New York
NEW YORK
- is the biggest city in the USA (with the population over 8 million inhabitants, situated on the eastern coast of the USA
- New York is situated on the Hudson River
- there is the largest subway system in the world
- it is an important seaport, there are four airports
- it is sometimes called "The Big Apple" or "Melting Pot" or "The City which never sleeps"
- it has 5 major parts: Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island and Brooklyn
- the black quarter with many poor and unemployed people - Harlem - is in northern part of Manhattan
HISTORY OF NEW YORK:
The original inhabitants were Indians. The Dutch bought it from the Indians in the 17th century (they bought the Manhattan island for goods worth 24 dollars). The original name was "New Amsterdam". In 1664 the British captured the city and renamed it New York. It became an important trading port.
In northern part of Manhattan Island there used to be a wall against Indians; now there is Wall Street - the centre of financial life with the most important stock - exchange in the world.
MANHATTAN CITY PLAN
The streets and avenues follow a geometric shape; they are numbered (only the oldest from them have got their names: Wall Street, Broadway); streets run east-west; avenues north-south.
Broadway is the centre of cultural life (its more than 19km long, there are more than 30 theatres, also the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall). There are boroughs such as Little Italy, Chinatown, Soho (South of Houston).
The City is notorious for its crime. There are drug battles, gang wars, homeless people living in the streets.
SKYSCRAPERS
New York is famous for its Manhattan skyline - a large number of skyscrapers on a small area. They started to build skyscrapers because there was little space and the land was expensive. Skyscrapers are built with the help of computers nowadays. They can resist wind and earthquake. A skyscraper is a small city itself - it has residential quarters, office spaces, parking lots, restaurants, shopping facilities, fitness centers, swimming pools. Interesting skyscrapers in NY are: the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Citicorp Center, PanAm Building, Trump Tower.
PARKS, ISLANDS
Central Park - is the only quiet place. Rock concerts, open-air theatre or music performances take place here. People go rollerblading here.
There are many islands in the area of New York. Roosevelt Island, Liberty Island with the Statue of Liberty is a copper statue given to the USA by France in 1886. It is the symbol of New York and the first sight for many immigrants, so it has become a symbol of hope and freedom.
