New York (state)

New York is a state in the northeastern United States whose U.S. postal abbreviation is NY. It is sometimes called New York State when there is need to distinguish it from New York City.

History

See: History of New York

New York was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution.

Law and Government

See: List of New York Governors

As in all fifty states, the head of the executive branch of government is a Governor. The legislative branch is called the Legislature, and consists of a Senate and an Assembly. For many years, the two houses of the state legislature have been controlled by different political parties, making legislation and particularly budgeting difficult. Unlike most States, the New York electoral law permits electoral fusion, and New York ballots tend to have, in consequence, a larger number of parties on them, some being permanent minor parties that seek to influence the major parties and others being ephemeral parties formed to give major-party candidates an additional line on the ballot.

New York's subordinate political units are its 62 counties. Smaller officially recognized units are Towns and Villages. See: List of New York counties; Towns and Villages are listed in each county with the exception of those counties within New York City.

Geography

New York State's borders touch (clockwise from the northwest) two Great Lakes (Erie and Ontario, which are connected by the Niagara River), the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario in Canada, three New England states (Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut), the Atlantic Ocean, and two Mid-Atlantic states (New Jersey and Pennsylvania).

While best known for New York City's urban congestion, especially Manhattan's skyscrapers, the rest of the state is dominated by farms, forests, rivers, mountains, and lakes. Few people know that New York's Adirondack Park, a State park, is larger than any National Park in the US. Niagara Falls is a chief attraction. There are three major islands at the mouth of the Hudson River: Manhattan Island, Staten Island, and Long Island. The Hudson River flows south through the eastern part of the state without draining Lakes George or Champlain. Lake George empties at its north end into Lake Champlain, whose northern end extends into Canada, where it drains into the Richelieu and then the St. Lawrence Rivers.

"Upstate" is a common term for New York State north of the New York City metropolitan area. New York City has five boroughs (counties): The Bronx (Bronx), Manhattan (New York) on Manhattan Island, Brooklyn (Kings) and Queens (Queens) on the western end of Long Island, and Staten Island (Richmond). The eastern end of Long Island includes suburban Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Some or all of the suburban counties north of The Bronx along the Hudson River (Rockland, Westchester, and Putnam) count as "Upstate" depending on who made the list. Upstate New York includes the Catskill and Adirondack Mountaind, the Finger and Great Lakes in the west and Lake Champlain, Lake George, and Oneida Lake in the northeast, and rivers such as the Delaware, Genesee, Hudson, Mohawk, and Susquehanna. The highest elevation in New York is Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks.

Economy

New York City dominates the economy of the state. It is the leading center of banking, finance and communication in the United States and is the ___location of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wall Street, Manhattan. In 1999, the total gross state product was $755 billion, second only to California in the nation. Its 2000 Per Capita Personal Income was $34,547, placing it 4^th in the nation. New York's agricultural outputs are dairy products, cattle and other livestock, vegetables, nursery stock, and apples. Its industrial outputs are printing and publishing, scientific instruments, electric equipment, machinery, chemical products, and tourism.

Agriculture

New York State is an agricultural leader, ranking within the top five states for a number of products including dairy, apples, cherries, cabbage, potatoes, onions, maple syrup and many other products. The state has about a quarter of its land in farms and produced 3.4 billion dollars in agricultural products in 2001. The south shore of Lake Ontario provides the right mix of soils and microclimate for many apple, cherry, plum, pear and peach orchards. Apples are also grown in the Hudson Valley and near Lake Champlain. The south shore of Lake Erie and the southern Finger Lakes hillsides have many vinyards. The Finger Lakes area is famous for award-winning farm wineries.

Dairy farm near Oxford, New York, July 2001

New York was heavily glaciated in the ice age leaving much of the state with deep, fertile, though somewhat rocky soils. Row crops, including hay, corn (also known as maize), wheat, oats, barley, and soybeans, are grown. Particularly in the western part of the state, sweet corn, peas, carrots, squash, cucumbers and other vegetables are grown. The Hudson and Mohawk valleys are known for pumpkins and blueberries. The glaciers also left numerous swampy areas, which have been drained for the rich humus soils called muckland which is mostly used for onions, potatoes, celery and other vegetables. Dairy farms are present throughout much of the state. Cheese is a major product, often produced by Amish or Mennonite farm cheeseries. New York is rich in nectar-producing plants and is a major honey-producing state. The honeybees are also used for pollination of fruits and vegetables. Most commercial beekeepers are migratory, taking their hives to southern states for the winter. Most cities have Farmers' markets which are well supplied by local truck farmers.

Demographics

As of 2000, New York is the third largest state in population after California and Texas, with a population of 18,976,457.

Important cities and towns

Albany is the state capital, and New York City is by far the largest city. (See also List of cities in New York)

Its major cities and towns are:

Education

Primary and Secondary Education

The New York State Board of Regents and the State Education Department control all public primary and secondary education in the state.

Colleges and universities

Besides the many private colleges and universities in the state, New York, like many other states, operates its own system of institutions of higher learning known as the State University of New York System (SUNY). New York City operates the City University of New York (CUNY) in conjunction with the state.

New York's public land grant (agriculture) and forestry colleges are at private schools: Cornell and Syracuse Universities, respectively.
For a complete list, see Colleges and Universities in the State of New York.

Professional sports teams

National Football League
- Buffalo Bills
- The following teams play in East Rutherford, New Jersey, but are usually considered New York teams
  - New York Jets
  - New York Giants
New York Knicks, National Basketball Association
New York Liberty, Women's National Basketball Association
New York Power, Women's United Soccer Association
National Hockey League
Major League Baseball
- New York Mets
- New York Yankees
Major League Lacrosse
- Long Island Lizards
- Rochester Rattlers

Miscellanea

USS New York was named in honor of this state.
The state bird: Eastern Bluebird, (Sialia sialis).
The state flower: Rose.
The state tree: Sugar maple (Acer saccharum).
The state fruit: Apple.
The state gemstone: Garnet.
The state motto: Excelsior (ever higher).

External links

United States