New York City, New York, is the biggest city in the United States.

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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
	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.
Source: Population Division of the United Nations.

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.