I.

Introduction

New York (city), New York State, United States. America's most populous city, New York, the “Big Apple”, is one of the world's leading commercial, financial, and cultural centres. New York is subdivided into five boroughs; in descending order of area, the boroughs are Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, the Bronx, and Manhattan. Almost all of the Bronx is situated on the mainland, but the other boroughs are situated on, or comprise, islands. In all, New York comprises some 50 islands. In postal addresses, “New York” is synonymous with “Manhattan”.

New York has been the gateway to America for successive influxes of immigrants from Europe, later Asia and Russia. The population of the city remains more racially and ethnically diverse than many areas of the United States. In 1990 the population of New York was 52 per cent white, 29 per cent black, 7 per cent Asian and Pacific Islander, and 12 per cent other races. Those of Hispanic origin comprised 24 per cent of the total population. The latest influx is from post-Communist Russia. Land area, 800 sq km (309 sq mi). Population 8,143,197 (2005 estimate).