What’s new about New York?
“London is satisfied, Paris is resigned, but New York is always hopeful. Always it believes that something good is about to come off, and it must hurry to meet it.” Thus wrote the famous American poet Dorothy Parker.
That indeed is enough to set one to wonder how New York is the nucleus of all things American. British actor, director, writer Woody Allen paid a tribute to New York in his movie named ‘Manhattan,’ whilst Ayn Rand of ‘The Fountainhead’ fame wrote ‘“I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York’s skyline.’
The city of New York is often mistaken for being just Manhattan but it actually comprises of five boroughs: Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island and of course, Manhattan. Whilst the city is twice as small as London, but its urgency, vivaciousness and dynamic energy instantly draws you towards it, be it the enchanting Manhattan skyline or the landscaped architecture of Central Park.
But guess what? There’s much more to New York than meets the eye and we have curated a list of some facts we bet you didn’t know about NYC. Here goes…
- With a population of over 8 million people, one in every 38 people in the United states live in New York.
- With over 800 languages being spoken in New York City, this is the most linguistically diverse city in the world. Did you know that 40 per cent homes speak a language other than English here?
- New York is home to most number of Chinese people outside of Asia as well as most number of Jewish people outside of Israel.
- New York’s iconic landmark, the Statue of Liberty was actually a gift from France in 1886 for its centennial celebration. Owing to its magnificent stature, it was shipped in 350 separate pieces kept in 214 crates. The journey and final assemblage at its current location in Ellis Island took a period of over 120 days or roughly four months.
- New York City’s Federal Reserve Bank has the largest gold storage in the world to its credit, stashed in a vault 80 feet below ground level. It is believed that the value of this gold is worth 90 billion US Dollars!
- Bookworms take heart as the New York Public Library has over 50 million books and other items making it the third largest library in the world and the second largest library system in the US after the Library of Congress. But the fun part about this library is that it houses many weird and fun collections such as locks of hair of personalities such as Wild Bill Hickok, Walt Whitman, and Mary Shelley amongst many others.
- What if we say that the English muffin was invented in New York and not err England? Yes it’s true! Other culinary delights that were first made here include spaghetti and meatballs, pasta primavera, eggs benedict and even the iconic ice cream cones. Enough reason to love new York just a little bit more, isn’t it?
- Speaking of fashion icons, much before ‘Sex and the City’ New York’s Central Park actually once had a ‘wealth catwalk’. Believe it or not but Central Park’s Mall has the only straight path leading up to Bethesda Terrace and at the end of the 19th-century, New Yorkers referred to it as the Promenade, where they would walk to show off their fine clothes and jewels.
- Whilst honking is a crime in New York, going topless for both men and women is considered perfectly legal. Top that!
- We all love pizza but did you know that the first pizzeria in the United States opened in NYC in 1895? But more interestingly, since the 1960s, a slice of pizza roughly costs the same price as a subway ride, and since both have remained at par, it has led to the idea of “Pizza Principle” among economists.