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New York City
New York, the ‘city that never sleeps’, is one of the world’s great metropolises, offering visitors everything from the ethnic flavours of Chinatown and Little Italy, to the galleries of SoHo, the cafes of Greenwich Village, the glitz of the Theater District, the shopping on Fifth Avenue and the affluence of Park Lane and the Upper West Side. New York City is made up of five boroughs and is laid out on a grid of avenues and streets. Most tourist sights are found on Manhattan Island, the city’s entertainment and business centre. The remaining four boroughs are primarily residential – the Bronx to the north, Queens to the east, Brooklyn to the southeast and Staten Island to the southwest. Each has wealthy and salubrious districts alongside working-class neighbourhoods – demonstrating New York’s varied social mix. The total area of all five boroughs is 780 sq km (301 sq miles). New York’s location at the mouth of the Hudson River on the Atlantic Ocean is reflected in the city’s importance as a port, and as the point of disembarkation for millions of immigrants to the USA. Vibrating with the energy of over seven million inhabitants, New York is a constantly evolving, growing and changing organism. The sheer volume of things to do – theatre, ballet, opera, museums – is astonishing. Many of the city’s 18,000-plus restaurants are reporting boom times. The once seedy Times Square is one of several areas currently being redeveloped, with new entertainment and retail complexes springing up around 42nd Street and 8th Avenue. Renovations of historic theatres in the area – such as the Victory, the Lyric or the Academy/Apollo – have been followed by a flood of restaurateurs and prospective retail tenants signing up for space on or near Times Square. The number of visitors streaming to New York continues to rise: every year, the city’s airports get busier, more people are booking into hotels, and ticket sales at famous tourist attractions continue to increase. Crime, on the other hand, is plummeting, following the introduction of ‘zero tolerance’ policing. Visitors with disabilities will now find wheelchair access to 99 per cent of New York City buses and 40 subway stations. Public telephones for the deaf are also widespread. Two brochures for disabled people are available from New York City Transit (see contact number above).
MANHATTAN: The Manhattan skyline is an instantly recognisable sight, immortalised in countless films and television programmes. One of the best views of it can be obtained from the Staten Island Ferry (see below). It should be noted, however, that following the terrorist attacks of Tuesday 11 September 2001 the famous landmark of the World Trade Center with its twin towers was completely destroyed. The first European settlement on Manhattan was by the Dutch in the 1620s, who named the city New Amsterdam. In 1664, the British took over and renamed it New York, and settlement continued from south to north along the island. Skyscrapers, such as the art-deco Empire State Building, offer spectacular views of the city by day or night.
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island: New York’s most famous image is the 46.5m- (151ft-) high Statue of Liberty, located on Liberty Island, which may be reached by boat from Battery Park on Manhattan’s southern tip. A lift and staircase inside the Statue take visitors up to an observation platform. The Liberty/Ellis Island Ferry departs from the historic Castle Clinton at Battery Park every 30 minutes and also stops at Ellis Island, the gateway for the massive numbers of immigrants arriving in New York between 1892 and 1954. On the island, the Wall of Honor, the world’s longest wall of names, commemorates over 600,000 immigrants, and the Ellis Island Immigration Museum offers an interesting insight into the lives of New York’s early immigrants.
Lower Manhattan: The oldest part of the city is at the southern end of Manhattan. East of Battery Park is the Financial District, containing the famous Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange, where visitors have access to a public gallery to catch a glimpse of the frenetic trading action. The historic South Street Seaport, located at the end of Wall Street, offers great views of New York Harbor. The seaport is a thriving waterfront community with a world-class maritime museum and more than 100 shops, cafés and restaurants. To the northeast of the seaport is the famous Brooklyn Bridge, leading to Brooklyn. Chinatown, Manhattan’s most thriving ethnic neighbourhood extends from Canal Street into Little Italy and east into the Lower East Side. This labyrinth of narrow streets, crammed with Chinese stores and restaurants, is home to over 100,000 residents. While Chinatown has expanded in recent years, neighbouring Little Italy has dwindled somewhat, and few of the original Italian immigrants remain, though Little Italy’s restaurants, delis and bakeries remain as tempting as ever. East of Little Italy, the Lower East Side has traditionally been New York’s Jewish area, owing to a flow of Jewish immigrants to the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The area is also known for its Orchard Street Market, an open-air bazaar, and its numerous delis. To the northwest, Greenwich Village has been a melting pot for art, literature and music for decades, though its legendary bohemian feel has partly been replaced by upmarket beatnik chic. South of Greenwich Village is SoHo (South of Houston), which has become synonymous with art since the 1960s, and retains its arty, avant-garde character, with plenty of galleries, cafes, boutiques and loft spaces fronted by interesting cast-iron façades. Still further south is TriBeCa (Triangle Below Canal Street), once a deserted warehouse district, and now a growing residential area.
Midtown Manhattan: The heart of the city is located between 34th Street south and 59th Street north and contains several of New York’s landmark buildings, including the 102-storey Empire State Building (completed in 1931). Worth visiting here are Bryant Park and the beautiful New York Public Library nearby; the 1930 art-deco Chrysler Building (New York’s first skyscraper); the United Nations Building (the organisation’s world headquarters); Grand Central Station, which has been completely restored, with special attention paid to its magnificent constellation ceiling; Fifth Avenue, the city’s most glamorous thoroughfare, filled with luxury shops and department stores; the Chelsea neighbourhood, home of the landmark Chelsea Hotel and also centre for New York’s gay community as well as a new magnet for art galleries and commercial developers; the Rockefeller Center, famous for its (winter-only) ice-skating rink and also the home of NBC Studios, which can be visited; the Museum of Modern Art, a few blocks away; and, at the heart of Midtown, the Broadway theatre district near the newly revamped, now ‘family-friendly’ Times Square.
Uptown Manhattan: Uptown Manhattan covers the area north of 59th Street and is split roughly in the middle by Central Park (see below). To the northwest of the park is Columbia University and the Cathedral of St John the Divine, the world’s largest Gothic cathedral, which is still under construction (begun in 1812). Further north, Harlem is noted for its rich African American community. Good examples of classic New York brownstones can be seen in Harlem’s Sugar Hill. Several decayed and crime-ridden areas in Harlem are now being redeveloped.
BROOKLYN: Brooklyn is best reached via Brooklyn Bridge, which is particularly striking at night, and usually bustling with people during the day. Having crossed the bridge, visitors arrive in Brooklyn Heights, a good area to walk around. Further southeast lie Prospect Park and the adjacent Brooklyn Botanic Gardens; the Brooklyn Academy of Music, home to the interesting Next Wave Festival; and the historic Park Slope district, notable for its old brownstones. Coney Island and Brighton Beach, the latter full of Russian shops and restaurants, are at the south/southeastern end of the borough.
THE BRONX: Major attractions include the world-famous Bronx Zoo and New York Botanical Garden; Yankee Stadium, home to the Yankees baseball team; Poe Cottage, former home of the writer Edgar Allan Poe; and Woodlawn Cemetery, where several famous musicians, including Miles Davis, are buried.
QUEENS: Major attractions in the borough include the Astoria Movie Studios with the (attached) American Museum of the Moving Image, close to La Guardia airport; and Shea Stadium (home to the New York Mets Major League Baseball team), with the nearby Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The southern half of Queens includes a portion of the Gateway National Recreation Area which, despite its location next to JFK International Airport, provides a refuge to hundreds of bird species.
STATEN ISLAND: Visitors to the island often do so mainly to enjoy the view of the classic New York skyline from the Staten Island Ferry, which operates from Battery Park (downtown) past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to Staten Island. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge connects Staten Island with Brooklyn.
PARKS & BEACHES: New York’s most famous park, Central Park, was created in 1856, when officials set aside 341 hectares (843 acres) of land between 5th and 8th Avenues and 59th and 110th Streets. John Lennon fans may pay their respects at Strawberry Fields, the area of the park dedicated to his memory. Also within the park is the Central Park Wildlife Center, a small but interesting zoo. During summer, the park hosts afternoon and evening concerts. Additions to the park include the Dana Discovery Center and fishing pond (with free poles and bait). Visitors should note that it is not advisable to visit Central Park after dark. The recently restored Bryant Park, behind the New York Public Library, has been a great success with businesspeople and visitors on lunch, especially as it offers free outdoor concerts and comedy shows. Reminiscent of Paris, with gravel pathways, green folding chairs and a manicured lawn, it’s a great place for sunbathing, reading or enjoying a sandwich or salad bought from kiosks in the park. The fountain at the western end is a good place for a romantic rendez-vous. Other parks include the world-famous New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, which has 100 hectares (250 acres) of woods, waterways and gardens and whose centrepiece is the newly restored Enid A Haupt Conservatory. Riverside Park, running alongside the Hudson River; Battery and Washington Square parks in Lower Manhattan; Prospect Park, Marine Park and the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens in Brooklyn; and Flushing Meadows/Corona, Cunningham, Kissina and Jacob Riis parks in Queens. Clove Lake Park and Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island boast impressive views of New York harbour. There are several fine beaches to the east of New York City. Nearest to Manhattan are Coney Island, Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach. Other beaches include Orchard Beach in Pelham Bay Park, South Beach and Wolfe’s Pond Park on Staten Island.
SPECIAL EVENTS: The following is a selection of events in New York City in 2003. For further events contact NYC & Company CVB (see Contact addresses section): Mar 17 St Patrick's Day Parade, Manhattan. Jun 8 Celebrate Brooklyn Performing Arts Festival, Brooklyn. Jul 4 Macy's 4th of July Fireworks, near East River. Aug Harlem Week, citywide. Aug 25-Sep 7 US Open Tennis Tournament, Flushing. Nov 2 New York City Marathon. Nov 27 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Manhattan.
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
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