II.

Economy

New York is a financial, commercial, manufacturing, and tourist centre. A national focus of road, rail, water, and air transport, it also contains the headquarters of many major corporations. The financial district of Lower Manhattan, centred on Wall and Broad streets, includes the New York Stock Exchange (1817) and a United States Federal Reserve bank as well as other prominent banking, brokerage, and financial institutions. Much domestic and international trade is conducted in New York's offices. Two international airports—La Guardia and John F. Kennedy, both in Queens—are major air-cargo terminals, and large amounts of freight pass through the city's port facilities. Nearby ports in New Jersey, however, with Newark International Airport, now handle much of the freight that formerly passed through New York.

Wholesale and retail trade are important to New York's economy. The city is particularly noted for its many retail outlets, including large department stores and specialized shops. Fifth and Madison avenues, in Manhattan, are especially famous for their elegant shops.

As a manufacturing centre, New York is a national leader in the production of clothing (notably in the Garment District of Midtown Manhattan on the West Side), printed materials, and processed foods. Other principal products include wood, paper, and metal goods, machinery, chemicals, and textiles. Many manufacturing concerns have left New York since the 1960s, largely because of the high cost of operating in the city. In specialized service activities, however, the city remains strong and it is a major centre of the world financial industry; both the advertising and the communications industries have major concentrations in New York. The leading national television and radio networks have headquarters in the city, as do many prominent book and magazine publishers.