Travel

New York, USA travel

 

New York is a bit hard to get out of your system. No matter how congested or rude the city might seem on fist glance, upon further inspection it becomes clear that the city is something of an addiction. The Big Apple is what they call it, but I dont really know why, cause there doesnt seem to be anything growing among all of the concrete, glass and steel. Well, there is Central Park, the oasis of green where all of humanity flocks on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

 

Upper East side seems to be where all of the people with traditional money like to live, while the upper west side has a bit of a more youthful edge and a reputation for more affordible housing (by Manhattan stadards).

 

One really fun thing to do is to take a subway (1,9 from the upper west side) and stop at Time Square and go to a movie. There are two massive movie centers right across the street from each other, and with that much choice, there is always a good movie starting at any time of the day. You dont even need to plan ahead, just show up and see the next movie playing, its sure to be one of your top choices.

 

 

 

 

The new york library (near time square) is interesting. If you can get a tour you will learn that the book delivery system is a series of tubes (suction) that transport the books all over the library. Its an amazing system to see in action.

 

If you can afford to take a taxi home (rather than the subway), the drive uptown is amazing.

 

On a sunny Saturday afternoon in Manhattan, its really nice to hang out near Columbus circle in the upper west side.

 

For an interesting evening, there is an old boat docked on the lower west side that you can rent out for group events and parties.

 

 

Manhattan is the cultural heart of the city

 

Panoramic photos of Times Square: http://www.panoramas.dk/fullscreen5/f52-times-square.html

Panoramic photos of Times Square - New years eve - http://www.panoramas.dk/fullscreen2/full1.html

 

 

 

 

Tourist Highlights

Central Park

Macy's Day Parade (Thanksgiving)

 

add more highlights here

 

 

 

 

 

 

More about Manhattan:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan

Manhattan is a borough of New York City. Although its population is only third largest of the five boroughs (after Brooklyn and Queens), it is the most densely populated county in the United States.1 The Island of Manhattan is the largest section of the borough (and county), which also includes numerous smaller islands and a small section of the North American mainland.

 

Manhattan is the borough that many tourists most closely associate with New York City. A commercial, financial, and cultural center of the world, Manhattan has many famous landmarks, tourist attractions, museums and universities. It is also home to the headquarters of the United Nations and the seat of city government. Historically, its commercial streets have been characterized by thousands of unique and diverse shops, though a more recent influx of national chains has caused it to increasingly resemble other American cities and suburbs at a higher density. Manhattan has the largest central business district in the United States and is the site of most of the city's corporate headquarters, as well as both the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.

 

GEOGRAPHY OF MANHATTAN

 

Manhattan Island is bound by the Hudson River to the west and the East River to the east. To the north, the Harlem River divides Manhattan from The Bronx and the mainland United States. The island is 20 mi² (51.8 km²) of land measuring 13 miles (21 km) long and 2.3 miles (3.7 km) across at its widest point. The borough of Manhattan includes both Manhattan Island and several small islands, including Randall's Island, Ward's Island, and Roosevelt Island to the east and Ellis Island, Liberty Island, and Governors Island to the south in New York Harbor. The borough has an area of 33.8 mi² (87.5 km²), of which 32.01% is water.

 

One Manhattan neighborhood is actually contiguous with The Bronx. Marble Hill at one time was part of Manhattan Island, but the Harlem River Ship Canal, dug in 1895 to improve navigation on the Harlem River, separated it from the remainder of Manhattan.6 Eventually the part of the original Harlem River channel separating Marble Hill from The Bronx was filled in, and Marble Hill became part of the mainland.

 

Marble Hill is one example of how Manhattan's land has been considerably altered by human intervention. The borough has seen substantial land reclamation along its waterfronts since Dutch colonial times. Reclamation is most notable in Lower Manhattan with modern developments such as Battery Park City, created from land excavated during the construction of the World Trade Center. Much of the natural variations in topography have been evened out. One possible meaning for "Manhattan" is "island of hills"; in fact, the island was quite hilly before European settlement.

 

Manhattan is loosely divided into downtown, midtown, and uptown regions, with Fifth Avenue demarcating Manhattan's east and west sides.

 

Manhattan is connected by a bridge as well as vehicular and train tunnels to New Jersey to the west, and three New York City boroughs: the Bronx to the northeast; Brooklyn and Queens on Long Island to the east and south. Its only direct connection with the fifth New York City borough is the Staten Island Ferry across New York Harbor, which is free of charge. Its terminal is located at Battery Park at its southern tip. It is possible to travel to Staten Island via Brooklyn, using one of Brooklyn's bridges, and then the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

 

NEIGHBORHOODS OF MANHATTAN

 

Manhattan's many neighborhoods are not named according to any particular convention. Some are geographical (the Upper East Side), ethnically descriptive (Chinatown), or abbreviations (TriBeCa, which stands for "Triangle Below Canal Street"). Harlem is a name from the Dutch colonial era after Haarlem, a city in the Netherlands.

 

Some neighborhoods, like SoHo (South of Houston), are commercial in nature and known for upscale shopping. Others, like the Lower East Side and East Village, have been associated with the "Bohemian" subculture, though many artists have relocated to Brooklyn from these neighborhoods. Chelsea is a neighborhood with a large gay population, and also a center of New York's art industry and nightlife. Washington Heights is a vibrant neighborhood of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. Manhattan's Chinatown is the largest in the Western hemisphere. The Upper West Side is often characterized as a liberal and family-friendly alternative to the Upper East Side, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the United States.

 

In Manhattan, uptown means north and downtown means south. (Though even north and south here are relative - north in Manhattan is a logical north, determined by the main axis of the island, and corresponding to the direction of the avenues of the street grid. Uptown is actually more like north-by-northeast.) This usage differs from that of most American cities, where downtown refers to the central business district. Manhattan has two central business districts, the Financial District at the southern tip of the island, and the business district in Midtown. The term uptown refers to the northern part of Manhattan (generally speaking, above 59th Street) and downtown to the southern portion (typically below 23rd Street or 14th Street).

 

Fifth Avenue roughly bisects Manhattan Island and acts as the demarcation line for east/west designations (e.g., East 27th Street, West 42nd Street). South of Waverly Place in Manhattan, Fifth Avenue terminates and Broadway becomes the east/west demarcation line. North of 14th Street, nearly all east-west streets use numeric designations, which increase from south to north to 220th Street, the highest numbered street on the island.

 

 

DEMOGRAPHICS OF MANHATTAN

 

According to 2005 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, there are 1,593,200 people (up from 1.4 million in 1990) 738,644 households, and 302,105 families residing in Manhattan.GR2 Counted on its own, Manhattan would be the fifth largest city in the United States, after the rest of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston.

 

The population density was 66,940.1/mi² (25,849.9/km²), the highest population density of any county in the United States. In 1910, at the summit of European immigration to New York, Manhattan's population density reached a peak of 120,250.299/mi² (46,428.9/km²). There were 798,144 housing units in 2000 at an average density of 34,756.7/mi² (13,421.8/km²).

 

In 2000 56.4% of people living in Manhattan were White, 27.18% were Hispanic of any race, 17.39% were Black, 14.14% were from other races, 9.40% were Asian, 0.5% were Native American, and 0.07% were Pacific Islander. 4.14% were from two or more races. 24.93% reported speaking Spanish at home, 4.12% Chinese, and 2.19% French.

 

Manhattan is one of the highest-income places in the United States with a population greater than 1 million. The Manhattan zip code 10021, on the Upper East Side, is home to more than 100,000 people and has a per capita income of over $90,000. It is one of the largest concentrations of extreme wealth in the United States. Most Manhattan neighborhoods are not as wealthy. The median income for a household in the county was $47,030, and the median income for a family was $50,229. Males had a median income of $51,856 versus $45,712 for females. The per capita income for the county was $42,922. About 17.6% of families and 20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.8% of those under age 18 and 18.9% of those age 65 or over.

 

Lower Manhattan (Manhattan south of Houston street) has a sharply different population than the rest of the borough. According to the 2000 census, the neighborhood was 41% Asian, 32% non-Hispanic white, 19% Hispanic and 6% black. 43% of residents were immigrants. These figures are affected by the demographic weight of Chinatown, which accounts for 55% of the population of Lower Manhattan.

 

Manhattan is a religiously diverse community. The largest religious affiliation is the Roman Catholic Church, whose adherents constitute 564,505 persons (more than 36% of the population) and maintain 110 congregations. Jews comprise the second largest religious group, with 314,500 persons (around 20.5%) and have 102 congregations. Other large denominations include Protestants (139,732 adherents) and Muslims (37,078)

 

LANDMARKS IN MANHATTAN

 

The Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, the theater district around Broadway, New York University, Columbia University, Baruch College, the financial center around Wall Street, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Harlem, the American Museum of Natural History, Chinatown, and Central Park are all located on this densely populated island.

 

The city is a leader in energy-efficient "green" office buildings, such as Hearst Tower and the rebuilt 7 World Trade Center.15

 

Central Park is bordered on the north by West 110th Street (also known as Central Park North), on the west by Eighth Avenue, on the south by West 59th Street, and on the east by Fifth Avenue. Along the park's borders, these streets are usually referred to as Central Park North, Central Park West, and Central Park South, respectively. (Fifth Avenue retains its name along the eastern border.) The park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. The park offers extensive walking tracks, two ice-skating rinks, a wildlife sanctuary, and grassy areas used for various sporting pursuits, as well as playgrounds for children. The park is a popular oasis for migrating birds, and thus is popular with bird watchers. The 6-mile (10 km) road circling the park is popular with joggers, bicyclists and inline skaters, especially on weekends and in the evenings after 7:00 p.m., when automobile traffic is banned.

 

 

 

 

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