city, as do many prominent book and magazine publishers
North of 14th Street, a grid plan prevails, with named
or numbered avenues running roughly north and south, and mostly numbered
streets running east and west-superimposed on such irregular roads as Broadway,
which predates the plan. Central Park has dominated the grid from 59th
to 110th streets since the 1850s.
Among the most distinct of Manhattan's numerous neighbourhoods
are Chinatown (where Chinese immigrants began to settle in the 1850s) and
SoHo, the latter a former warehouse and factory district with many refurbished
loft apartments-both located south of Greenwich Village; the Upper East
Side, an elegant residential area; and, north of 96th Street, Harlem, a
largely black and Hispanic section. Manhattan is linked to New Jersey by
the George Washington Bridge, the Holland and Lincoln tunnels, and the
Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH); and to Staten Island by a ferry service.
The city's other boroughs are much less regular in plan,
having been formed by the coalescence of numerous historically separate
towns and villages. Staten Island is the least urban of the boroughs and
remains, to some extent, more a collection of towns than a single urban
area. It has, however, grown considerably since being linked to Brooklyn
in 1964 by the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, one of the world's longest suspension
bridges.
Brooklyn is the most populous borough; its diversified
neighbourhoods include elegant Brooklyn Heights, middle-class ethnic enclaves
such as Sheepshead Bay, and the impoverished Brownsville section. Prospect
Park, at the heart of the borough, is another major design project of Frederick
Law Olmsted. Brooklyn is connected to Manhattan across the East River by
the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges and by the Brooklyn Battery
Tunnel.
In Queens, neighbourhood consciousness is particularly
strong and, as in all the boroughs of New York, many neighbourhoods have
a distinguishing ethnic population. The Bronx, like the other boroughs,
has great diversity, ranging from an area of devastated buildings in the
south to the large homes and luxury apartment buildings of Riverdale in
the west. In the centre of the borough is Bronx Park, which includes the
International Wildlife Conservation Park (known as the Bronx Zoo) and the
New York Botanical Garden.
Skyscrapers
dominate the skyline; the Flatiron Building, completed in 1902, was one
of the first in the city. Others include the Chrysler Building (1930),
the Woolworth Building (1915), the Empire State Building (1931), the group
of buildings that constitute Rockefeller Center (begun 1931). Older
structures include Gracie Mansion (late 18th century), now the mayor's
residence, and City Hall (1802-1811).
Among the city's well-known religious edifices are St
Patrick's Cathedral (1879), the Cathedral Church of St John the Divine
(begun 1892), and Temple Emanu-El.
New York's most famous landmark is the Statue of Liberty
(1886) on Liberty Island; Ellis Island, from 1892 to 1954 was the point
of entry of immigrants to the United States; Grand Central Terminal (1913)
is the main railway station; and the vast United Nations complex is along
the East River in Midtown Manhattan.
Professional baseball teams play at Yankee Stadium in
the Bronx (New York Yankees), and Shea Stadium in Queens (New York Mets).
Other major sports facilities in the city include Madison Square Garden
in Manhattan, home of the New York Knickerbockers (Knicks) basketball and
New York Rangers ice hockey teams. The New York Islanders ice hockey team
plays in Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in nearby Uniondale.
The many fine institutions of higher education throughout
the five boroughs include Columbia University (1754), Barnard College,
New York University, Pratt Institute (1887), Cooper Union for the Advancement
of Science and Art, City University of New York, Fordham University, St
John's University, Rockefeller University, Union Theological Seminary,
and the Manhattan School of Music (1917).
Among the leading art museums are the vast Metropolitan
Museum of Art (1880); the Museum of Modern Art (1929); the Frick Collection
(1935); the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (1959), designed by Frank Lloyd
Wright (SoHo branch, 1992); and the Whitney Museum of American Art (1966).
Other museums include the American Museum of Natural
History (1869); the Jewish Museum; El Museo del Barrio, devoted to the
culture of Puerto Rico and Latin America; the Studio Museum in Harlem,
exhibiting works by black artists; and the National Museum of the American
Indian.
The city's major libraries include the New York Public
Library, with some 10 million volumes. The Schomburg Center for Research
in Black Culture, a branch of the New York Public Library, houses the world's
largest collection of documents about the literature and history of black
people.
The hub of the
city's theatre district is Times Square, with more than 30 theatres. Near
the south-western corner of Central Park is the Lincoln Center for the
Performing Arts, a large cluster of buildings that includes the Metropolitan
Opera House; Avery Fisher Hall, home of the Philharmonic-Symphony Society
of New York, commonly known as the New York Philharmonic; the New York
State Theater, where the New York City Ballet and New York City Opera perform;
and the Juilliard School.
You are definitely
going to need at least one comprehensive guide. These are our recommendations
| ; |
Getting
|
Around |
|
|
Access
New York City. Click here to buy (8th Ed)
The reviewer said,"I purchased the Access New York City
guide earlier this year for my first trip to the
Big Apple. My trip was made quite easy by the Access
guide, which is incredible
when you consider the complexities of New York
City. It really is complete and just about all you need for a successful
trip. Highly recommended! " |
|
Lonely
Planet New York City (City Maps Series).Click here to buy.
Features include: full-colour, fold-out maps; downtown
and
metropolitan maps; transit routes and unique walking
tours; full index of streets and sights; essential information and telephone
numbers; up-to-date and accurate content; plastic-coated, double-sided, |
| a |
|
Fodor's
New York City; The Complete Guide to
the
Big Apple, with Great Walks, Dining, Shopping and Nightlife. Click here to buy.
Fodor's Gold Guides are ideal for travelers who want
to experience the flavors, sights, and sounds of their destination. Short,
medium, and long itineraries advise readers on what to see in the time
they have. A-to-Z listings of important contacts and travel tips, detailed
maps with bullets pinpointing hotels and restaurants,background essays,
and a comprehensive index make the perfect travel package. |
 |
Lonely
Planet New York City.Click here to buy. (Serial)
For the New York novice,there are all the elementary
details, such as tourist offices, embassies, money, post offices, electricity,
laundry, where to get maps, and primary radio frequencies and where to
turn in case of emergencies
There are also chapters on practical details on getting
there and getting around the city.What there is to see and do, where to
stay, eat, and shop; |
|
