New York City and Bay of Pigs Invasion: Difference between pages

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Revision as of 20:14, 11 May 2007

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{{Infobox City |

{{Infobox Military Conflict

official_name = City of New York, New York |

|conflict=Bay of Pigs Invasion

nickname = [[The Big Apple]] |

|partof=[[Cold War]]

image_skyline = Top_of_Rock_Cropped.jpg |

|image=

image_flag = Us-nyc.png |

|caption

image_seal = Us-nycsl.png |

|date=[[April 15]] - [[April 19]], [[1961]]

image_map = |

|place=[[Bay of Pigs]], Southern [[Cuba]]

mapsize = 250px |

|casus=[[Cuban Revolution|The Cuban Revolution]]

map_caption = Location in the state of [[New York]] |

|territory=

subdivision_type = [[Political subdivisions of New York State#County|Counties]]<br>[[Political subdivisions of New York State#Borough|(Boroughs)]]|

|result=Victory for the Republic of Cuba

subdivision_name = [[The Bronx|Bronx]] (The Bronx)<br>[[Manhattan|New York]] (Manhattan)<br>[[Queens]] (Queens)<br>[[Brooklyn|Kings]] (Brooklyn)<br>[[Staten Island|Richmond]] (Staten Island)|

|combatant1=[[Image:Flag of Cuba.svg|22px]] [[Cuba]]ns trained by [[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|22px]] Soviet advisers

leader_title = [[Mayor]] |

|combatant2=[[Image:Flag of Cuba.svg|22px]][[Cuban exile]]s trained by the [[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|22px]] [[United States]]

leader_name = [[Michael Bloomberg]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])|

|commander1=[[Image:Flag of Cuba.svg|22px]] [[Fidel Castro]]<BR>[[Image:Flag of Cuba.svg|22px]] [[José Ramón Fernández]]<BR> [[Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|25px]] [[Image:Flag of Spain.svg|22px]] [[Francisco Ciutat de Miguel]]

area_note = |

|commander2=[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px]] [[Grayston Lynch]]<BR> [[Image:Flag of Cuba.svg|22px]] [[Pepe San Roman]]<BR>[[Image:Flag of Cuba.svg|22px]] [[Erneido Oliva]]

area_magnitude = 1 E9 |

|strength1=51,000

area_total = 468.9 mi² <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1,214.4 |

|strength2=1,500

area_land = 309 [[Square mile|mi²]] <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;800.31 |

|casualties1=various estimates; over 1,600 dead (Triay p. 81) to 5,000 total estimated (Lynch)

area_water = 159.88 [[Square mile|mi²]] <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;414.09 |

|casualties2=115 dead<br>1,189 captured

population_as_of = 2004 |

population_metro = 21,923,089 |

population_total = 8,168,338 |

population_density = 27,228/[[Square mile|mi²]] <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;10,292 |

timezone = [[Eastern Standard Time|EST]] |

utc_offset = &minus;5 |

timezone_DST = [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]] |

utc_offset_DST = &minus;4 |

latitude = 40°47' N |

longitude = 73°58' W |

website = [http://www.nyc.gov City of New York] |

footnotes = |

}}

{{portal}}

{{dablink|"NYC" and "New York, New York" redirect here. For other meanings, see [[NYC (disambiguation)]] and [[New York, New York (disambiguation)]].}}

[[Image:Alerta.jpg|thumb|230px|Cuban poster warning before invasion showing a soldier armed with an [[RPD]] [[machine gun]].]]

'''New York City''', officially the '''City of New York''', is the [[List of United States cities by population|most populous city]] in the [[United States]] and the most densely populated major city in [[North America]].

The 1961 '''Bay of Pigs Invasion''' (also known in Cuba as the '''Playa Girón''' after the beach in the [[Bay of Pigs]] where the landing took place) was an unsuccessful [[United States]]-planned and funded attempted invasion by armed [[Cuban exile]]s in southwest [[Cuba]]. An attempt to overthrow the government of [[Fidel Castro]], this action accelerated a rapid deterioration in [[Cuban-American relations]], which was further worsened by the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] the following year. The name Bay of Pigs comes from Bahía de Cochinos, where in all probability "Cochino" refers to a species of [[Triggerfish]] (Balistes vetula) [http://www.invemar.org.co/redcostera1/invemar/docs/Vol33/BIMC_33_03_Claro.pdf], rather than pigs ([[Boar|Sus scrofa]]).

The pigs at the island

The city is at the center of international [[finance]], [[politics]], [[entertainment]], and [[culture]], and is considered to be one of the world's four primary [[global city|global cities]] (along with [[London]], [[Paris]], and [[Tokyo]]) with a nearly unrivaled collection of museums, galleries, performance venues, media outlets, international corporations, and financial markets.

Tensions between [[The United States]] and [[Cuba]] had increased steadily since the [[Cuban Revolution]] of 1959. The [[Dwight Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] and [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] administrations had judged that Castro's policies, including the [[expropriation]] of American-owned assets on the island and Cuba's increasing ties with the [[Soviet Union]], could not be tolerated.

On March 17, 1960, the [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] administration agreed to a recommendation from the CIA to equip and drill Cuban exiles for action against the new Castro government.<ref name="thousand"> ''A Thousand days:John F Kennedy in the White House'' [[Arthur Schlesinger Jr]] 1965 </ref> Eisenhower stated that it was the policy of the U.S. government to aid anti-Castro guerilla forces. The [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] began to recruit and train anti-Castro forces in the [[Sierra Madre de Chiapas|Sierra Madre]] mountains on the Pacific coast of [[Guatemala]].<ref name="thousand"/>

The CIA was initially confident that it was capable of overthrowing Castro, having experience assisting in the overthrow of other foreign governments such as the government of [[Iran]]ian prime minister [[Mohammed Mossadegh]] in 1953 and [[Guatemala]]n president [[Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán]] in 1954. [[Richard Mervin Bissell Jr.]], one of [[Allen Dulles]]'s three aides, was made director of "Operation Zapata."

Located in the state of [[New York]], New York City has a population of 8.2 million<ref>As of 2004 the U.S. Census Bureau estimates New York City's population as 8,168,338 [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_state=04000US36&_cityTown=New+York+City]</ref> within an area of 321 square miles (approximately 830 km²)<ref>New York City's total area is 468.9 mi². 159.88 mi² of this is water and 321 mi² is land. [http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/landusefacts/landusefactshome.shtml]</ref>. It is at the heart of the [[New York Metropolitan Area]], which at a population of almost 22 million is among the largest urban areas in the world. The city proper consists of five [[borough]]s: the [[The Bronx|Bronx]], [[Brooklyn]], [[Manhattan]], [[Queens]], and [[Staten Island]] &mdash; all except Staten Island contain over a million people and independently would be counted among the largest cities in the United States.

The original plan called for landing the [[Brigade 2506|exile brigade]] (Brigade 2506) in the vicinity of the old colonial city of [[Trinidad, Cuba]], in the central province of [[Sancti Spiritus]] approximately 400 km southeast of Havana at the foothills of the [[Escambray Mountains|Escambray mountains]]. The selection of the Trinidad site provided a number of options that the exile brigade could exploit during the invasion. The population of Trinidad was generally opposed to Castro and the rugged mountains outside the city provided an area into which the invasion force could retreat and establish a [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] campaign were the landing to falter. Throughout 1960, the growing ranks of Brigade 2506 trained at locations throughout southern [[Florida]] and in [[Guatemala]] for the beach landing and possible mountain retreat.

New York City attracts large numbers of immigrants from over 180 countries, as well as people from all over the United States, who come to the city for its culture, energy, cosmopolitanism, and economic opportunity. The city is also currently notable for having the lowest crime rate among major American cities.<ref>Crime in New York City dropped 14% from 2001 to 2004, compared to a national decline of 1.5%. This rate made New York the safest city in the United States. [http://www.nycvisit.com/content/index.cfm?pagePkey=1610]</ref>

On [[February 17]] [[1961]], [[John F. Kennedy]], the new U.S. president, asked his advisors whether the toppling of Castro might be related to weapon shipments and if it was possible to claim the real targets were modern fighter aircraft and rockets which endangered America's security. At the time, Cuba's army possessed Soviet tanks, artillery and small arms, and its air force consisted of [[A-26 Invader|B-26]] medium bombers, [[Hawker Sea Fury|Hawker Sea Furies]] (a fast and effective, though obsolete, propeller driven [[fighter-bomber]]) and [[T-33]] jets left over from the Batista Air Force.<ref>http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/baypigs-airforce.htm</ref>

==History==

{{main|History of New York City}}

[[Image:Castelloplan.jpg|thumb|230px|The Castello Plan depicting [[New Amsterdam]] on the southern tip of Manhattan, 1660.]]

The region had long been inhabited by the [[Lenape]] at the time of its discovery by European [[Giovanni da Verrazzano]]. The [[Dutch]] established [[New Amsterdam]] and [[New Netherland]] in 1613, and the colony was granted self-government in 1652 under [[Peter Stuyvesant]], but was conquered by the [[British]] in 1664, when it was renamed "New York" after the English city of [[York]]. The Dutch briefly regained it in August 1673, renaming the city "New Orange", but ceded it permanently in November 1674.

As Kennedy's plans evolved, critical details were changed that were to hamper chances of a successful mission without direct U.S. help. These revised details included changing the landing area for Brigade 2506 to two points in [[Matanzas Province]], 202 km southeast of [[Havana]] on the eastern edge of the Zapata peninsula at the [[Bay of Pigs|Bahía de Cochinos]] (Bay of Pigs). The landings would now take place on the Girón and Playa de zapatos Larga beaches. This change effectively cut off contact with the rebels in the Escambray "[[War Against the Bandits]]". The Castro government also had been warned by senior [[KGB]] agents [[Osvaldo Sánchez Cabrera]] and [["Aragon",]] who respectively died violently before and after the invasion. <!--(Welch and Blight, p. 113)-->The U.S. government was aware that a high casualty rate was possible. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}.

Under British rule the City of New York continued to develop, and while there was growing sentiment for greater political independence, the area was decidedly split in its loyalties during the [[New York Campaign]], a series of major early battles during the [[American Revolutionary War]]. Subsequently, the city was under British occupation until the end of the war, and was the last port British ships evacuated in 1783.

==Soviet Advisers to Cuban government forces==

New York City was the capital of the newly-formed [[United States]] from 1788 to 1790. In the 19th Century, the opening of the [[Erie Canal]] in 1825 enabled New York to overtake [[Boston]] and [[Philadelphia]] in economic importance, and local politics became dominated by a [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic Party]] [[political machine]] known as [[Tammany Hall]], supported by Irish immigrants. The [[New York Draft Riots]] during the [[American Civil War]] were suppressed by the [[Union Army]]. In later years known as the [[Gilded Age]], the city's upper classes enjoyed great prosperity amid the further growth of a poor immigrant working class, associated with economic and municipal consolidation of what would become [[the five boroughs]] in 1898.

[[Image:Old timer structural worker.jpg|thumb|left|230px|Construction of the [[Empire State Building]], 1930]]

A series of new transportation links, most notably the opening of the [[New York City Subway]] in 1904, helped bind together the newly-consolidated city. The height of European immigration brought social upheaval, and the anticapitalist labor union [[IWW]] was fiercely repressed. Later, in the 1920s, the city saw the influx of African-Americans as part of the [[Great Migration]] from the [[American South]]. The [[Harlem Renaissance]] blossomed during this period, part of a larger boom in the [[Prohibition]] era that saw the city's skyline transformed by construction of dueling [[skyscrapers]]. New York overtook [[London]] as the most populous city in the world in 1925, ending that city's century-old claim to the title. The city suffered during the [[Great Depression]], which saw the election of reformist mayor [[Fiorello LaGuardia]] and the end of Tammany Hall's eighty years of political dominance. The city's industries and port facilities, such as the [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]], also played a major role in [[World War II]].

A militia, artillery, and intelligence are necessary to field a regular army. Foreign advisors were brought from [[Eastern Bloc]] countries; the most senior of these were [[Francisco Ciutat de Miguel]], [[Enrique Lister]], and [[Alberto Bayo]].<ref>(Paz-Sanchez, 2001, pp 189-199) </ref> Ciutat de Miguel (Masonic name: Algazel; Russian name: Pavel Pablovich Stepanov; Cuban alias: Ángel Martínez Riosola, commonly referred to as Angelito) is said to have arrived the same day as [[La Coubre explosion]]; he was wounded in the foot during the [[War Against the Bandits]], the type of wound that is common to senior officers observing combat at the edge of effective rifle range. Date of wound is not given in references cited [http://www.sbhac.net/Republica/Personajes/Militares/Militares1.htm]

New York emerged from World War II as the unquestioned leading city of the world, with [[Wall Street]] leading America's emergence as the world's dominant economic power, the United Nations headquarters (built in Manhattan in 1952) emphasizing its political influence, and the rise of [[Abstract Expressionism]] displacing [[Paris]] as center of the art world. The growth of post-war [[suburb]]s saw a slow decline in the city's population. Later, changes in industry and commerce, [[white flight|suburban flight]], and rising crime rates pushed New York into a social and economic crisis in the 1970s.

==Invasion==

[[Image:LOC Lower Manhattan New York City World Trade Center August 2001.jpg|thumb|230px|Lower Manhattan's skyline with the Twin Towers of the [[World Trade Center]] (1973 – 2001).]]

On the morning of [[April 15]], [[1961]], three flights of [[Douglas Aircraft Company|Douglas]] [[A-26 Invader|B-26B Invader]] light bomber aircraft displaying Cuban Fuerza Aerea Revolucionaria (FAR - Revolutionary Air Force) markings bombed and strafed the Cuban airfields of [[San Antonio de Los Baños]], Antonio Maceo International Airport, and the airfield at Ciudad Libertad. Operation Puma, the code name given to the [[offensive counter air attack]]s against the [[Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces]], called for 48 hours of air strikes across the island to effectively eliminate the Cuban air force, ensuring Brigade 2506 complete air superiority over the island prior to the actual landing at the Bay of Pigs. This failed because the airstrikes were not continued, as was originally planned - limited by decisions at the highest level of US government. The second wave of airstrikes, designed to wipe out the remainder of Castro's airforce was stopped due to a communication breakdown rather than a lack of political will{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. [[Adlai Stevenson]], the US ambassador to the United Nations had been embarrassed by revelations that the first wave of airstrikes had been carried out by US planes despite his repeated denials that this was so. He contacted [[McGeorge Bundy]] who, unaware of the critical importance to the mission of the second wave, cancelled the airstrike despite Kennedy's earlier approval for it. Castro also had prior knowledge of the invasion and had moved the airplanes out of harm's way.

The 1980s was a period of modest boom and bust, followed by a major boom in the 1990s. Racial tensions calmed in latter years; a dramatic fall in crime rates, improvements in quality of life and a major reinvigoration of immigration and growth renewed the city, and New York's population passed eight million for the first time in its history. In the late 1990s, the city benefited disproportionately from the success of the financial services industry during the [[dot com boom]], one of the factors supporting a decade of booming residential and commercial real estate values.

[[Image:BayofPigs.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Map showing the ___location of the Bay of Pigs.]]

Of the Brigade 2506 aircraft that sortied on the morning of [[April 15]], one was tasked with establishing the CIA cover story for the invasion. The slightly modified two-seat B-26B used for this mission was piloted by [[Captain]] Mario Zuniga. Prior to departure, the engine cowling from one of the aircraft's two engines was removed by maintenance personnel, fired upon, then re-installed to give the appearance that the aircraft had taken ground fire at some point during its flight. Captain Zuniga departed from the exile base in [[Nicaragua]] on a solo, low-flying mission that would take him over the westernmost province of [[Pinar del Río|Pinar del Rio]], Cuba, and then northeast toward [[Key West, Florida]]. Once across the island, Captain Zuniga climbed steeply away from the waves of the [[Florida Straits]] to an altitude where he would be detected by US radar installations to the north of Cuba. At altitude and a safe distance north of the island, Captain Zuniga feathered the engine with the pre-installed bullet holes in the engine cowling, radioed a mayday call, and requested immediate permission to land at Boca Chica Naval Air Station a few kilometers northeast of [[Key West, Florida]]. This account is at apparent variance with Cuban government reports that [[Sea Fury]], [[B-26]] fighter bombers and [[T-33]] trainers flown by the few Cuban (notable Rafael del Pino, (Lagas, 1964)) and some left-wing Chilean and Nicaraguan pilots (Lagas, 1964; Somoza-Debayle and Jack Cox, 1980), loyal to Castro attacked the older slower B-26s flown by the invading force.<ref>http://www.urrib2000.narod.ru/ArticGiron1-e.html</ref>

By the time of Captain Zuniga's announcement to the world mid-morning on the 15th, all but one of the Brigade's Douglas bombers were back over the Caribbean on the three and a half hour return leg to their base in Nicaragua to re-arm and refuel. Upon landing, however, the flight crews were met with a cable from Washington ordering the indefinite stand-down of all further combat operations over Cuba.

The city was the site of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history on [[September 11, 2001 attacks|September 11, 2001]], when almost 3,000 people were killed in the destruction of the [[World Trade Center]]. Among those who died were workers in the buildings, passengers and crew on two commercial [[jetliners]], and hundreds of [[New York City Fire Department|firemen]], [[New York City Police Department|policemen]], and rescue workers who responded to the disaster. The city's economy was substantially hurt but has since recovered. The [[Freedom Tower]], intended to be exactly 1,776 feet tall (a number symbolic of the year the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] was written), is to be built on the site and is slated for construction between 2006 and 2010.

On [[April 17]], four 2,400-ton chartered transports (named the ''Houston'', ''Río Escondido'', ''Caribe'', and ''Atlántico'') transported 1,511 Cuban exiles to the Bay of Pigs on the Southern coast of Cuba. They were accompanied by two CIA-owned infantry landing crafts (LCI's), called the ''Blagar'' and ''Barbara J'', containing supplies, ordnance, and equipment. The small army hoped to find support from the local population, intending to cross the island to [[Havana]]. The CIA assumed that the invasion would spark a popular uprising against Castro. However, the

{{seealso|September 11, 2001 attacks}}

Escambray rebels had been contained by Cuban militia directed by [[Francisco Ciutat de Miguel]] (see Soviet Advisers to Cuban government forces above). By the time the Invasion began, Castro had already executed some who were suspected of colluding with the American campaign (notably two former "Comandantes" Humberto Sorí Marin and [[William Alexander Morgan]]<ref>http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/morgan/Morgan-03-13-6]</ref><ref>http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/bayofpigs/chron.html</ref> Others executed included Alberto Tapia Ruano, a catholic youth leader. April was a bloody month for the resistance. Several hundreds of thousands were imprisoned before, during and after the invasion (Priestland, 2003).

After landing, it soon became evident that the exiles were not going to receive effective support at the site of the invasion and were likely to lose. Reports from both sides describe tank battles (see much detail in printed references section below) involving heavy USSR equipment.<ref name="SPlister.htm">http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/SPlister.htm</ref> Kennedy decided against giving the faltering invasion US air support (though four US pilots were killed in Cuba during the invasion) because of his opposition to overt intervention. Kennedy also canceled several sorties of bombings (only two took place) on the grounded Cuban Airforce, which might have crippled the Cuban Airforce and given air superiority to the invaders. [[U.S. Marines]] were not sent in.

==Geography and environment==

{{main|Geography and environment of New York City}}

===Geography=Air action==

*{{coor dms|40|42|51|N|74|0|23|W|}}

[[Image:Waterways New York City Map Julius Schorzman.png|280px|thumb|right| New York City waterways: 1. [[Hudson River]], 2. [[East River]], 3. [[Long Island Sound]], 4. [[Newark Bay]], 5. [[Upper New York Bay]], 6. [[Lower New York Bay]], 7. [[Jamaica Bay]], 8. [[Atlantic Ocean]]]]

Aviation is commonly considered the deciding factor during the Bay of Pigs Invasion. The first airplane of the Cuban Armed forces was obtained in 1913; Cuban pilots, such as Francisco Terry Sánchez and Santiago Campuzano fought combat missions as early as WW I [http://www.nocastro.com/documents/aviacion/aviacion1.htm]. The 1931 Gibara landing against Machado was defeated in great part by Cuban Aviation [http://www.nocastro.com/documents/aviacion/aviacion2.htm]. However, by the end of January 1959 most Cuban pilots and support technicians from the Batista era were in jail [http://www.cidh.oas.org/annualrep/80.81sp/Cuba4677.htm] or in exile.

New York City is located at the center of the [[Boswash|BosWash megalopolis]], 218 miles (350 km) driving distance from [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] and 232&nbsp;miles (373&nbsp;km) from [[Washington, D.C.]]. The city's total area is 468.9 square miles (1,214.4 km²), of which 35.31% is water. The city is situated on the three major islands of Manhattan, Staten Island, and western Long Island. The Bronx is the only borough that is part of the mainland United States.

During the Bay of Pigs invasion, the first Cuban exile attack with B-26 left Cuban forces with "two [[B-26]]s, two [[Sea Fury|Sea Furies]], and two [[T-33]]As at San Antonio de los Baños Airbase, and only one Sea Fury at the [[Antonio Maceo Airport]]" and two of the attacking bombers were damaged [http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/americas/cuba/Cuba-af-history.htm] April 17 Cuban exile pilots and copilots/navigators: Matias Farias, Eddy Gonzalez, Osvaldo Piedra, Jose Fernandez, Raul Vianello, Jose, A. Crespo, Lorenzo Perez Lorenzo, Crispin Garcia, and Juan Mata Gonzalez are killed. April 19 US aviators Riley Shamburger, Wade Gray, Thomas W. Ray and Leo Baker, replacing exhausted Cuban exile fliers, die in action.

New York City's significance as a trading city results from the superb natural harbor formed by [[Upper New York Bay]], which is surrounded by Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the coast of New Jersey. It is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by [[the Narrows]] between Brooklyn and Staten Island in [[Lower New York Bay]].

Cuban pilots Alvaro Galo and Willy Figueroa were jailed for cowardice, for not flying B-26; Captain Evans was accused of poisoning crews and also jailed.

The [[Hudson River]] flows from the [[Hudson Valley]] into [[New York Bay]], becoming a [[tidal estuary]] that separates the Bronx and Manhattan from [[New Jersey]]. The [[East River]], actually a tidal strait, stretches from the [[Long Island Sound]] to New York Bay, separating the Bronx and Manhattan from Long Island. The [[Harlem River]], another tidal strait between the East and Hudson Rivers, separates Manhattan from the Bronx.

Cuban Air Force pilots included Carlos Ulloa Rauz who was Nicaraguan; Jaques Lagas who flew a B-26 and survived is from Chile' Alfredo Noa died in battle in a plane piloted by Luis A. Silva Tablada also killed. Rafael del Pino. de Varens died in a B-26 accident in Camaguey. Laga lists dead Castro fliers as: Noa, Silva, Ulloa, Martin Torres, Reinaldo Gonzalez Calainada, and Orestes Acosta. On page 81 Lagas mentions Enrique Carrera Rola and Gustavo Borzac.

The city's land has been altered considerably by human intervention, with substantial [[land reclamation]] along the waterfronts since Dutch colonial times. Reclamation is most notable in [[Lower Manhattan]] with modern developments like [[Battery Park City]]. Much of the natural variations in topography have been evened out, particularly in Manhattan. One possible meaning for "Manhattan" is "island of hills"; in fact, the island was quite hilly before European settlement.

On page 82 Lagas mentions 16 exile planes in first attack, presumable B-26 bombers. Kraus mentions eight B-26 piloted by Cuban exiles [http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/americas/cuba/Cuba-af-history.htm]. Lagas mentions Cuban pilot Alberto Fernandez. Juan Suarez Plaza Ernesto Carrera is mentioned as flying a Seafury, and another Nicaraguan; Seafuries were also flown by Cuban pilots including Douglas Rood and Sanchez de Mola. Lagas states he was the only B-26 pilot left on the 19th of April. By April 21 ten of twelve exile B-26B had been destroyed [http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/americas/cuba/Cuba-af-history.htm]. Eight Cuban pilots survived, only one from the B-26.

{{seealso|Geography of New York Harbor}}

===Climate=Land action==

New York has a [[humid continental]] climate, though being adjacent to water it experiences less temperature fluctuation than inland areas. New York winters are typically cold, but milder than inland Eastern and Midwestern cities at similar latitude such as [[Cleveland]], [[Detroit]] and [[Pittsburgh]]. Temperatures below 0 °F (-18 °C) occur once per decade on average, but daytime low temperatures in the 10s and 20s °F (-12 to -2 °C) are common at the height of winter. Springs are typically mild, with high temperatures averaging in the 50s °F (10 to 15 °C) in late March to the lower 80s °F (25 to 30 °C) in early June. Summers in New York are hot and humid, with temperatures commonly exceeding 90 °F (32 °C), though high temperatures above 100 °F (38 °C) are somewhat rare. Autumns are comfortable with sunshine and average temperatures in the 50s °F (10 to 15 °C).

In the beginning the [[militia]] on the beach surrendered, and the invaders moved to control the [[causeway]]s. There the fighting became intense, and Cuban forces casualities were very high, both as a result of fire power from the invading ground forces and the [[strafing]] [[B-26]]. However, once their air-support was eliminated and after expending all ammunition the invaders were forced back to the beach (summarized from Lynch, Grayston L. 2000, and others in bibliography below). The land action was very bloody. Carlos Franqui wrote:<ref>Data sources include: de Paz-Sánchez, 2001; Lynch, 2000 D; Johnson, 1964; Franqui, 1984; Vivés, 1984. Complete citations in Bibliography section.</ref>

Because of its ___location along the [[Atlantic Ocean]], New York City is prone to huge winter storms called [[nor'easter|nor'easters]]. These storms bring wind, rain, coastal flooding, and in the heart of winter, huge snowfalls. Most of New York's biggest snowfalls are a result of these. Each winter, New York City receives about one or two major snowfalls, usually averaging between 8 and 12 inches per storm. The all-time record snowfall in New York's [[Central Park]] was during the [[Blizzard of 2006]] on [[February]] 11-12, [[2006]] when 26.9 inches of snow fell in [[Manhattan]]. These storms are rare and hit about once a decade. On average, the city receives about 30 inches of snow each winter.

{{Quotation| “We lost a lot of men. This frontal attack of men against machines (the enemy tanks) had nothing to do with guerrilla war; in fact it was a Russian tactic, probably the idea of the two Soviet generals, both of Spanish origin (they fought for the Republic in the Spanish Civil War and fled to the Soviet Union to later fight in World War II. One of them was a veteran, a fox (sic) named Ciutah. He (Ciutah) was sent by the Red Army and the Party as an advisor and was the father of the new Cuban army. He was the only person who could have taken charge of the Girón campaign. The other Hispano-Russian general was an expert in antiguerrilla war who ran the Escambray cleanup. But the real factor in our favor at Girón was the militias: Almejeira’s column embarked on a suicide mission, they were massacred but they reached the beach.”}}

Also, due to its ___location on the east coast, New York City can be prone to [[tropical cyclones]], although they are rare and usually much less strong than ones that hut further south in [[Florida]], [[North Carolina]] or along the US Gulf Coast. Hurricanes and tropical storms, if they do hit, usually strike in late summer and early fall.

==Casualties==

===Environmental issues===

By the time fighting ended on [[April 21]], 68 exiles were dead and the rest were captured. Estimates of Cuban forces killed vary with the source, but were generally far higher.

New York's unique density facilitates the highest rate of [[Transportation in New York City|mass transit]] use in the United States. New York is one of the most energy efficient cities in the United States as a result. Gas consumption in the city is at the rate the national average was in the 1920s. Since the 1990s the city has been a national leader in municipal environmental policy. The city government is required to purchase only the most energy efficient cars, air-conditioners and copy machines. New York has the largest hybrid bus fleet in the country, and some of the first hybrid taxis.

The 1,209 captured exiles were quickly put on trial. A few were executed and the rest sentenced to thirty years in prison for [[treason]]. After 20 months of negotiation with the United States, Cuba released the exiles in exchange for $53 million in food and medicine.

The city is also a leader in energy-efficient green office buildings, like [[Hearst Tower (New York City)|Hearst Tower]] and [[7 World Trade Center]], which recycles rainwater and uses it in toilets and for irrigation, and uses computer-controlled heating and lighting.

It is generally assumed by some that during the Bay of Pigs Invasion Cuba's losses were high. Triay (2001 p. 110) mentions 4,000 casualties; Lynch (p. 148) 50X or about 5,000. Other sources indicate over 2,200 casualties. Unofficial reports list that seven Cuban army infantry battalions suffered significant losses during the fighting.

Air pollution, while not as severe as in cities like [[Los Angeles]] or [[Beijing]], remains a problem. The city's air has high levels of [[ozone]] and particulates, and residents in some neighborhoods have very high rates of [[asthma]]. Some parts of the city are also at risk if current [[global warming]] patterns continue and sea levels rise.

In one air attack alone, Cuban forces suffered an estimated 1,800 casualties when a mixture of army troops, militia, and civilians were caught on an open causeway riding in civilian buses towards the battle scene in which several buses were hit by [[napalm]].<ref>http://www.serendipity.li/cia/bay-of-pigs.htm</ref><ref>http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1984/EJR.htm</ref><ref>http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/articles/bayofpigs.htm</ref>

New York's water supply is fed by a vast [[watershed]] in the [[Catskill Mountains]]. Because the watershed is in one of the largest protected wilderness areas in the United States, the natural water filtration process remains intact. As a result, New York is one of the few cities in the country with drinking water pure enough not to require processing by [[water treatment]] plants; only chlorination is necessary to ensure its purity at the tap.<ref>International Water Supply Symposium, Tokyo [http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/news/tokyo2.html]</ref>

The government initially reported their army losses as 87 dead with many more wounded. The number of those killed in action in Cuba's army during the battle eventually ran to 140, and then finally to 161. Thus in the most accepted calculations, a total of around 2,000 (perhaps as many as 5,000, see above) Cuban militia fighting for the Republic of Cuba may have been killed, wounded or missing in action.

==Boroughs and neighborhoods==

{{seealso|Neighborhood rebranding in New York City}}

[[Image:5_Boroughs_Labels_New_York_City_Map_Julius_Schorzman.png|thumb|right|280px|The five boroughs: '''<font color="#2a3d94">1: Manhattan</font>''', '''<font color="#f4cc0b">2: Brooklyn</font>''', <br />'''<font color="ef7b2c">3: Queens</font>''', '''<font color="#dc382c">4: Bronx</font>''', '''<font color="#8a3687">5: Staten Island</font>''']]

The total casualties for the brigade were 104 members killed, and a few hundred more were wounded. Of those killed, ten died trying to escape Cuba in a boat (Celia), nine asphyxiated in a sealed truck on the way to Havana,<ref>http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/15933592.htm</ref> five were executed after the invasion, five were executed after being captured infiltrating Cuba, five died in training at their base and two died in a Cuban prison camp.

New York City is comprised of [[Five Boroughs|The Five Boroughs]]. Throughout the boroughs there are hundreds of distinct [[:Category:New York City neighborhoods|neighborhoods in the city]], many with a definable history and character all their own.

In 1979 the body of Alabama National Guard Captain {Pilot} Thomas Willard Ray who was executed after capture was returned

*[[Manhattan]] (New York County, pop. 1,564,798) is the business center of the city, and the most superlatively urban. It is the most densely populated, and the home of most of the city's [[skyscraper]]s. {{seealso|List of Manhattan neighborhoods}}

to his family from Cuba; the CIA eventually ("in the late 90's") admitted to his links to the agency and awarded him their highest award the [[Intelligence Star]].<ref>Thomas, Eric 2007 (accessed 2-22-07) Local Man Forever Tied To Cuban Leader Father Frozen, Displayed By Fidel Castro KGO ABC7/KGO-TV/DT. ABC San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=assignment_7&id=5056129</ref>

==Release of most captive prisoners==

*[[The Bronx]] (Bronx County, pop. 1,363,198) is known as the purported birthplace of [[hip hop culture]], as well as the home of the [[New York Yankees]]. Excluding its minor islands, the Bronx is the only borough of the city that is on the mainland of the United States. {{seealso|List of Bronx neighborhoods}}

In May 1961 Castro proposed an exchange of the surviving members of the assault for five hundred bulldozers. The trade soon rose to $28 million [[United States dollars]].<ref name="thousand"/> Negotiations were non-productive until after the [[Cuban missile crisis]]. On December 21, 1962 Castro and James B. Donovan, a U.S. lawyer signed an agreement to exchange the 1,113 prisoners for $53 million U.S. dollars in food and medicine, the money being raised by private donations.<ref>http://onwar.com/aced/chrono/c1900s/yr60/fcuba1961.htm</ref> On December 29, 1962 Kennedy met with the returning brigade at [[Palm Beach]], [[Florida]].<ref name="thousand"/>

==Aftermath, reactions and re-evaluations==

*[[Brooklyn]] (Kings County, pop. 2,472,523) is the most populous borough, with a strong native identity. It ranges from a modern business district downtown to large historic residential neighborhoods in the central and south-eastern areas. It also has a long beachfront and [[Coney Island]], famous as one of the earliest amusement grounds in the country. {{seealso|List of Brooklyn neighborhoods}}

[[Image:JFK.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Robert F. Kennedy]]'s Statement on Cuba and Neutrality Laws, April 20, 1961]]

The failed Bay of Pigs invasion severely embarrassed the Kennedy administration, and made Castro wary of future US intervention in Cuba. As a result of the failure, [[Director of Central Intelligence|CIA director]] [[Allen Dulles]], [[Deputy Director of Central Intelligence|deputy CIA director]] [[Charles Cabell]], and Deputy Director of Operations [[Richard Mervin Bissell Jr.|Richard Bissell]] were all forced to resign. All three were held responsible for the planning of the operation at the CIA. Responsibility of the Kennedy Administration and the US State Department for modifications of the plans were not apparent until later.

The Kennedy administration continued covert operations against Castro, later launching [[the Cuban Project]] to "help Cuba overthrow the Communist regime". Tensions would again peak in the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] of 1962.

*[[Queens]] (Queens County, pop. 2,225,486) is the most diverse county in the U.S., with more [[immigrant]]s than anywhere else in the nation. It is geographically the largest borough, and home to [[Shea Stadium]] and the [[New York Mets]]; two of the region's three major airports; [[Flushing Meadows Corona Park]], site of the 1939 and 1964 World Fairs; and Arthur Ashe Stadium, host of the annual U.S. Open. {{seealso|List of Queens neighborhoods}}

The CIA wrote a detailed internal report that laid blame for the failure squarely on internal incompetence. A number of grave errors by the CIA and other American analysts contributed to the debacle:

*[[Staten Island]] (Richmond County, pop. 459,737) is quiet and the most [[suburban]] in character of the five boroughs, but has gradually become more integrated with the rest of the city since the opening of the [[Verrazano Narrows Bridge]] in 1964, an event that caused controversy and even an attempt at secession. {{seealso|List of Staten Island neighborhoods}}

*The administration believed that the troops could retreat to the mountains to lead a guerrilla war if they lost in open battle. The mountains were too far to reach on foot, and the troops were deployed in swamp land, where they were easily surrounded.

==Government==

*They believed that the involvement of the US in the incident could be denied.

{{main|Government of New York City}}

*They believed that Cubans would be grateful to be liberated from Fidel Castro and would quickly join the battle. This support failed to materialize; many hundreds of thousands of others were arrested, and some executed, prior to the landings. (see also Priestland 2003; Lynch, 2000).

Since its consolidation in 1898, New York City has been a [[metropolitan municipality]] with a "strong" [[Mayor-council government|mayor-council form of government]]. The [[mayor]] and [[councilor]]s are elected to four-year terms. The [[New York City Council]] is a [[Unicameralism|unicameral]] body consisting of 51 Council members whose districts are defined by geographic population boundaries. Each councilor represents approximately 157,000 people. The mayor and councilors are subject to eight year term limits. The most recent election was held in 2005.

[[Image:Nyc city hall jan06a.jpg|thumb|right|230px|[[New York City Hall]], seat of city government since 1812.]]

The CIA's near certainty that the Cuban people would rise up and join them was based on the agency's extremely weak presence on the ground in Cuba. Castro's counterintelligence, trained by Soviet Bloc specialists including [[Enrique Lister]],<ref name="SPlister.htm"/> had infiltrated most resistance groups. Because of this, almost all the information that came from exiles and defectors was "contaminated." CIA operative [[E. Howard Hunt]] had interviewed Cubans in Havana prior to the invasion; in a future interview with [[CNN]], he said, "...all I could find was a lot of enthusiasm for Fidel Castro."<ref>http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/18/interviews/hunt/</ref> [[Grayston Lynch]] among others, also points to Castro's rounding up of hundreds of thousands of anti-Castro and potentially anti-Castro Cubans across the island prior and during the invasion (e.g. Priestland, 2003) to destroying any chances for a general uprising against the Castro regime. Thus the million voices that had cried "Cuba si, comunismo NO!" on November 28 1959,[http://aguadadepasajeros.bravepages.com/cubahistoria/congreso_catolico_cuba_1959.htm] were gone or silent.

The Democratic Party holds the majority of public offices. Party platforms are centered on affordable housing, education and economic development. The city's political demographics are liberal and [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]], with 87% of registered voters in the city belonging to that party. This is in contrast to [[upstate New York]], which is more conservative. The city has historically elected Democratic mayoral candidates. The current and previous mayor, however, are[[Republican Party|Republicans]] - though they are considerably to the left of their national counterparts. Councilors are elected under specific issues and are usually well-known. Labor politics are important. Housing and economic development are the most controversial topics, with an ongoing debate over the proposed [[Brooklyn Nets Arena]].

Many military leaders almost certainly expected the invasion to fail but thought that Kennedy would send in [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]] to save the exiles. Kennedy, however, did not want a full scale war and abandoned the exiles.

The city has a strong imbalance of payments with the national and state governments. New York City receives 83 cents in services for every $1 it sends to Washington in taxes (or annually sends $11.4 billion more to Washington than it receives back). The city also sends an additional $11 billion more each year to the state of New York than it receives back.<ref>http://www.gothamgazette.com/article//20060206/200/1751</ref>

An [[April 29]] [[2000]] ''[[Washington Post]]'' article, "Soviets Knew Date of Cuba Attack", reported that the CIA had information indicating that the [[Soviet Union]] knew the invasion was going to take place and did not inform Kennedy. [[Radio Moscow]] actually broadcast an English-language newscast on [[April 13]], [[1961]] predicting the invasion "in a plot hatched by the CIA" using paid "criminals" within a week. The invasion took place four days later. According to British minister [[David Ormsby-Gore]], British intelligence estimates, which had been made available to the CIA, indicated that the Cuban people were predominantly behind Castro and that there was no likelihood of mass defections or insurrections following the invasion.<ref name="thousand"/> More recent analysis suggest that, probably because of the Castro government's almost complete blackout of actions outside of Havana, the sources such as those used in the Ormsby-Gore intelligence estimate were not aware of the following related material: On April 14, 1961, the guerrillas of Agapito Rivera fought Cuban government forces near Las Cruces, Montembo, Las Villas, several government forces were killed and others wounded.<ref>Corzo, 2003 p. 83</ref> On April 16, Merardo and Jose Leon plus 14 others staged armed rising at Las Delicias Estate in Las Villas, only four survived<ref>Corzo, 2003 p. 85</ref> Leonel Martinez and 12 others took to the country side (ibid). On the 17th of April 1961 Osvaldo Ramírez then chief of the rural resistance to Castro (see [[War Against the Bandits]]) was captured in Aromas de Velázquez and immediately executed. [http://www.nuevoaccion.com/] The ruthlessness with which this resistance was suppressed is well described in Franqui.<ref>Franqui 1984, pp. 111-115 </ref> On April 3, 1961, a bomb attack on militia barracks in Bayamo killed four militia and eight more are wounded; on April 6, the Hershey Sugar factory in Matanzas is destroyed by sabotage; on April 18, Directorio guerrilla Marcelino Magaňaz died in action in Sierra Maestra.<ref>Corzo, 2003 p. 79-89</ref> On April 19 at least seven Cubans plus two US citizens Angus K. McNair and Howard F. Anderson are executed in Pinar del Rio Province.<ref>Corzo, 2003 p. 90</ref>. However, the general Cuban population was not well informed, except for CIA funded Radio Swan [http://www.firmaspress.com/viaje-al-corazon-de-cuba.pdf] [[Pirate radio in Central America and Caribbean Sea]], since May of 1960 almost all means of public communication were in the government’s hands.<ref>. NYT May 26, 1960 p. 5; [http://www.cidh.oas.org/countryrep/Cuba83eng/chap.5.htm]</ref>

Because the state of New York consistently votes Democratic in national elections, many observers argue that New York City is insignificant in presidential contests. New York City, however, is the most important source of political fundraising in the United States. Four of the top five zip codes in the nation for political contributions are in Manhattan. The top zip code, 10021 on the [[Upper East Side]], generated the most money for the 2000 presidential campaigns of both [[George W. Bush]] and [[Al Gore]].

The invasion is often criticized as making Castro even more popular, adding nationalistic sentiments to the support for his economic policies. Following the initial B-26 bombings, he declared the revolution "[[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]]". After the invasion, he pursued closer relations with the Soviet Union, partly for protection, which helped pave the way for the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] a year and a half later.

The current mayor is [[Michael Bloomberg]], a Republican (and former Democrat) elected in 2001 and re-elected four years later with 59% of the vote. He is known for taking control of the city's education system from the state, rezoning and economic development, fiscal management, and banning smoking in bars and restaurants. He is also known for his strong support of strict gun control laws, abortion rights, and aggressive public health policy.

There are still yearly nation-wide drills in Cuba during the 'Dia de la Defensa' (defense day) to prepare the entire population for an invasion.

===See also===

*[[Mayor of New York City]]

*[[New York City Council]]

*[[New York City Civil Court]]

*[[New York City Criminal Court]]

An appendix to the Enrique Ros book pp. 287-298 gives the names of Bay of Pigs veterans who became officers in the US Army in Vietnam, these names include 6 Colonels, 19 Lt Colonels, 9 Majors, and 29 Captains. As of March 2007, the Communist Party is now the only political party in Cuba, and about 50% of the Brigade have passed on<ref>. Iuspa-Abbott. Paola, 2007 (accessed 3-27-07) Palm Beach County Bay of Pigs veterans remember invasion of Cuba. South Florida Sun-Sentinel Posted March 26 2007 [http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-pbrigademar26,0,6683790.story?coll=sfla-news-cuba]</ref>

==Economy==

{{main|Economy of New York City}}

[[Image:NYSE july 2003.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The [[New York Stock Exchange]] from the corner of Broad Street and [[Wall Street]] in the [[The Financial District (Manhattan)|Financial District]].]]

New York City is a major center for business and commerce and is one of the three world cities (along with London and Tokyo) that controls world finance. The financial, insurance, and real estate industries form the basis of its economy. The city is the most important center for mass media, journalism and publishing in the United States and is also the preeminent arts center in the country. New York's film industry is the nation’s second largest after Hollywood. Medical research, technology, and fashion are also important sectors.

==Notes==

The city's stock exchanges are among the most important in the world. The [[New York Stock Exchange]] is the largest stock exchange worldwide by dollar volume, while [[NASDAQ]] is the world's largest by number of listings. Many international corporations are headquartered in the city, including more [[Fortune 500]] companies than anywhere else. New York is unique among American cities for its large number of foreign corporations. One out of every ten private sector jobs in the city is with a foreign company. Often this makes the perspective of New York’s business community internationalist and at odds with Washington’s foreign policy, trade policy, and visa policy.<ref>The New York City Partnership (business coalition) [http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/fea/20060123/202/1727]</ref>

<div class="references-small">

<references/>

</div>

==Bibliography==

Specialized manufacturing accounts for a large but declining share of employment. Garments, chemicals, metal products, processed foods, and furniture are some of the principal manufacturers. New York’s fine natural harbor has meant international shipping has always been a major part of the city’s economy, but in recent decades most cargo shipping has moved from the Brooklyn waterfront across the harbor to the [[Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal]] in New Jersey. Some cargo shipping remains. Brooklyn handles the majority of cocoa bean imports to the United States.

*Anderson, Jon L. 1998 Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life. Grove/Atlantic ISBN 0-8021-3558-7

*Corzo, Pedro 2003 Cuba Cronología de la lucha contra el totalitarismo. Ediciones Memorias, Miami. ISBN 1890829242

*Franqui, Carlos 1984 (foreword by G. Cabrera Infante and translated by Alfred MacAdam from Spanish 1981 version) Family portrait with Fidel. 1985 edition Random House First Vintage Books, New York. ISBN 0394726200 pp. 111-128

*Lynch, Grayston L. 2000 Decision for Disaster: Betrayal at the Bay of Pigs. Potomac Books Dulles Virginia ISBN 1-57488-237-6

*Hunt, E. Howard 1973 Give us this day. Arlington House, New Rochelle, N.Y. ISBN-10 0870002287 ISBN-13: 978-0870002281

*Johnson, Haynes 1964 The Bay of Pigs: The Leaders' Story of Brigade 2506. W. W. Norton & Co Inc. New York. 1974 edition ISBN 0-393-04263-4

*Lagas, Jacques 1964 Memorias de un capitán rebelde. Editorial del Pácifico. Santiago, Chile.

*Lazo, Mario 1968, 1970 Dagger in the heart: American policy failures in Cuba. Twin Circle. New York. I968 edition Library of Congress number 6831632, 1970 edition, ASIN B0007DPNJS

*Grayston L. Lynch (see Lynch, Grayston L.)

*de Paz-Sánchez, Manuel 2001 Zona de Guerra, España y la revolución Cubana (1960-1962), Taller de Historia, Tenerife Gran Canaria ISBN 8479263644

*Priestland, Jane (editor) 2003 British Archives on Cuba: Cuba under Castro 1959-1962. Archival Publications International Limited, 2003, London ISBN 1-903008-20-4

*[[Jean Edward Smith]], "Bay of Pigs: The Unanswered Questions," ''The Nation'', (Apr. 13, 1964), p. 360-363.

*Somoza-Debayle, Anastasio and Jack Cox 1980 Nicaragua Betrayed Western Islands Publishers, pp. 169-180 ISBN 088279235

*Ros, Enrique 1994 (1998) Giron la verdadera historia. Ediciones Universales (Colección Cuba y sus jueces) third edition Miami ISBN 0-89729-738-5

*Thomas, Hugh 1998 Cuba or The Pursuit of Freedom. Da Capo Press, New York Updated Ed. ISBN 0-306-80827-7

*Triay, Victor 2001 Andres Bay of Pigs. University Press of Florida, Gainesville ISBN 0-8130-2090-5

*Welch, David A and James G Blight (editors) 1998 Intelligence and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Frank Cass Publishers, London and Portland Oregon ISBN 0-7146-4883-3 ISBN 0-7146-4435-8

*Vivés, Juan (Pseudonym, of a former veteran and Castro Intelligence Official; Translated to Spanish from 1981 Les Maîtres de Cuba. Opera Mundi, Paris by Zoraida Valcarcel) 1982 Los Amos de Cuba. EMCÉ Editores, Buenos Aires. ISBN 9500400758

*Wyden, Peter 1979 Bay of Pigs Simon. and Schuster New York ISBN 0-671-24006-40

==See also==

“Creative” industries, like design, new media, and architecture account for a growing share of employment. With the increasing commercial role of the city’s many medical laboratories and research centers, science and research is another strong growth sector. Jobs in the sector grew 4.9% in 2004 - 2005. High-tech industries like software development, gaming design, and Internet services are also growing; New York is the leading international internet gateway in the United States, with 430 Gbps of international internet capacity terminates, because of its position at the terminus of the transatlantic [[fiber optic]] trunkline. By comparison, the number two U.S. hub, Washington/Baltimore, has 158 Gbps of internet terminates.<ref>City government report, March 2005 [http://www.nycedc.com/about_us/TelecomPlanMarch2005.pdf]</ref>

{{portalpar|Cuba|Flag of Cuba.svg}}

*[[Cuba-United States relations]]

New York City has an estimated gross metropolitan product of nearly $500 billion<ref>Gross Metro Product was estimated at $489 billion in 2003, up from $470 billion in 2002. [http://www.gpec.org/infocenter/topics/economy/gmp.html] This figure includes only activity within the city limits. Including the [[Long Island]] and [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]] suburbs puts the 2003 GMP at over $710 billion.</ref> within the city limits, larger than the [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|GDP]] of [[Switzerland]] ($377 billion) and nearly equaling that of [[Russia]] ($582 billion). As a nation, the city's economy would be 17th largest in the world, and at $59,000 per person, New York would have the second highest per capita GDP after [[Luxembourg]]. New York is home to more [[Fortune 500]] companies than any other place in the United States.

*[[Guantánamo Bay (Cuba)]]

*[[Swan Islands, Honduras|Swan Islands]]

{{seealso|New York Stock Exchange|NASDAQ|List of major corporations based in New York City}}

*''[[Red Zone Cuba]]'' ([[1966]])

==Demographics==

{{main|Demographics of New York City}}

{| id="toc" style="float: right; margin-left: 5em; width: 40%; font-size: 90%;" cellspacing="3"

|colspan="3"|'''New York City Compared'''

|-

|'''[[United States Census, 2000|2004 Census Estimate]]'''||'''NY City'''||'''NY State'''||'''United States'''

|-

|Total population||8,168,338||19,254,630||288,368,698

|-

|Population, percent change, 1990 to 2000||+9.4%||+5.5%||+13.1%

|-

|Population density||26,402.9/mi²||401.9/mi²||79.6/mi²

|-

|Median household income (1999)||$38,293||$43,393||$41,994

|-

|Per capita income||$22,402||$23,389||$21,587

|-

|Bachelor's degree or higher||27%||27%||24%

|-

|Foreign born||36%||20%||11%

|-

|White||45%||68%||75%

|-

|Black||27%||16%||12%

|-

|Hispanic||27%||15%||13%

|-

|Asian||10%||6%||4%

|}

As of the census{{GR|2}} of 2004, there are 8,168,338 people (up from 7.3 million in 1990), 3,021,588 households, and 1,852,233 families residing in the city. This amounts to about 40% of New York state's population and a similar percentage of the New York City metropolitan population.

Recently, New York City has had large numbers of foreign immigrants arriving, many long-standing residents leaving, an increase in the gap between the rich and the poor, and a rise in the black middle class. In some areas of the city there is rapid growth fueled by immigrants and their children. Some areas are undergoing racial and ethnic transition; others are gentrifying.

The two most notable demographic features of the city are its density and diversity. By American standards, the city has an extremely high population density of 26,402.9/mi², about 10,000 more people per square mile than the next densest city, [[San Francisco]]. Manhattan's population density is 66,940.1/mi². New York is also uniquely diverse. 36% of its population is foreign born, a larger percentage than in any other major city in the United States except [[Los Angeles]]. Whereas in that city the vast majority are from a single country - Mexico - in New York no single country of origin dominates. Only the four largest, the Dominican Republic, China, Jamaica, and Russia represent groups larger than five percent. In 2000, the city was 44.7% white, 26.6% black, and 9.8% Asian, while people of Hispanic origin (who may be of any race) were 27% of the population.

[[Image:Newyorkstreetscene.JPG|225px|thumb|left|A typically diverse group of New Yorkers on [[Fifth Avenue]] in [[Midtown Manhattan]].]]

New York City's estimated daytime population is the largest in the United States at more than 8.5 million persons. In absolute terms the increase of more than half a million people over the nighttime population is larger than anywhere else. However, as a percentage of the city's total population, the 7% increase puts New York mid-pack among cities with more than a million residents. This is because a disproportionately high number of people both work and live in the city compared with the national average.

Median family income in New York was $44,131 in 2003. The unemployment rate in March of 2005 was 5.2%, identical to the nationwide rate. The median age is 34, a year younger than the figure nationally. Nearly 30% of New York City households have children under 18.

New Yorkers belong to a diverse range of ethnic groups. 11.5% are African-American, 9.8% Puerto Rican, 8.7% Italian, 5.3% Irish, 5.1% Dominican, 4.5% Chinese, 2.1% Asian Indian, 1.8% Filipino and 1.6% Korean. Several of these minority populations have become the predominant influence over particular sections of [[Manhattan]], including [[Chinatown, Manhattan|Chinatown]], [[Harlem]], [[Little Italy, Manhattan|Little Italy]], and [[Spanish Harlem]]. The Irish have also had a notable presence in the city, and according to a 2006 genetic survey by [[Trinity College, Dublin|Trinity College]] in [[Dublin, Ireland]], about one in 50 New Yorkers of European origin carry a distinctive genetic signature on their Y chromosomes inherited from [[Niall of the Nine Hostages]], an Irish high king of the fifth century A.D.[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/18/science/18irish.html?ex=1138338000&en=5104cb5251f2300e&ei=5070] Additionally, New York City is home to the nation's largest community of [[American Jews]], both [[Ashkenazic]] and [[Sephardic]], with an estimate of just under 1 million in 2002. The city is the worldwide headquarters of the [[Hasidic]] [[Lubavitch]] movement and the [[Bobov]]er and [[Satmar]] branches of Hasidism.

===Crime===

{{main|Crime in New York City}}

Since 1991, New York City has seen a continuous fifteen-year trend of decreasing crime and is now the safest large city in the United States. While this trend is said to be due in part to the [[New York City Police Department|NYPD]]'s innovative strategies implemented in the 1990s, including [[CompStat]], economist [[Steven Levitt]] and others have pointed instead to broader socio-economic trends. Along with decreasing crime rates, [[gentrification]] has caused many neighborhoods, once rife with crime and drug dealing, to become thriving and safe neighborhoods. Overall, New York City had a rate of 2,800 crimes per 100,000 people in 2004, compared with 8,959.7 in [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]], 7,903.7 in [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]], and 7,402.3 in [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]].

==Culture==

{{main|Culture of New York City}}

[[Image:Centralpark.png|240px|thumb|[[Central Park]] is nearly twice as big as the world's second-smallest country, [[Monaco]].]]

The people of New York City, New Yorkers, share a unique culture rooted in centuries of immigration and city life. There is considerable diversity in this local culture, varying by [[ethnic group]], [[social class]], and [[neighborhood]].

To some observers, New York, with its large immigrant population, is more a quintessentially cosmopolitan, [[global city]] than something specifically "American". But to others, the city's very openness to newcomers makes it an archetypal city in a "nation of immigrants". Among American cities only [[Los Angeles]] receives more immigrants, but immigration to New York is far more diverse; the city government maintains translators in 180 languages. The term [[melting pot|"melting pot"]] was first coined to describe Manhattan’s densely populated [[Lower East Side, Manhattan|Lower East Side]].

Everyday life for New Yorkers is often compared to that of urban Western Europeans. The “car culture” that dominates most of the United States is displaced by New York’s overwhelming use of [[Mass transit in New York City|public transit]]. Many New Yorkers live in compact rental apartments, not sprawling suburbs. The city’s food culture, influenced by its immigrants and vast number of demanding dining patrons, is complex. Jewish and Italian immigrants made New York famous for bagels and [[New York style pizza|pizza]]. More recent arrivals have made falafels and kebabs standbys of contemporary New York street food.

There are many stereotypes about "The City That Never Sleeps." The American [[idiom]] "in a New York minute" means "immediately." The "sophisticated New Yorker" often defines American notions of urbanity.

===Arts===

{{seealso|Broadway theatre}} [[image:Timessquareapril2005.jpg|right|thumb|240px|[[Times Square]] in April 2005]]

New York City’s density and size, multicultural history, and wealth of arts institutions makes it the cultural capital of the United States and a global crossroads for music, film, theater, dance and visual art. Among the nation’s most important art collections are those held by the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] and the [[Museum of Modern Art]]. The first and largest performing arts complex in the United States is [[Lincoln Center]]. The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs has a larger annual budget than the [[National Endowment for the Arts]].

[[Tom Wolfe]] wrote of New York that "Culture just seems to be in the air, like part of the weather." Important cultural movements have long been part of the city’s history. The [[Harlem Renaissance]] established the African-American literary canon in the United States. The [[New York School]] of painters, which developed [[abstract expressionism]] in the post-World War II period, became the first truly original school of painting in America. African-American jazz greats likes [[Louis Armstrong]], [[Count Basie]], [[Ella Fitzgerald]] and [[Lena Horne]] found refuge in mixed communities in Queens in the segregated America of the 1940s. American [[modern dance]] developed in New York during that same time. New York was a hub for the [[counterculture]] of the 1960s. Its downtown music scene established [[punk rock]] in the United States in the 1970s. In the Bronx, meanwhile, [[Hip hop culture|hip-hop]] was emerging and would go on to take the world by storm by the 1990s. While the big-budget mainstream film industry consolidated in Hollywood, New York became the capital of American independent cinema.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a vast assemblage of historic art, while the Museum of Modern Art, [[Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum|Guggenheim]] and [[Whitney Museum of American Art]] house important collections of 20th century art. There are an additional 2,000 arts and cultural non-profits and 500 art galleries of all sizes.[http://www.nycfuture.org/images_pdfs/pdfs/CREATIVE_NEW_YORK.pdf] The city’s performing arts venues are equally numerous and varied. These include the [[Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts]], actually a complex of buildings housing 12 separate companies, among them [[Jazz at Lincoln Center]], the [[New York City Opera]], the [[New York Philharmonic]] and the [[New York City Ballet]]. [[Carnegie Hall]] is a smaller but prestigious venue. The [[Brooklyn Academy of Music]] is known for its cutting edge programming. Downtown clubs such as [[CBGB]] and the [[Nuyorican Poets Cafe]] are the city's destinations for rock, blues, jazz, mixed media and experimental theater.

New York is also the center of American theater. [[Broadway theatre]], referring to performances in one of New York’s 39 large-scale theaters with more than 500 seats, is often considered along with London's [[West End theatre|West End]] to be the highest professional form of theater in the English language. [[Off-Broadway]] and [[Off-Off-Broadway|off-off-Broadway]] productions are often more experimental and are staged in the city's many smaller theater houses.

===Media===

{{main|Media of New York City}}

[[Image:NYC subway riders with their newspapers.jpg|thumb|240px|New York's use of mass transit gives the city a large newspaper readership base.]]

New York is the nation’s number-one media market with 7% of the country’s television-viewing households. Three of the Big Four music recording companies have their headquarters in the city. One-third of all [[independent films]] are produced in New York City. More than 200 newspapers and 350 consumer magazines have an office in the city. The book publishing industry alone employs 13,000 people. For these reasons, New York is often called "the media capital of the world."

The city is home to four of the ten largest newspapers in the nation. These include ''[[The New York Times]]'' (circulation 1.1 million), the ''[[New York Daily News]]'' (circulation 730,000), and the ''[[New York Post]]'' (circulation 650,000), founded in 1801 by [[Alexander Hamilton]].[http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0004420.html] ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' (circulation 2.1 million) is the city's business paper. ''[[El Diario La Prensa]]'' (circulation 265,000) is New York's largest Spanish-language daily and the oldest in the nation. The city also has a large ethnic press with newspapers in over twenty languages.

Radio broadcasting in the city is equally varied. [[WQHT (FM)|WQHT]], also known as Hot 97, claims to be the nation's premier [[hip-hop]] station. [[WNYC]] is the most listened-to public radio station in the United States. [[Shock jock]] [[Howard Stern]] and conservative talk show host [[Rush Limbaugh]] are based in the city. [[WBAI]] in Manhattan, with news and information programming, is one of the flagship stations of the left-leaning [[Pacifica Radio]] network.

The three traditional major [[television network]]s, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[CBS]] and [[NBC]] are all headquartered in New York. The city is also a national center of entertainment television. [[Silvercup Studios]] produced the hit television shows [[Sex and the City]] and [[The Sopranos]]. [[MTV]] broadcasts programming from its sound stage overlooking Times Square, several blocks away from the theater housing [[The Late Show with David Letterman]]. [[Black Entertainment Television|BET]] is headquartered on 57th Street. [[The Daily Show]] is produced by [[Comedy Central]] in [[Manhattan]]. Over a thousand people are involved with producing the various [[Law & Order]] television series. The City of New York also has an official television station, run by the [[NYC Media Group]]. [[WNET]], New York's flagship public television station, is a primary national provider of [[PBS]] programming. The oldest [[public access television|public access channel]] in the United States is the Manhattan Neighborhood Network, a well-regarded channel with eclectic local programming ranging from a jazz hour to discussion of labor issues to foreign language and religious programming.

===Tourism and recreation===

Some 39 million foreign and American tourists visit New York each year. According to some estimates, as many as one in four Americans can trace their roots to Brooklyn. Many visitors investigate their genealogy at historic immigration sites such as [[Ellis Island]] and the [[Statue of Liberty]]. Other tourist destinations include the [[Empire State Building]], for many years the world's tallest building after its construction in 1931, [[Radio City Music Hall]], home of [[The Rockettes]], a variety of Broadway shows, the [[Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum]], housed on a World War II aircraft carrier, high-end shopping districts around Fifth Avenue, and city landmarks such as [[Central Park]].

[[Image:Union Square Farmers Market.jpg|240px|thumb|left|The Farmers Market at [[Union Square (New York City)|Union Square]], held four days each week]]

28,000 acres (113 km²) of parkland and 14 miles (22 km) of public beaches in the city provide recreational space. [[Prospect Park (Brooklyn)|Prospect Park]] in Brooklyn, designed by [[Frederick Law Olmsted]] and [[Calvert Vaux]], has a 90 acre (360,000 m²) meadow thought to be the largest meadow in any U.S. park. [[Flushing Meadows Park]] in Queens is the city's third largest park and hosted the World's Fair in 1939 and 1964. Historically, some of the most visited waterfront was around the [[Coney Island]] boardwalk. The area was an immigrant and working class resort with amusement parks and ocean atmosphere. It went into decline in the 1970s, although the beach has always remained popular in the summer and Russian immigrants have begun revitalizing area businesses. The popular [[Brooklyn Cyclones]] minor league baseball team now plays there. Fishing, swimming and rowing are increasingly popular as the water quality of the city's waterways improve. Several canoe and kayak clubs offer nighttime circumnavigations of Manhattan and tours of the East River.

Shopping is popular with many visitors. [[Fifth Avenue (Manhattan)|Fifth Avenue]] is a famous luxury shopping corridor. [[Macy's]], the nation's largest department store, and the surrounding area of [[Herald Square]] is a major destination for more moderately-priced goods. [[Greenwich Village]] is home to hundreds of independent music and book stores, while the [[East Village]] has many purveyors of rare and hard-to-find items. [[Union Square (New York City)|Union Square]] is known for its large farmer's market. The "[[diamond district]]" around 47th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue is a major destination for jewelry, and [[SoHo]], formerly the center of the New York art scene, is now known for high-end clothing boutiques. The art galleries are now concentrated in [[Chelsea, Manhattan|Chelsea]]. There are also large shopping districts in [[Downtown Brooklyn]] and along [[Queens Boulevard]] in Queens. Many of the city's ethnic enclaves, such as [[Jackson Heights, Queens|Jackson Heights]], [[Flushing, Queens|Flushing]], and [[Brighton Beach]] are major shopping destinations for first and second generation Americans up and down the East Coast, who seek out stores such as Aji Ichiban, the sleek [[Hong Kong]] chain, [[Sari|sari shops]], and indigenous food markets.

==Transportation==

{{main|Transportation in New York City}}

[[Image:Brooklyn Bridge.jpg|thumb|230px|The [[Brooklyn Bridge]], the world's first steel wire suspension bridge.]]

[[Image:Grand Central Station Main Concourse Jan 2006.jpg|thumb|230px|[[Grand Central Terminal]], one of the two busiest train stations in the country.]]

[[Image:PATH WTC Station.jpg|thumbnail|230px|The future transit hub at the [[World Trade Center]] site, to be completed in 2009.]]

New York City is home to the most complex and extensive transportation network in the United States, with its more than 12,000 iconic yellow cabs, landmark bridges, 112,000 daily bicyclists, vast subway system, the nation's busiest public ferry and bus station, immense airports, pioneering underwater vehicular tunnels, largest shipping port on the East Coast and even an aerial commuter tramway. While nearly 90 percent of Americans drive to their jobs, about one in every three users of mass transit in the United States and two-thirds of the nation's rail riders live in New York and its suburbs.[http://www.bts.gov/publications/highlights_of_the_2001_national_household_travel_survey/html/executive_summary.html] Data from the [[United States 2000 Census|2000 U.S. Census]] reveals that New York City is the only locality in the United States where more than half of all households do not own a car (the figure is even higher in [[Manhattan]], over 75 percent; nationally, the rate is 8 percent[http://www.bts.gov/publications/highlights_of_the_2001_national_household_travel_survey/html/executive_summary.html]). New York's uniquely high rate of public transit use and its pedestrian-friendly character makes it one of the most energy efficient cities in the country. Gas consumption in New York is at the rate the national average was in the 1920s.[http://ny.metro.us/metro/local/article/A_guide_for_perplexed_wouldbe_ecofriends/730.html]

===Mass transit===

{{main|Mass transit in New York City}}

New York's public transit system, which moves 2.4 billion people each year, is the largest in North America. The [[New York City Subway]] is the largest subway system in the world when measured by track mileage (656 miles of mainline track) and the world's fifth largest when measured by annual ridership (1.4 billion passenger trips in 2004). Life in the city is so dependent on the subway that New York is home to [[Port Authority Trans-Hudson|two]] of only three 24 hour subway systems in the world. New York City's public [[MTA Bus|bus fleet]], the largest in North America, supplements the subway. A vast commuter rail network, also the largest in North America with well over 250 stations and 20 rail lines serving more than 150 million commuters annually, connects the suburbs in the [[tri-state region]] to the city. The commuter rail system converges at the two busiest rail stations in the United States, [[Pennsylvania Station (New York City)|Penn Station]] and [[Grand Central Terminal]], both in Manhattan.

===Airports===

Three major airports serve New York City and its surrounding suburbs: [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]] (JFK) and [[LaGuardia Airport]] (LGA), both in [[Queens, New York|Queens]], and [[Newark Liberty International Airport]] (EWR) in nearby [[Newark, New Jersey]]. About 100 million travelers used these New York-area airports in 2005 as the metropolitan region surpassed Chicago to become the busiest air gateway in the nation. JFK and Newark's outbound international travel accounted for nearly a quarter of all U.S. travelers who went overseas in 2004. JFK is the largest international air freight gateway in the nation by value of shipments. Both JFK and Newark have rail connections to Manhattan.

===See also===

*[[New York City Subway]]

*[[Port Authority Trans-Hudson]]

*[[Long Island Rail Road]]

==Education and research==

{{main|Education in New York City}}

New York is a global center for research and education, particularly in medicine and the life sciences. New York has the most post-graduate life sciences degrees awarded annually in the United States, 40,000 licensed physicians and 127 Nobel laureates with roots in local institutions. The city receives the second-highest amount of annual funding from the [[National Institutes of Health]] among all U.S. cities.

===Universities===

[[Image:Washington square park.jpg|thumb|225px|The Washington Square Arch in [[Greenwich Village]] is the unofficial symbol of [[New York University]].]]

The [[City University of New York]] (CUNY), with over 400,000 students the third-largest university system in the United States, has been called "the poor man's Harvard" because of its low tuition and record of graduating the highest number of Nobel Laureates of any public university in the world. Much of its student body, which represent 145 countries, is comprised of new immigrants to New York City. CUNY has campuses in all of the five boroughs.

[[Columbia University]] is an [[Ivy League]] university in upper Manhattan. It was established in 1754 as King's College and is the fifth oldest chartered institution of higher education in the United States. During these early years, [[Alexander Hamilton]], [[John Jay]], [[Gouverneur Morris]], and [[Robert Livingston]] studied at Columbia.

[[New York University]] (NYU) is a major research university in lower Manhattan. Founded in 1831 by a group of prominent New Yorkers, NYU has become the largest private, not-for-profit university in the United States with a total enrollment of 39,408. The University comprises 14 schools, colleges, and divisions, which occupy six major centers across Manhattan.

[[Fordham University]], which has campuses in Manhattan and the Bronx, was the first Catholic university in the northeast. [[Yeshiva University]] is a competitive university in the Bronx with a strong [[rabbinical]] school. The [[New School]], whose graduate faculty was founded by scholars exiled by totalitarian regimes in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s, is known for its progressive intellectual tradition.

In addition to many more universities, New York City is home to several of the nation's top schools of art and design, including [[Pratt Institute]], the [[School of Visual Arts]], the [[Fashion Institute of Technology]], and [[Parsons School of Design]].

{{seealso|List of colleges and universities in New York City}}

===Schools===

[[Image:Photo12.jpg|left|thumb|250px|[[Bronx High School of Science]]]]

The New York City [[public school]] system, the [[New York City Department of Education]], is the largest in the United States. More than one million students are taught in 1,200 separate schools. Many schools struggle with the problems typical of urban American school districts, while others are exceptional. [[Stuyvesant High School]] is one of the best public high schools in the United States; [[Hunter College High School]] sends the highest percentage of its graduates to [[Ivy League]] schools of any public school in the United States, while the [[Bronx High School of Science]] boasts the largest number of [[Nobel Laureate]]s among its graduates of any high school in the world. The city has a number of other unique schools, including the [[Harvey Milk High School]], the only public high school in the United States for gay, lesbian, and transgendered students.

There are about 1,000 additional privately-run secular and religious schools in New York. These include some of the most prestigious private schools in the United States, such as [[The Dalton School]], [[The Brearley School]], and [[Horace Mann School (New York City)|Horace Mann School]]. The [[Archdiocese of New York]] of the [[Diocese of Brooklyn]] run an extensive network of important Catholic schools.

{{seealso|:Category:Public education in New York City}}

===Libraries===

[[Image:Nyc-nypl.jpg|thumb|230 px|The Library for the Humanities research branch of the [[New York Public Library]].]]

New York City has three public library systems. The [[New York Public Library]] comprises simultaneously a set of scholarly research collections and a network of community libraries and is the busiest public library system in the world. The largest of its four research centers is the Library for the Humanities, which ranks in importance with the [[Library of Congress]], the [[British Library]], and the [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]. It has 39 million items in its collection, among them the first five folios of [[Shakespeare]]'s plays, ancient [[Torah]] scrolls, and [[Alexander Hamilton]]'s handwritten draft of the [[United States Constitution]].

The [[Brooklyn Public Library]] is the fourth-largest library system in the country, with an extensive foreign language collection in 70 different languages, from Arabic to Creole to Vietnamese. Offerings are tailored by library branches to the neighborhoods they serve.

The [[Queens Borough Public Library]] serves the city's most diverse borough with a full range of services and programs for adults and children. Lectures, performances and special events are presented by neighborhood branches. Internet access is available at every branch ___location.

===Medical research===

New York is a leader in biotech, pharma, informatics, medical equipment and clinical programs. The city has 15 nationally leading academic medical research institutions and medical centers. These include [[Rockefeller University]], [[Beth Israel Medical Center]], [[Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center]], Weill Cornell, [[Mount Sinai Hospital, New York|Mount Sinai Medical Center]] (where [[Jonas Salk]], developer of the vaccine for [[polio]], was an intern), [[Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center]], and the medical schools of [[New York University]]. In the Bronx, the [[Albert Einstein College of Medicine]] is a major academic center. Brooklyn also hosts one of the country's leading urban medical centers, [[SUNY Downstate Medical Center]], an academic medical research institution and the oldest hospital-based medical school in the United States. Professor [[Raymond Vahan Damadian]], a pioneer in [[magnetic resonance imaging]] research, was part of the faculty from 1967 to 1977 and built the first MRI machine, the [[Indomnitable]], there. More than 50 bioscience companies and two biotech incubators are located in the city, with as many as 30 companies spun out of local research institutions each year.

==Skyline==

{{main|Buildings and architecture of New York City}}

[[Image:Manhattan at Dusk by slonecker.jpg|thumb|right|230px||The [[Empire State Building]], with the [[Chrysler Building]] behind.<br>'''[[:image:Skyline-New-York-City.jpg|Panoramic photo of Midtown]]''']]

The skyline of New York is one of the most recognizeable in the world. Many of New York's skyscrapers pioneered a new urban form that saw city building shift from the low-scale European tradition to the verticle rise of business districts. New York City has the most skyscrapers in the world with 47 buildings taller than 200 meters, and 2 taller than 300 meters; [[Hong Kong]] has 43 buildings taller than 200 meters and 5 taller than 300 meters, while [[Chicago]] has 19 buildings taller than 200 meters and 5 taller than 300 meters. New York actually has three separately recognizable skylines: [[Midtown Manhattan]], [[Lower Manhattan]], and [[Downtown Brooklyn]].

Icons of the city skyline include the [[Empire State Building]], a 102-story [[Art Deco]] building finished in 1931, and the [[Chrysler Building]], built in 1930 and the first structure in the world to surpass the 1,000 foot threshold. The [[GE Building]] is a slim [[Gothic architecture|gothic]] skyscraper and the focal point of [[Rockefeller Center]]. The super modern [[Condé Nast Building]] is one of the most important examples of [[green design]] in skyscrapers in the United States. Environmentally friendly gas-fired absorption chillers, along with a high-performing insulating and shading curtain wall, ensure that the building does not need to be heated or cooled for the majority of the year.

==Sports==

{{main|Sports in New York City}}

[[Image:Yankee stadium.jpg|thumb|225px|left|The home of the New York Yankees, [[Yankee Stadium]].]]

New York's most popular sport is baseball. The city has two [[Major League Baseball|Major League]] teams, the [[New York Yankees]] and the [[New York Mets]]. Rivalry between the two teams is fierce. There have been 14 [[World Series]] championship series between the Yankees and their [[National League]] rivals; the Mets (once), and with the two teams that departed for California &mdash; the [[San Francisco Giants|New York Giants]] (7 times) and [[Los Angeles Dodgers|Brooklyn Dodgers]] (6 times); such matchups are called [[Subway Series]]. Baseball is also a closely followed sport in New York's large [[Dominican Republic|Dominican]] community, where the many Major League players from the Dominican Republic have devoted fans.

Basketball is also popular. The first national college-level basketball championship, the [[National Invitation Tournament]], was held in New York in 1938. The [[New York Knicks]] are the city's [[National Basketball Association]] team.

The New York metro region is the only area in the United States with more than one team in each the [[U.S. cities with teams from four major sports|four major sports]], with nine such franchises. The [[U.S. Open (tennis)|U.S. Tennis Open]] is held annually in Queens.

Immigrants have always influenced sports in New York. [[Stickball]], a street version of baseball, first became popular in the city's Italian and Irish neighborhoods. The popularity of [[cricket]] and [[soccer]] are growing with immigration from [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]] countries. The first children's Junior Cricket League in the United States opened in Brooklyn in 2004, bringing the number of cricket leagues in the city to seven.

==Trivia==

* With over 8 million residents, New York City has a larger population than 39 U.S. states. It has more than twice the population of [[Los Angeles]], the second largest city in the country, and more than 27 times the population of [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]], the second largest city in New York State.

* Approximately two out of five New York State residents live in New York City.

* More than a third of the actors in the United States are based in New York.[http://www.nycfuture.org/images_pdfs/pdfs/CREATIVE_NEW_YORK.pdf]

* The [[Verrazano-Narrows Bridge]] is so long – 4,260 feet – that the towers are a few inches out of parallel to accommodate the curvature of the earth.

* [[Central Park]] is nearly twice as big as the world's second-smallest country, [[Monaco]].

* [[Interstate 278]] is the only highway to go through all five boroughs of New York.

{{seealso|List of New York City lists}}

===Sister cities===

New York has twelve [[sister city|sister cities]]. Parentheses indicate the year the relationships were formed.

*[[Image:Flag of Japan.svg|20px|]] [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]] (1960)

*[[Image:Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg|20px|]] [[Beijing]], [[China]] (1980)

*[[Image:Flag_of_Spain.svg|20px|]] [[Madrid]], [[Spain]] (1982)

*[[Image:Flag_of_Egypt.svg|20px|]] [[Cairo]], [[Egypt]] (1982)

*[[Image:Flag_of_the_Dominican_Republic.svg|20px|]] [[Santo Domingo]], [[Dominican Republic]] (1983)

*[[Image:Flag_of_Italy.svg|20px|]] [[Rome]], [[Italy]] (1992)

*[[Image:Flag_of_Hungary.svg|20px|]] [[Budapest]], [[Hungary]] (1992)

*[[Image:Flag_of_Israel.svg|20px|]] [[Jerusalem]], [[Israel]] (1993)

*[[Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg|20px|]] [[London]], [[United Kingdom]] (2001)

*[[Image:Flag_of_Australia.svg|20px|]] [[Sydney]], [[Australia]] (2000)

*[[Image:Flag_of_South_Africa.svg|20px|]] [[Johannesburg]], [[South Africa]] (2003)

*[[Image:Flag_of_South_Korea.svg|20px|]] [[Seoul]], [[South Korea]] (2003)

*[[Image:Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg|20px|]] [[Amsterdam]], [[The Netherlands]] Although Amsterdam is not a sister city, due to New York's origins as a Dutch colony and original name (New Amsterdam) it can be legitimately considered New York's "mother city."

*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] [[Toronto]], [[Canada]] Although Toronto is not a sister city, the city recently twinned with New York City.

==References==

<references/>

==Further reading==

* ''[[The Encyclopedia of New York City]]'', (ed. by) [[Kenneth T. Jackson]], 1995

* ''[[Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898]]'', Edwin G. Burrows and [[Mike Wallace (historian)|Mike Wallace]], 1998

* ''[[(Anthony Burgess's) New York|New York]]'', [[Anthony Burgess]], 1976

* ''Here is New York'', [[E. B. White]], 1949

* ''The Colossus of New York: A City in 13 Parts'', [[Colson Whitehead]], 2003

==External links==

*[http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0417.html#article NY Times headline, April 18, 1961, ''Anti-Castro Units Land in Cuba; Report Fighting at Beachhead; Rusk Says U.S. Won't Intervene'']

{{commons|New York City}}

*[http://www.parascope.com/articles/1296/bayofpigs.htm Detail Information on the Bay of Pigs Invasion] &mdash; Includes maps of the Invasion and Documents.

*[http://www.nyc.gov NYC.gov] - official website for the city

*[http://www.nyc-architecturehistoryofcuba.com nyc-architecture/history/baypigs/pigs.com]htm -History Newof YorkCuba] architecture,&mdash; history,Bay walkingof tours,Pigs etcInvasion.

*[http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/bayofpigs/chron.html National Security Archive chronology]

*[http://www.纽约市.cn 纽约市.cn] - PRC's Official website for the city

*[http://www.urrib2000.narod.ru/ArticGiron1-e.html The Sea Fury aircraft at Bay of Pigs]

*[http://newyork.wikicities.com/wiki/ New York City Wiki]

*[http://www.nywikiencyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-BayPigsI.html NYWikiReference MediaWikion NewBay Yorkof City]Pigs MediaWikiInvasion forat the cityEncylopedia.com]

*[http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-150695778.html?refid=hbw_rd Bay of Pigs betrayal the betrayal of the Cuban people by the CIA, State Department, and staff members of the New York Times ranks as one of America's darkest foreign-policy moments]

*{{wikitravel}}

{{Cuba-United States relations}}

{{Cold War}}

===Virtual Tours===

*[http://www.virtualnyctour.com Virtual NYC Tour] - A virtual tour of New York City

*[http://maps.a9.com/?ypLoc=Broadway%20and%2046th%2C%20New%20York%2C%20NY A9.com] - New York

*[http://www.newyorkled.com NYC Events, Videos, Photos and More] - New Yorkled Magazine

*[http://newyorkbirds.free.fr/index.html air visit of all the borough of New York in photographs]

{{New York City}}

{{New York}}

<br>

{{USLargestCities}}

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