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New York City, New York, is the biggest city
in the United States. About 8.2 million people live in New York City, and 18.3
million live in the city and its surrounding urban area. New York City was once
the largest city in the world. Today, it is the fourth largest.
New York City is in southeastern New York
State. That’s where the broad Hudson River empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
The World’s Largest Cities
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City
|
Country
|
2003 population*
|
|
1
|
Tokyo
|
Japan
|
35,000,000
|
2
|
Mexico
City
|
Mexico
|
18,700,000
|
3
|
São
Paulo
|
Brazil
|
17,900,000
|
4
|
New
York
|
United
States
|
18,300,000
|
5
|
Mumbai
(Bombay)
|
India
|
17,400,000
|
6
|
Los
Angeles
|
United
States
|
12,000,000
|
7
|
Kolkata
(Calcutta)
|
India
|
13,100,000
|
8
|
Shanghai
|
China
|
12,800,000
|
9
|
Dhaka
|
Bangladesh
|
11,600,000
|
10
|
Delhi
|
India
|
14,100,000
|
*Population figures are for metropolitan areas.
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Source: Population Division of the United Nations.
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PEOPLE FROM EVERYWHERE
New York is the world’s most ethnically
diverse city. About one-third of New York’s residents, over 2.6 million people,
were born in other countries. Schoolkids in New York speak more than 120
languages.
A CITY OF LANDMARKS
The city is full of famous buildings that
you may often see on television. They include the Empire State Building, United
Nations headquarters, Chrysler Building, and Rockefeller Center.
The Statue of Liberty stands in New York Harbor. It
has welcomed millions of immigrants to America.
Two of the world’s tallest buildings once
soared above New York’s skyline. They were the twin towers of the World Trade
Center. But terrorists flew airplanes into the towers and destroyed them on
September 11, 2001.
Central Park is an oasis of greenery in the
midst of New York’s tall buildings. It offers a zoo, a nature center,
playgrounds, paths for running and bicycling, and places for ice skating,
roller skating, and playing sports.
THE FIVE BOROUGHS
What do you think of when you think of
New York City? Most people think of Manhattan, the heart of the city, with its
towering skyscrapers.
But the city has five sections. These sections
are called boroughs. A borough is similar to a county. The five boroughs are
Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island.
A CITY OF ISLANDS
The Bronx is the only borough of New York City
on the United States mainland. The other boroughs are on islands. Brooklyn and
Queens occupy the western end of Long Island. Water surrounds Staten Island and
Manhattan. These two boroughs face each other across New York Harbor.
ONE OF AMERICA’S OLDEST CITIES
English explorer Henry Hudson in 1609 sailed up the
river that now bears his name. He was working for a Dutch company. The company
started a settlement at the mouth of the Hudson in 1624. They called it New
Amsterdam. The English captured the settlement in 1664 and renamed it New York.
Since colonial days New York has been an important
city. It was the U.S. capital from 1785 to 1790. New York passed Philadelphia
in 1810 to become America’s largest city. New York grew because of its
excellent harbor. The port made it a center of trade. Immigrants to the United
States poured through the port.
A CENTER OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE
Today, Wall Street, New York’s financial center, is
the leading financial center for the world. Wall Street is home to many banks,
stock markets, stockbrokers, and other financial institutions.
New York is the most important
communications and publishing center in the United States. Three major television
networks have their headquarters in New York City—ABC, CBS, and NBC. Many of
the country’s major advertising agencies and book and magazine publishers also
are headquartered in New York City.
A CENTER FOR THE ARTS
New York is a major center for the arts.
No other American city has so many places to hear music, see plays, watch
dance, or look at art.
The city’s outstanding art museums include the
Metropolitan Museum, Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Modern Art, and Whitney
Museum of American Art. Galleries on Madison Avenue show very new artworks.
Times Square and Broadway form the main theater
district. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts has concert halls, theaters
for dance and plays, and the Metropolitan Opera House. New York City’s museums,
theaters, and concerts make the city a popular destination for millions of
visitors each year.
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