Basic demographic and geographic information
New York City is a part of the state of New York, located on the Atlantic coast of the Northeast of USA, on a large natural harbor. New York City is the most populous city in the United States with population of 8.3 million people. It is also one of the most populous urban areas in the world. It is a leading global city, with great influence over worldwide finance, commerce, culture, fashion and entertainment. Being the host of the United Nations headquarters, it is also an important center for international affairs.
New York City, its boroughs and landmarks
The city contains of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island; with quite unusual form of government, each of them is divided in hundreds of different neighborhoods and is internationally marked and famous.
Bronx is well known as a home of New York Yankees and the largest metropolitan Zoo in the US (home to over 6000 animals).
Manhattan is home of the Broadway Theater, Central Park (most visited city park in the US with over 30 million visitors each year), Harlem, Madison Square Garden and United Nations headquarter.
Brooklyn was an independent city until 1898. Brooklyn is known for its cultural, social, ethnic diversity and Coney Island (established in 1970s as one of the earliest amusement grounds in the country).
Queens is the largest borough and the most ethnically diverse county in the United States. Historically it’s a collection of small towns and villages founded by the Dutch.
Staten Island is the most suburban in character of the five boroughs. Connected to Brooklyn by the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and to Manhattan via the free Staten Island Ferry, this borough is one of the most popular tourist attractions in New York City as it provides views of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
Today New York is notable among American states for its high use of public transportation, most of which runs 24h per day. The other characteristic which define New York as a great world international center is diversity of its population. The fact is that around 170 languages are spoken in New York and 36% of its population was born outside the USA.
Many landmarks and neighborhoods in the city are well known all over the world: The Statue of Liberty (which greeted millions of immigrants 
during the late 19th and first decades of 20th century), Wall Street (a dominant global financial center since World War II), and Empire State Building (one of the tallest buildings in the world).
New York history
Name and conquests
Today well known all over the world as The City That Never Sleeps, The Big Apple and Gotham City, New York was first named New Angouleme in 1524. by an Italian explorer in the service of French crown. European settlement began with the founding of a Dutch fur trading settlement later called Nieuw Amsterdam (New Amsterdam), on the southern tip of Manhattan in 1614. When Europeans came to this area there was around 5000 Lenape people (native Americans) and the legend says that the Dutch Colonial General purchased Manhattan from Lenape for 60 guilders (about 1000$). In 1664. the English conquered the city and renamed it New York after the English Duke of York and Albany. By 1700, the Lenape population had diminished to 200.
During the 18th century New York became an important trading port (under British Rule), the question of freedom of the press was very important and Columbia University was founded under the charter by British king George the 2nd as King’s College in Lower Manhattan.
Wars and Revolutions
During the American Revolutionary War the area emerged as the theatre of major battles known as New York Campaign. Battle of Fort Washington took place in 1776. with consequences of Manhattan becoming the British military and political base of operations in North America, until military occupation ended in 1783. During the occupation a major fire destroyed about a quarter of the city.
In 1789. the Constitution of the US was ratified and the first US president, George Washington, was inaugurated, first US Congress and Supreme Court were assembled all at the Federal Hall on Wall Street. By 1970. New York City becomes the largest city in the United States.
19th century events
The 19th century is marked by immigration and development. In 1819. the Erie Canal was opened which connected the Atlantic port to the vast agricultural markets of the North American interior. In 1857. the first landscaped park in an American city was established-Central Park, result of the efforts of old merchant aristocracy lobby.
Despite the significant free-black population which existed in Manhattan, as well as in Brooklyn, in 1927. there were still slaves held in New York. During the 1830s the city became a center of interracial abolitionist activism in the North.
The modern City of New York was formed in 1898. with the consolidation of Brooklyn (until then an independent city), parts of the Bronx and west Queens and the County of Richmond.
Modern history – 20th and 21st century
The opening of the New York City Subway took place in 1904. and helped bind the new city together. In the first half of the century New York became a world center for industry, commerce and communication. But in this period two great tragedies happened, both caused by fire-on the steamship General Slocum in 1904. (when over thousand people were killed) and in Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in 1911. (over hundred victims).
In the 1920s New York was a popular destination for African Americans which migrated from the American South, so NY City became the largest urban African Diaspora in the US north (basis of Harlem Renaissance). With a large economic boom the City was turned into the most populous urbanized area in the world in 1920s and the first megacity in human history during the 1930s.
After the World War II, veterans created a postwar economic boom and development based on house tracts in Queens. The Wall Street grew and took important role in world economy, together with New York political and artistic influences.
After the period of economic problems and rising crime rates in the second half of the century, important new sectors such as Silicon Alley (as an addition to Soho and Tribeca) emerged in the city’s economy and New York’s population reached an all time high in the 2000 census.
Beginning of the 21st century brought a great tragedy of destruction of the World Trade Center in attacks on September the 11th 2001. The City is already building the new buildings but that won’t change the fact that nearly 3000 people lost their lives on that terrible day.
Economy in New York City
New York City is one of the most outstanding cities in the world economy wise. The reason is that The New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street is the largest stock exchange in the world by dollar volume. Wall Street is situated in Lower Manhattan and has been dominant global financial center since World War II. New York is a global hub of international business and commerce and is one of three “command centers” for the world economy (along with London and Tokyo). According to some resources, by the end of 2008, New York City controlled 40% of the world’s finances.
It is interesting to mention that City is also unique for its large number of foreign corporations (10% of private sector).
Some of the most valuable real estate is in New York. Real estate is a major force in the city’s economy.
New York television and film industry is the second largest in the country after Hollywood. Creative industries like new media, advertising, fashion, design, architecture but also high tech industries such as biotechnology, software development and internet services are also growing.
The principal city products are garments, chemicals, metal products, processed food and furniture. Food making (especially chocolate) is very important for New York export, making billions of dollars and employing thousands of residents.
Small businesses in New York
In New York City there are more than 200 000 firms qualified as small businesses. Although small businesses by law definition are companies which employ less than 500 employees, 96% of New York’s small firms have less than 50 employees. These are considered very important in creating jobs, so they have merit close attention in the formulation of economic development policies.
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