Major Industries and Commercial Activity - Research Paper Example

New York Table of Contents Geographical Details 3 History and Settlment 3 Climate 4 Economy 5 Culture 6 Media 6 Sports 7 Religion 8 Education 8 Government 10 A Look into the Future 11 Reference 12 Geographical Details New York City is one of the largest city in the United States of America. The population of New York City is just over 8,000,000 people (NYC Planning, 2009). The city is divided into the boroughs of Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, Brooklyn and The Bronx. These boroughs are spread over 300 square miles. The original settlement of New York City was by Dutch traders. They established it as a trade center in 1624. At this time it was called New Amsterdam. When the British took over nearly fifty years later, they changed the name to New York (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). New York City is on the Atlantic seacoast. It has a challenging geography for settlement because the Hudson River dissects the boroughs, cutting them off from one another and creating the island of Manhattan. As a result, there are many bridges that connect the boroughs of New York City. The climate of the city is a Continental climate type with a hot summer. History and Settlment Legends tell of the Dutch settlers buying the island of Manhattan for a few strings of beads. This is part of the foundation mythology of New York City. After the British took over, the great harbor in New York caused trade to flourish. New York City became America’s biggest city in 1790 and has stayed that way ever since. The arrival of immigrants into America from Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries happened mostly in New York City. Many of them were allowed into the country through Ellis Island. Here they became United States citizens. Over the years, neighborhoods and boroughs in New York City have changed. Places that were once the homes of Jews or German immigrants are now home to immigrants from Pakistan or Vietnam. New York City is the most ethnically diverse city in the world. More languages are spoken there than any other place on earth. New York City has seen many waves of immigrants over the course of its history. Climate The city is marked by a humid-continental climate with a hot summer. New York City enjoys seasonal changes. The seasons are distinct in regards to temperature but not with rainfall. The coldest month is January with an average temperature of 31 F. The hottest month is July with an average temperature of 76 F. Rainfall is evenly distributed through the whole year, averaging between three and four inches each month (Climate Data, 2010). The Atlantic Ocean has a moderating influence on the climate of New York City but does not dominate it. Other things that affect the climate on a micro scale is the phenomenon of the urban heat island. This prevents New York City from getting as cold at night as it does in rural areas. This is because all of the pavement and buildings are giving off their heat that was soaked-up during the day all night long (Critchfield, 1983). Snowfall does occur almost every winter in New York City, but it usually is less than twelve inches. Economy The economy of New York City is driven by the financial, retail, insurance and real estate industries. It is one of the most economically powerful cities in the world. The gross domestic output from the five boroughs has risen to over one trillion dollars. This is more economic output than most nations in the world. Wall Street is located on the southern tip of the island of Manhattan. This neighborhood has become home to some of the most powerful investment institutions in the world. Banks such as Goldman Scahs and Prudential Investments call New York City home. The New York Stock Exchange is the largest stock exchange in the world. This incredible amount of money that flows through these institutions causes the econoy of New York City to be strong and vibrant. Other Fortune 500 companies that call New York City home are outside the real of the financial markets and services. Clothing retailer Aeorpostale is located in New York City. Many mass media outlets such as the National Broadcasting Company are located there as well. New York City is also the home of publishing giant Advance Publications. Some of the other companies which have headquarters in New York are the International Flavors and Fragrance Group, J.P Morgan Chase, Jones Apparel Corporation, Omnicon Group and McGrawHill Publishing. (City-Data, 2009). Culture Culture is a major draw of New York City for many individuals. The performing arts are well represented by the many theaters that feature musical and dramatic plays along Broadway. Other performing arts featured in New York City can be found at the Metroplitan Opera and the New York City Philharmonic. Famous venues such as Carnegie Hall and Rockefeller Center are important parts of the New York City performing arts scene. Other elements of culture can be enjoyed because of the ethnic diversity of New York City. Foods from all around the world can be enjoyed in everything from four star restauraunts to simple cafes. This is true for many large metropolitan centers all over the world, but what makes New York City so unique is the vast variety and volume of culinary offerings. Media Major newspapers in New York city are the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Truly, these publications set the international standards for journalism in their respective fields. The Wall Street Journal offeres news specifically tailored to the financial services industry and markets. The New York Times has won numerous Pulitzer Prizes for journalism excellence. All of the major television networks are represented by multiple broascast channels in the New York City area. Sports New York City has the reputation for being a very difficult sports town. The fans demand excellence each and every year. This is most apparent if one attends a Yankee’s baseball game when the arch-rival Boston Red Socks are in town. The fans are boisterous and engaged in the game. The New York Yankees have their home stadium in The Bronx. They are the most successful baseball franchise in the history of baseball, having won more World Series Championships than any other team. New York City also boasts two professional football teams as well. These teams are the Jets and the Giants. They do not actually play their games in New York City, however. Their stadiums are located across the river in New Jersey, but New York City claims them as their own. The professional hockey team in New York is the Islanders. They have a long history of wnning, having won several Stanley Cup championships. Finally, basketball is very popular, with the Knicks being the professional team for New York City. Religion Because New York City is such a diverse place, religions from all over the word are present here. The presence of the United Nations adds to this cultural diversity. There are many Christian churches in the city. The largest congregations are Roman Catholic, followed by other mainstream protestant churches. The majority of people in NYC identify themselves as being followers of the Catholic faith. A large portion of the population is Jewish as well. Mosques and other religious sites such as a temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints and a Sikh temple are also found in the city (Gotham Gazette, 2008) Education There are literally hundreds of venues for higher education in New York City. New York University (NYU) is among the most famous as are the City University System that has multiple campuses all over the city. There are many schools for learning dance, drama and graphic arts as well. Because New York City is the center for the United Nations, many of the schools center on studying Globalization and International Relations. Columbia university is famous for its school of law and Vasser is known as a very fine Liberal Arts college. The public school system for younger students is often maligned as being wasteful of taxpayer dollars and inefficient. The reality is that many public school offerings in the city are outstanding, especially in some of the city’s magnet schools that focus on the arts, sciences and medicine. Transportation Freeways and Highways A vast network of highways and parkways connect the five boroughs of New York City. The interstate system is a large part of this network. Interstate 80 and Interstate 95 give access to the city from the West, North and South. Interstate 278 is an important route for connecting Staten Island to Queens and Brooklyn. Many tunnels such as the Lincoln Tunnel and bridges such as the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, the Tri-Borough Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge span the Hudson and East Rivers. To the West of the city, the Garden State Parkway is a major connector to New Jersey. Public Transportation Busses and the rail system, including the subway system serves millions of riders each day. Public transportation is the preferred method of travel by many in New York City because of traffic congestion. Air Transportation The two most important airports in New York City are La Guardia International and John F. Kennedy International. JFK International is the second busiest airport in the United States. It connects with well over one hundred countires around the world. Ports New York Harbor is famous for the docks and dock workers that labor there. The Port Authority of New York is responsible for overseeing the safety and maintenance of bridges, highways and ports in New York City and northern New Jersey. Government The city is based on the mayor council system. The mayor at present is Mr. Michael Bloomberg. He is elected directly by the voters of New York City. He then appoints Deputy Mayors over departments such as Education, Legal Affairs, Health and Human Services and Operations. Other offices, such as the Police Commissioner are a part of the Operations committee, but report directly to the Mayor. A Look into the Future New York City has a bright future due to the robust and diverse cultures and economy of the city. It is true that the current economic downturn has hit New York City especially hard because musch of their economy was tied to financial services. Still, unemployment remains below the national average for a large city and other sectors of the economy are doing well. New York City will continue to draw talented artists and entertainers from all over the world due to its reputation as an international center for the arts. New York City is not insulated from difficult times, however. Tensions between the Muslim community and the city at large continue to build in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Protests over a Muslim community center continue to worry many residents in New York City. Many will point out that the city has a long history of resolving racial and ethnic problems and confidence runs high that this problem too will be sorted out by the citizens of the city and their leaders. Reference City-Data, (2009). Major Industries and Commercial Activity. New York City: Economy. Retrieved Online on October 21, 2010 from http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-West/Los-Angeles-Economy.html U.S. Census Bureau, (2010). Los Angeles County, California. State & County QuickFacts. Retrieved Online on October 21, 2010 from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06037.html Critchfield, Howard J. General Climatology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1983. Print. "NEW YORK CNTRL PARK, NEW YORK COUNTY, NEW YORK USA Weather History and Climate Data." World Climate: Weather Rainfall and Temperature Data. 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 07 Dec. 2010. . "Population - New York City Department of City Planning." New York City Govenment. 01 Jan. 2010. Web. 07 Dec. 2010. . Read More