or New York City. County in SE New York. See table at new york 1.

or New York City. City, SE New York, at mouth of the Hudson River; pop. (2000c) 8,008,278; largest city in the U.S. and important seaport; comprises five boroughs coextensive with five counties: Bronx (Bronx co.), Brooklyn (Kings co.), Manhattan (New York co.), Queens (Queens co.), and Staten Island (Richmond co.); extensive harbor facilities (port has ab. 755 mi. or 1215 km. of developed frontage); the world's foremost financial center (New York Stock Exchange and American Stock Exchange are located here, as are the headquarters of many major corporations); UN headquarters; holds a leading position in the retail and wholesale trades, entertainment, media, fashion, art, and the service industries; manufactured products include: apparel, fabricated metal products, leather goods; printing and publishing, graphic arts, food processing; tourism. For educational institutions and other notable features, see the entries of the individual boroughs.

Empire State.

Rose.

Excelsior (Ever Upward).

Hudson, in E area, flowing into Atlantic Ocean at New York City, and in the S forming boundary bet. New York and New Jersey; St. Lawrence, forming N boundary bet. New York and Canadian prov. of Ontario; Delaware, forming section of S boundary bet. New York and Pennsylvania; Niagara, forming W boundary bet. New York and Canadian prov. of Ontario.

Adirondacks (in NE) and Catskills (in E). Highest point Mt. Marcy, 5344 ft. (1629 m.), in Essex co. in the Adirondacks.

Vegetables, fruit; dairy products; zinc, gravel, salt; apparel, primary metals, electrical machinery, chemicals; finance, printing and publishing, food processing.

New York City (by far the largest), Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, Syracuse, Albany.

Divided into the following 62 counties (for pronunciation of their names, see their individual entries):

Prior to European colonization inhabited by Algonquins (Mahican, Wappinger) and Iroquois (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca); New York Bay visited by Florentine navigator Giovanni da Verrazano 1524; explored 1609 by English navigator Henry Hudson (Hudson River) and French explorer Samuel de Champlain (N New York to Lake Champlain); Dutch trading posts, estab. on Manhattan I. and at Fort Nassau, were taken over by Dutch West India Company under which early colonization occurred (see fort orange new amsterdam); opened 1629 to patroon colonization for several years; formed part of Dutch colony of New Netherland (q.v.), surrendered without resistance to English 1664 and renamed New York after its proprietor, duke of York; briefly recaptured by Dutch 1673–74; scene of much fighting during French and Indian War, in which the Iroquois Confederacy became allied with the British; after ratifying Declaration of Independence, held first state constitutional convention 1776, adopted first state constitution 1777; scene of numerous engagements of the American Revolution incl. Fort Ticonderoga, Long Island, White Plains, Saratoga, and Kingston (qq.v.), and also of Benedict Arnold's treason at West Point; ratified U.S. Constitution 1788; state ✽ moved 1797 from New York City to Albany; Canadian frontier scene of several engagements during War of 1812; opening of Erie Canal 1825 spurred development of W New York; adopted present constitution 1894.

Site of a trading post estab. at S end of Manhattan I. by Dutch 1610; fortified and colonized under name New Amsterdam (q.v.) by Dutch West India Company; island purchased from Indians by Peter Minuit for Dutch West India Company 1626 for ab. $24 worth of trinkets; settlements extended to Breuckelen (Brooklyn), New Harlem, Bronx, and Staaten Eylandt (Staten I.); surrendered without a struggle to British and named New York 1664 in honor of the king's brother, the duke of York; Dutch regained control and held it for a short time as New Orange 1673–74; new city charter granted 1686; scene of Leisler Rebellion 1689–91; after the British parliament passed the Stamp Act 1765, Stamp Act Congress met in City Hall and drew up a declaration of colonists' rights, incl. assertion of no taxation without representation; on July 9, 1776 Gen. George Washington caused the Declaration of Independence to be read to the assembled army; after the battle of Long Island Aug. 27, 1776, Washington retreated to Manhattan, then to White Plains; city held by British to the end of the Revolutionary War; ✽ of state 1784–97, of U.S. 1789–90; George Washington inaugurated first president of the U.S. in a building (Federal Hall) on Wall Street; sharp increase in commerce and industry followed the opening of the Erie Canal (1825); suffered disastrous fire 1835; opposed the Civil War at its outbreak 1861, and was scene of serious draft riots 1863; expanded rapidly after Civil War, developing transportation and communication systems; Tweed Ring political scandal exposed 1871; by legislative act of 1896 the five boroughs were merged into a single city Jan. 1, 1898; twin towers of World Trade Center destroyed with hijacked airliners Sept. 11, 2001 resulting in more than 2500 deaths. For further details, see manhattan 2 bronx 3 brooklyn 3 queens 2, and staten island 2.