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New York City - courtesy hey tiffany! - CC-BY

New York City, New York, has been the most populous city in the United States since 1790.

New York was founded as a trading post by the Dutch in 1624. The town was called New Amsterdam until 1664 when it came under British rule. New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. The city was named for the 17th century Duke of York, James Stuart, future James II and VII of England and Scotland.

The city known as the Big Apple can be just about anything you want it to be. New York City has it all. The city consists of five boroughs, which are five separate counties. Each borough has a unique culture and each could be a large city in its own right. From historic landmarks to Broadway theaters to hundreds of museums, attractions are everywhere. To cover New York City attractions would be a series of articles all on their own. There is the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France which has become the symbol of the city, the Empire State Building, which for many is still the greatest skyscraper on Earth, and, of course, Times Square, and don’t forget Central Park, the United Nations, Metropolitan Museum, FAO Schwarz and Ground Zero.

New York City is the dining capital of the world and second only to London as a shopping mecca. Nothing much more need be said.

New York City is very safe and is statistically the safest large city in the United States, its crime rate has fallen so low that it is comparable to many American small towns. In fact, the crime rate in New York is now below the average crime rate for the nation as a whole.  But normal precautions do apply.

Summers are hot and humid with average high temperatures of 79 – 84 F (26 – 29 C) and lows of 63 – 69 F (17 – 21 C). The average temperature in January, New York City’s coldest month, is 32 F (0 C).

New York City is served by three major airports, John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia.  Public transportation is subway, bus, commuter rail and taxi.

New York City population is 8,310,212 (2007).  The metropolitan area population is 18,815,988.

1 is the international calling code for the United States
212, 718, 917, 347, 646 are the area codes for New York and its metro region.

For more information about New York City