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New York City


Mike

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New York - U2

NewYorkCity.jpg

•New York City was briefly the U.S. capital from 1789 to 1790

•The Dutch supposedly bought Manhattan from its Native American inhabitants for about $24 worth of trinkets

•Broadway, originating from Lower Manhattan at Bowling Green and ending in Albany, is one of the world's longest streets at 150 mi (241 km). The official name of this street is Highway 9.

•Manhattan's downtown southern tip area is predominantly landfill. The actual "natural" Manhattan makes up only 75% of the total area in the downtown region.

•The Cathedral of St. John the Divine will be the largest Gothic cathedral in the world when it is completed. However, it was originally (1892) begun as a Romanesque design and converted later to Gothic (1911).

•Central Park in the middle of Manhattan covers a larger area than the principality of Monaco.

•Staten Island residents voted to secede from the city in 1993, but such a move would require state approval.

•By 1790 it was the largest U.S. city, and the opening (1825) of the ERIE CANAL, linking New York with the GREAT LAKES, led to even greater expansion. In 1898 a new charter was adopted, making the city Greater New York, a metropolis of five boroughs.

•New York City is located on the Eastern Atlantic coast of the United States, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The city center resides at the exact location of 40 degrees, 42 minutes, 51 seconds N latitude, and 74 degrees, 0 minutes 23 seconds W longitude. New York City is made of five boroughs, each of which is a county. Brooklyn (Kings Co.) and Queens occupy the western portion of Long Island, while Staten Island (Richmond Co.) and Manhattan are completely on their own land masses. The Bronx, to the north, is attached to the New York State mainland.

•Founded by the Dutch as New Amsterdam, it was renamed by the English in honor of the Duke of York. It is the largest city in the country and a financial, cultural, trade, shipping, and communications center. Originally consisting only of Manhattan Island, it was re-charted in 1898 to include the five present-day boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. Population: 8,080,000.

•New York City is also famous for its ethnic diversity, manifesting itself in scores of communities representing virtually every nation on earth, each preserving its identity. Little Italy and Chinatown date back to the mid-19th cent. African Americans from the South began to migrate to Harlem after 1910, and in the 1940s large numbers of Puerto Ricans and other Hispanic-Americans began to settle in what is now known as Spanish Harlem. Since the 1980s New York City has undergone substantial population growth, primarily due to new immigration from Latin America (especially the Dominican Republic), Asia, Jamaica, Haiti, the Soviet Union and Russia, and Africa.

The origin of being referred to as The Big Apple allegedly came from a jazz club named The Big Apple in the 20’s and 30’s. Since Jazz musicians would refer to getting a job in NY as “playing the Big Appleâ€

"The city that never sleeps"

Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island

"...Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" ~

Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) Jewish-American poet

Advocate for Russian-immigrant rights

John Lennon: "If I'd lived in Roman times, I'd have lived in Rome. Where else? Today America is the Roman Empire and New York is Rome itself."

"New York is what Rome used to be." he told biographer Ray Coleman.

Personal note; my mother told me my great-grandfather helped build the Brooklyn Bridge.

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When "New York City" is mentioned, two contradictory songs come to mind, by two very different artists. They are/were:

"New York State of Mind" performed by Billy Joel

"New York's Not My Home" performed by Jim Croce

Then, there's:

"I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City" performed by Harry Nilsson.

"New York Minute" performed by Don Henley

"The 59th Street Bridge Song," "Bleecker Street," and "The Boxer" performed by Simon & Garfunkel. :guitar:

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...and of course the cities theme song...

Written by Leonard Bernstein and first performed by Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin in the 1949 film On the town.

Start spreading the news

I’m leaving today

I want to be a part of it

New york, new york

These vegabond shoes

Are longing to stray

Right through the very heart of it

New york, new york

Bridge 1:

I wanna wake up in the city

That doesn’t sleep

And find I’m king of the hill

Top of the heap

This little town blues

Are melting away

I’ll make a brand new start of it

In old new york

If I can make it there,

I’ll make it anywhere

It’s up to you,

New york, new york

Bridge 2:

New york, new york

I wanna wake up in the city

That never sleeps

And find I’m a number one,

Top of the list,

King of the hill, a number one...

This...little town.... blues

Are...melting away,

I gotta make a brand new start of it

In old new york

And if I can make it there,

I’m gonna make it anywhere

It’s up to you,

New york, new yoooooooooork...

New yooork.

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  • 1 month later...

Since I was born in in Manhattan and moved on up the the Bronx 3 days later for the next 35 years of my life before leaving, I guess I should add to this post. The songs I list mention different places in NYC in it's title.

East Side, West Side - Old Standard

On Broadway - George Benson, other various artists

Spanish Harlem - Ben E. King

Take The A Train - Duke Ellington

Chelsea Morning - Judy Collins

42nd Street - From the Broadway play of the same name

The 59th Street Bridge Song - Simon and Garfunkel

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another few that mention New York:

"Take me to Broadway" ~ Gonzales

"Another lonely Night in New York" ~ Robin Gibb

"Englishman in New York" ~ Sting

"New New York" ~ The Cranberries

"What New York couples fight about" ~ Morcheba

"The Only living boy in New York" ~ Simon & Garfunkel

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It's a Brill Building song, written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. I'm sure it was inspired by living in NYC.

Up On The Roof

Gerry Goffin/Carole King

When this old world starts getting me down

And people are just too much for me to face

I climb way up to the top of the stairs

And all my cares just drift right into space

On the roof it's peaceful as can be

And there the world below can't bother me

Well let me tell you now

When I go home feeling tired and beat

I go up where the air is fresh and sweet

I get away from the hustling crowds

And all that rat race noise down in the street

On the roof's the only place I know

Where you just have to wish to make it so

Oh lets go up on the roof

At night the stars put on a show for free

And darling you can share it all with me

I keep on telling you

Right smack dab in the middle of town

I've found a paradise that's trouble proof

So if this world starts getting you down

There's room enough for two

Up on the roof

Up on the roof - everything is alright

Up on the roof - ah come on baby

Up on the roof - everything is alright

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  • 2 weeks later...

My daughter's Senior Class took a trip to NYC and she absolutely loved it...growing up in a small town, it was quite an experience for her to see the big city....she saw how different it was from where we live, and she said it was very sad to see that there really are homeless people that live on the streets.....she also got to see all the great sites of NYC...all the places mentioned in the first post she got to see...She also got to see a performance of the Blue Man Group...Went to the New Jesey Devils game, A dinner cruise, The wax museum, NBC studios, and so much more...I hope to get there sometime too!....the pictures she took are absolutely beautiful....

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How couldn´t you not love NYC? It´s one of the most amazing and exciting places I´ve ever been. I even planned to live there many years ago (part of my family lives there) but I have too many things and people here... maybe one day, when I get old and bored... :laughing:

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How couldn´t you not love NYC? It´s one of the most amazing and exciting places I´ve ever been. I even planned to live there many years ago (part of my family lives there) but I have too many things and people here... maybe one day, when I get old and bored... :laughing:

Neither of which will happen, so plan a trip now since you're young and excited...

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