New York City is located on the Eastern Atlantic coast of the United States, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The city center resides at the exact location of 40 degrees, 42 minutes, 51 seconds N latitude, and 74 degrees, 0 minutes 23 seconds W longitude. New York City is made of five boroughs, each of which is a county. Brooklyn (Kings Co.) and Queens occupy the western portion of Long Island, while Staten Island (Richmond Co.) and Manhattan are completely on their own land masses. The Bronx, to the north, is attached to the New York State mainland.

New York was briefly (1789-90) the U.S. capital and was state capital until 1797. By 1790 it was the largest U.S. city, and the opening (1825) of the ERIE CANAL, linking New York with the GREAT LAKES, led to even greater expansion. In 1898 a new charter was adopted, making the city Greater New York, a metropolis of five boroughs.

The Times Square New Year's Eve party may be the biggest party in New York. Time Square of New York City may be the world's best-known place for the annual New Year's Eve midnight countdown. More than half a million people crowd in the Time Square, waiting for the lighted ball descend to mark the new year with joy and excitement. It also televises through the world, seen by billions of people every year.

A decade ago, 42nd street between Seventh and Eighth Avenue was know as Deuce, a dangerous place for hustler, drug pushers, prostitutes, X-rate movie theaters and sex shops. It was a crime-breeding place, but through the efforts of City Government and community leaders, it now becomes a clean, prosperous and friendly place.

Location: Broadway and 42nd Street

One landmark for the new Time Square is the new building at Four Times Square housing the Conde Nast offices of Vogue, Vanity Fair and New Yorker. Time Square is also the country's premier showcase attracting more than 2 millions of tourists every year, bringing in more than two billion dollars' revenue for the City.

The Square was originally known as Longacre Square in the late 19th century. It was renamed Time Square when New York Time Tower was completed, and The Times moved in on New Year's Eve in 1904 with fireworks. The celebration has continued every year, with midnight countdown becoming a tradition of New York. As 2005 approaches, New York City gets ready for its annual Times Square celebration. The famous ball drop atop One Times Square has been a tradition dating back to 1906.

Why NYC is Big Apple?

According to the Evan Morris, the Web's Word Detective, and author of a syndicated newspaper column specializing in linguistic questions, the trail leads back more than 70 years to a newspaper column called "Around the Big Apple." Morris cites a noted slang historian who managed to track the phrase to a colorful 1920s horse-racing columnist named John Fitzgerald. Apparently, Fitzgerald heard the term from stable hands in New Orleans who lovingly referred to New York City's racetracks as "...the dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred. There's only one Big Apple. That's New York." In the 1930s, the term was adopted by jazz musicians, when Harlem was the site of all the choicest gigs. 
 

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