39 Broadway
Suite 520
New York, NY 10006
Phone: 212-608-1917
New York City, New York is our nation’s most populous city, with 19,541,453 residents in 2009 (U.S. Census). New York City’s residents are distributed over a land area of just 305 square miles, making NYC one of the most densely populated cities in the nation. New York City is in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, in southeastern New York State, bordering New Jersey. Historic New York City traces its roots to the 1624 founding of a trading post by Dutch colonists. NYC’s location, at the mouth of the Hudson River, which feeds into a naturally sheltered harbor and then into the Atlantic Ocean, was ideal for trade.
Today, tourism is one of New York City’s most vital industries. New York City’s world-renowned landmarks include the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the Broadway Theater District, the United Nations, New York City’s financial district, anchored by Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, and Chinatown.
New York City consists of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Each borough is coextensive with a county of New York State. Each of New York City’s five boroughs is the equivalent of a large city in its own right, and each contains specific neighborhoods, just as any large city contains specific neighborhoods. The term “the city” may refer either to New York City as a whole, or to Manhattan alone, depending on the context. The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island are sometimes referred to as the “Outer Boroughs.”
Manhattan, coextensive with New York County, is the most densely populated borough, and boasts the majority of New York City’s skyscrapers. Manhattan, an island located between the Hudson and East Rivers, is known for landmarks such as the Empire State Building, Central Park, Times Square and Wall Street. Well-known neighborhoods in the borough include Harlem, Greenwich Village and SoHo.
The Bronx, coextensive with Bronx County, is New York City’s northernmost borough, located north of Manhattan Island. The Bronx offers New York City favorites such as the Bronx Zoo and the New York Yankees professional baseball team. Brooklyn, New York City’s most populous borough, and formerly a separate city, is coextensive with Kings County. Queens, the city’s most diverse borough, is coextensive with Queens County. Queens is best known as home of two international airports: John F Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. The borough is also home to the New York Mets professional baseball team. Staten Island, a large island in New York Harbor south of Manhattan, is coextensive with Richmond County, the southernmost county in New York State. Staten Island, unlike the other four New York City boroughs, is largely suburban in nature.
New York City, NY has an extensive transportation infrastructure. With over half of the city’s residents using public transportation to commute to work, numerous public bus, subway, and rail services cover all five boroughs and connect with the surrounding New York and New Jersey communities.
NYC also has an extensive network of expressways and parkways linking New York City to northern New Jersey, Westchester County, Long Island and southwest Connecticut through various bridges and tunnels. The George Washington Bridge, connecting Fort Lee in Bergen County, NJ to the Upper Manhattan, is the world’s busiest motor vehicle bridge according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Access to New York City from New Jersey is also available for motorists through the Lincoln Tunnel and Holland Tunnel.
Millions of commuters enter and leave New York City each work day for jobs on Wall Street and Madison Avenue, New York City’s finance and advertising industries. It is quite common for motorists to be stranded in traffic jams that are a daily occurrence, especially during rush hour.
The National Highway Safety Administration reports that 47 people were fatally injured in vehicle crashes in Manhattan, New County during 2009. Fourteen of the fatalities occurred as the result of vehicle accidents involving alcohol-impaired drivers. In the Bronx, 43 people were fatally injured in vehicle crashes in 2009, and 12 of the fatalities occurred as the result of vehicle accidents involving alcohol-impaired drivers. In Brooklyn, Kings County, 66 people were fatally injured in vehicle crashes in 2009 and 15 of the fatalities occurred as the result of vehicle accidents involving alcohol-impaired drivers. In Queens, 90 people were fatally injured in vehicle crashes in 2009 and 25 of the fatalities occurred as the result of vehicle accidents involving alcohol-impaired drivers. On Staten Island, Richmond County, 20 people were fatally injured in vehicle crashes in 2009 and 6 of the fatalities occurred as the result of vehicle accidents involving alcohol-impaired drivers.
In addition to world-class universities such as Columbia University, New York University and Fordham University, New York City boasts a number of prestigious hospitals including New York Presbyterian Hospital, Mount Sinai Medical Center and New York University Medical Center.
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation is the largest municipal healthcare organization in the U.S., serving 1.3 million New Yorkers every year. The HHC provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, four skilled nursing facilities, diagnostic and treatment centers, and community based clinics. The HHC voluntarily shares hospital safety performance information including HHC’s hospital below average mortality rates. The low mortality rates are attributed to a rapid response to patients who show signs of imminent cardiac arrest; more effective infection control measures; and the use of an electronic medication administration system that helps reduce drug errors.
In New York City, legal proceedings typically begin in the criminal or civil trial courts. The Criminal Court of the City of New York has jurisdiction over misdemeanors and violations while the Civil Court of the City of New York has jurisdiction over civil cases involving amounts up to $25,000. Both the criminal and civil courts have at least one location in each of the city’s five boroughs. The New York City Supreme Court generally hears cases that are outside the jurisdiction of other trial courts of more limited jurisdiction. The New York City Supreme Court exercises jurisdiction over felony charges and civil jurisdiction over civil matters seeking monetary damages greater than $25,000. Typical civil cases involve contracts, personal injury, automobile accidents, medical malpractice claims, employment, and discrimination cases.
