New York

New York is the biggest city in the USA. It is the financial capital of the country and one of the largest seaports in the world. It is called „The Big Apple“ or „The city, which never sleeps“. This nicknames express how big, beautiful and busy is this city. They also say that it is impossible to live in New York because it is a dangerous, chaotic and hectic place to live there. On the other hand they say, that holidays are to short to see every in this city. New York City is a place of big contrasts - wealthy and powerty, steel-and-glass skyscrapers, modern houses and expensive residences in contrast with a cardboard slums for the homeless. Sometimes, New York is also called as the „Melting Pot“ because more than 80 languages are spoken there and people living here have over 100 religious denominations.
 
New York City is located in the northern part of the USA on the Hudson River at the Atlantic Ocean. The whole metropolitan area has about 18 million people, central area has 7 millions inhibitants. The density is also high - about 10 000 people per 1 sq km and it covers an area of 780 sq km. New York has five major parts: Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island and Brooklyn. N.Y. City is one of the most important financial, commercial and cultural centres in the world as well as port.
 
Manhattan is the heart of New York. The original inhabitants were Indians. This island was bought by the Dutch in 17th century for goods worth 25 US dollars and they named the place New Amsterdam. In 1664 the English took over the place and renamed it New York. The city was built on a modern plan of streets and avenues, which are numbered. (5th Avenue, 42nd Street). Streets run east-west and avenues north-south. Only a few of them have their names, e.g. Wall Street, Broadway. Wall Street is centre of financial life. (It was used to be a wall against Indians) So many banks are located in here. There is New York Stock Exchange, the most important stock market in the world. The 5th Avenue is a shopping centre with many largest departments and fashion shops (e.g. Tiffany’s Jewellery). Broadway is the centre of cultural life. There is concentrated most of entertainment - many theatres and cinemas (e.g. Metropolitan Opera or Carnage Hall).

New York is a city of immigrations and they formed self-sufficient communities there. In southern Manhattan we can find the Little Italy and Chinatown, on the north there is Harlem, the quarter known as an African American neighbourhood. East Village is a multi-cultural area with many ethnic restaurants, boutiques and jazz clubs. Greenwich Village is the home of artists, writers and university students. Lower East Side was traditionally Jewish but there are also the Chinese, Blacks and Hispanics today. The city is notorious for its crime. There are drug battles, gang and mafia wars and many homeless people live in the streets. The only quiet place is Central Park, the largest of all New York’s parks, where famous rock concerts take place. We can there relaxing by walking or jogging. However it is dangerous to go there after dark.

New York is famous for its Manhattan skyline - a large number of skyscrapers on quite a small area. They started to built skyscrapers here because the price of land on the island was very high. The first skyscraper was built in 1903. In the fact the skyscrapers are small towns. We can find here residential quarters, offices, parking lots, restaurants, shops, fitness centres, swimming pool. Living here is very expensive. (700 000 USD). The highest skyscraper in New York was The World Trade Centre. It was a complex of seven buildings dominated by the 110floors two towers – „The Twins“. The skyscrapers was built in 1973 and more than 10 000 people came and went there every day. It was big catastrophe when that twin towers were destroyed by planes which direction were turn by the terrorists from Afghanistan. It happened in 11th September 2001.

The Empire State Building (1931, 381 m) is probably the most famous building in New York. Also the Chrysler Building is famous. It’s the seat of the Chrysler automobile company. Times Square as well as Washington Square in Greenwich Village were in turn of the 20th century the main artistic and intellectual places with bohemian and avant-garde atmosphere. Popular tradition is to go to Times Square to welcome the New Year. St. Patrick’s Cathedral was inspired by the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe and built in 1888. Near Broadway there stands St. Paul’s Chapel, the oldest church in New York, built in 1766.

There are four big airports in New York. The biggest is John F. Kennedy International Airport. It has the largest subway system in the world - it started in 1904, has about 710 km and 469 stations. Typically for N.Y. City are „yellow cabs“ - the yellow taxis. There are also 29 universities and collages (best of them is Columbia University), many cultural institutions, theatres and galleries (The Museum of Modern Art, The Guggenheim Museum, The American Craft Museum, The Metropolitan Museum etc.). New York is also home for 15 TV stations (e.g. ABC, CBS or NBS), 39 radio stations and over 100 hospitals.
Rockefeller Centre is made up of a whole complex of 14 buildings. It’s the major Art Deco complex in New York. There are many restaurants, theatres, cinemas, cultural facilities, travel agencies…etc. Madison Square Garden is the most popular sport center in N.Y.

Statue of Liberty is situated on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. It’s a copy of a small statue given to the USA by France as the symbol of the friendship between these two nations. It is a symbol of freedom. The Lady has torch in her right hand and the Declaration of Independence in her left hand, a tiara of seven seas and seven continents. At her feet there are broken chains of tyrany and slavery. One of the most known New Yorkers is writer, actor, screenwriter, film director and producer Woody Allen.