New York

1. The City of New York“I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps.” The famous quote comes from the song New York, New York , sung by Frank Sinatra and really captures the essence of this marvelous city. It was chosen as the city’s official song in 1983.

2. PeopleNew York City, also known by its nickname the Big Apple, is an international centre for finance, fashion, music and culture. Here, the American dream becomes real to some people, but remains a dream for many others. Roughly 8 million citizens of 180 different nationalities live side by side in the five boroughs that make up NYC; Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island and the most well-known yet smallest, Manhattan.

3. BuildingsNew York City is famous for its skyline with all the tall buildings of Manhattan. Construction of high-rise buildings became possible with the invention of the elevator and engineering

developments like steel skeletons, and there are 6,000 of those buildings in NYC today. There is no clear difference between a high-rise and a skyscraper, although in modern times a building with fifty or more stories is generally considered the

latest.

One of the first ones built was the famous Flatiron Building, which was completed in 1902. There are some strict codes for these buildings, and the ones surrounding Times Square , for example by law they must have massive billboards and signs on

them!

In the middle of all the tall buildings you’ll find a famous Manhattan landmark, the huge Central Park. At 3.4 km2, it is actually bigger than the entire country of Monaco, which is only about two-thirds that size.

4. Out and About

Another well-known element of New York is the New York Police Department, more commonly referred to as the NYPD. This is where the term “cops” comes from.

NYC police officers, back in the mid-1800s, used to wear copper badges on their civilian clothing. People referred to them as “coppers” which then was shortened to “cops” over time.

There are roughly 23,000 restaurants in New York City. This means that you could eat out at a different restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day for over 21 years without having to eat at the same place twice! 

Celebrating New Year’s Eve in New York seems like the ultimate party. The big countdown for the ball to drop in Times Square has been featured in many films, and it’s included on a lot of people’s bucket lists. In order to keep the crowd under control, there are tons of police officers working that night, and they keep people confined to smaller, fenced in areas.

Each New Year’s Eve more than 2,000 pounds of confetti is dropped on Times Square, and it’s all cleaned up in just a matter of hours. Around 300,000 people walk to work every day in NYC, but many also travel to work by public transportation, mainly using

commuter train, bus or subway. On average, 173,000 people walk through the Times Square subway station every weekday.

It is also common to use one of the 13,000 iconic yellow taxicabs to commute within the city. However, starting in 2013, New Yorkers had to start getting used to seeing and using the newer apple green boro taxis as well. 

5. Coney IslandConey Island is a neighborhood, peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southwestern Brooklyn. It is traditionally a pretty rough neighborhood, but the boardwalk and the beach are absolutely beautiful! There are courts to play volleyball, basketball and handball. The American version of handball is a bit like racquetball but using your hands instead of racquets.

There is also a famous amusement park that includes

the historic 1927 wooden roller coaster, the Cyclone, which is still running today.

The original Nathan's Famous hot dog stand opened in Coney Island in 1916 and quickly became a landmark. An annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest has been held there every Fourth of July since its opening.

Answer the following questions:

1. Who sang New York, New York?

2. What is the nickname of New York?

3. Which are the five boroughs of New York City?

4. What were the police badges made of back in the mid-

1800s?

5. How long does it take to clean up all the confetti used on

New Year's Eve on Times Square?

6. How do people get to work in New York City?

7. What can you do on Coney Island? (Seven things are

mentioned, try to find at least five of them.)