New York City

New York City In 1990 in New York City lived ca. 7. 3 million people. New York City is located on the Eastern Atlantic coast of the United States. New York City is made of five boroughs seperated by various waterways. Brooklyn and Queens occupy the western portion of Long Island, while Staten Island and Manhatten are completely on their own land mass. The island of Manhatten is largely a protrusion of granite, rising a few hundred feet from see-level. The southern tip and center of the island are virtually solid granite, while areas in Greenwich Village and Chelsea are Composed of softer soil. As a result of this geologic arrangement, Manhattens tallest buildings are located in these two large rocky areas. Manhatten is flanked on its west side by the Hudson River, and on the east side by the Harlem River (on the north) and the East River (on the south). Manhattens street layout consists primarily of avenues and streets. The space between avenues is typically much larger than the space between streets. Avenues run North-South, starting with 1st Avenue on the East Side, and going westward to 12th Avenue. Streets run East-West, starting with 1st Street in Greenwich Village, and increase in value up to 220th Street at the north tip of Manhatten. Below 1st Street is considered to be the Downtown area of Manhatten, 1st to 14th Street contains the general Village area.

The area west of Broadway is Greenwich Village, and to the east is East Village. 14th to 34th Street west of Broadway is Chelsea, known for its large loft apartments and studios, 59th to 110th Street contains the Upper West Side and Upper East Side, respectively. Between the two lies the green oasis of Central Park. 110th to 145th Street lies the village of Harlem and 145th to 220th Street has no special designation, but does the neighborhood of Washington Heights and the Cloisters. Brooklyn was largely a marshland before it was settled in the late 1600s. The Dutch were the first settlers from the old world to colonize this borough in the 17th century. Although they shared the land with British settlers, the Dutch culture was the dominant one well into the 19th century. When first asked to join New York city as a borough in 1833, Brooklyn refused. Brooklyn, in a close vote, did not decide to become a part of New York City until 1898. Today, Brooklyn is a borough of many neighborhoods, each with its own strong ethnic flavor. Its very rare to find a New Yorker whose family has been living in America for more than one generation who didnt have an ancestor that lived in Brookly at some point in their life. Areas of Brooklyn are Downtown, Brooklyn Heights, North Brooklyn, Institute Park, Park Slope and Prospect Park, South Brooklyn and Coney Island.

The borough of Quuens was named after the wife of Charles II of England, Quenn Catherine of Braganza in 1683. Queens became a borough of New York City in 1898 and rapid economic and physical growth followed the ...