New York City:  

A city of islands, it is made up of five boroughs: Manhattan Island, Staten Island , Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx , connected by tunnels and bridges. Many of the nation's leading industrial firms have their headquarters in New York City's borough of Manhattan . Wall Street is justly famous as the world's financial center. It is the commercial and financial leader of the country as well as a leading distribution center. Financial institutions, insurance and real-estate companies contribute towards one-third of the state's gross product, followed by the services, trade, and manufacturing sectors. The port of New York, one of the world's largest and best natural harbors, handles much of the foreign trade of the United States. New York City, with its 1.7 million jobs, dominates the state employment. The New York City metropolitan area, including parts of eight counties, has many of the industrial workers in the state and generates much of the state's industrial income. High-value printing and publishing industry is heavily concentrated in the New York City metropolitan area. The electrical and electronics industry is a large single source of manufacturing jobs in New York.

The railroads play an especially important role in transporting commuters between New York City and neighboring suburban areas. New York City is honeycombed underground with the world's most extensive subway system. New York City's giant J.F. Kennedy International Airport and La Guardia Airport are among the busiest in the world.

The city is also remarkable for its fusion of many cultures. People of all races, faiths and ethnicity are part of this cauldron of diversity. New York's chief religion is Roman Catholicism; Protestants are the second largest group including Methodists and Baptists, followed by Jews. More than one-quarter of the Jews in the United States live in New York. The city is at the heart of the nation's cultural life. Broadway is world renowned for its theaters and offers a wide variety of musical and dramatic activities. So do the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Museums such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art are among the best in the world. Central Park in the heart of Manhattan is a legend in its own right. Also in New York City are Federal Hall National Memorial, home of the first U.S. Congress; Castle Clinton National Monument, originally a fort but has served many purposes during the nation's history; General Grant National Memorial, with the tomb of and exhibits on Ulysses S. Grant; and the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site. The United Nations, whose headquarters are located on Manhattan Island, works towards world peace.

New York has the oldest state system of education. The first institution of higher education in the state was King's College (now Columbia University ). New York Public Library is the nation's largest public library. New York City also is the main book- and magazine-publishing center in the United States. The three biggest U.S. television networks-ABC, CBS, and NBC-have their headquarters in New York City. The New York Yankees baseball team, which uses Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, is one of the world's best known professional sports teams. New York City is renowned for its parades, particularly the massive Thanksgiving Day and Saint Patrick's Day parades. The combination of scenic beauty, a colorful history, and the attractions of New York City have made it a very popular vacation state.

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