New York City Overview

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Overview of the West Village

Even if you’re visiting New York for the first time, you’ve undoubtedly seen some version of this city before. Its images are ubiquitous—in movies and on television, in novels high- and low-brow, in songs, in classic photographs, and on the nightly news. You’ve probably watched enough Times Square ball drops and late-show lead-ins to anticipate its blaring horns, mega-watt neon lights, and skyscraper canyons—and, to be sure, New York will deliver them all. Perhaps you first fell in love with New York through Woody Allen movies—and imagine it to be full of neurotic writers and fledgling actors, who have affairs in Bohemian apartments and somehow can afford to eat out every night. While few live a lifestyle that glamorous, artists, intellectuals, and pseudo-intellectuals of every stripe do seem to gravitate here. Does your family tell stories of immigrant ancestors arriving at Ellis Island, penniless but hopeful? The 300 languages spoken on the city’s streets and its incomparable array of ethnic cuisines prove that New York is still a melting pot today. Perhaps you were raised on Eloise stories at bedtime, and you dream of luxuriating in plushly decorated hotel suites. New York certainly has no shortage of those to offer, though unless you’re here on an expense account, you’ll likely have to content yourself with a drink in a chic hotel bar. If, with some trepidation, you’re expecting the Gotham City of crime novels and the tabloid press—grimy and congested, dangerous and macabre—the extent to which New York has cleaned itself up in recent decades may surprise you, though a host of urban problems persist. On the other hand, if you’re expecting New York’s sidewalks to be as celebrity-packed as the pages of Us Weekly , you’ll probably be let down—but who knows who you might spot parading in SoHo? The truth is, each of these facets of New York life contains an element of truth, but what makes the city so intense is that it’s beyond any single cliché—and more than all of them put together. You could spend your whole life exploring New York and never exhaust its riches.

Facts And Figures

Mayor: Michael Bloomberg, re-elected to a third four-year term in 2009.
Population: 8.1 million, 18.7 million in the surrounding metropolitan area.
Land Area: 321 sq. mi.—the most densely populated region in North America.
Most Populated Borough: Brooklyn, with 2.5 million residents (Manhattan has 1.5 million).
Racial Mix: 45% white, 27% African American, 27% Latino, 10% Asian.
Tourists: 46.0 million visitors in 2007—83% domestic, 17% foreign.
Subway: 468 stations, 660 mi. of track, and 1.4 billion annual riders.
Licensed Yellow Cabs: 12,778.
Hotel Rooms: 71,000, with 85% occupancy on an average night.
New Restaurants Opened Yearly: About 250.
Acres Of Parkland: 28,000, 843 in Central Park.
Money Exchanged Annually On The Nyse: $5.5 trillion.
Gold Stored At The Federal Reserve Bank: $600 billion’s worth—in 27 lb. bars, locked 80 ft. underground by a 90-ton steel door.
Tallest Buildings: Empire State Building (1250 ft.), Chrysler Building (1046 ft.), American International Building (952 ft.).
Tallest Structure In 1664: A two-story windmill.

Essentials

Passport: Required by citizens of all foreign countries except Canada.
Visa: Required by citizens of most countries
Currency: US dollar (US$)
Sales Tax: 8.625 %; for hotel rooms, there is an additional 5 % hotel tax and $2 room fee per night
Tourism Office:www.iloveny.com
Drinking Age: 21
Phone Numbers: 911 for emergencies

Planning Your Trip

Australia: Moonah Pl., Yarralumla, Canberra, ACT 2600 (☎ 02 6214 5600; http://usembassy-australia.state.gov). Canada: Consular Section, 490 Sussex Dr., Ottawa, P.O. Box 866, Station B, Ottawa, Ontario ...more

When To Go

Start spreading the news—you're leavin' today. But what kind of conditions should you expect? Regular floods of tourists head to New York City year-round, but fall and spring are by far the most temperate ...more

What To Do

“Old Blue Eyes” wasn't joshing when he told us this city “never sleeps.” Whether you prefer a laid-back lounge in Greenwich Village, transvestite karaoke in Chelsea, a cheap beer joint on the Upper ...more

Practical Information
Cultural Essentials

Get New York City facts and info for your next trip to New York. Read New York City information about the history, culture, and basics on the NYC five boroughs.

Neighborhoods
Suggested Itineraries

Manhattan (3 Days): When Cole Porter wrote “Take Me Back to Manhattan,” he knew exactly what he was talking about. The most famous borough of the city, Manhattan houses most of the quintessentially ...more