Also see Specific Destinations, Travel and Location Humor.

Page Toppers

• Autumn in New York
• Brooklyn on a Saturday Night
• I Love New York
• Manhattan Skyline
• My New York Memory
• New York Afternoon
• New York in the Dark
• Nights on Broadway
• No Sleep Till Brooklyn
• The Sidewalks of New York
• Sunday in New York
• Welcome to New York

Quotes

• Albany was always a place where you could restore your spirit or smudge your soul. (William Kennedy)
• I think my favorite sport in the Olympics is the one in which you make your way through the snow, you stop, you shoot a gun, and then you continue on. In most of the world, it is known as the biathlon, except in New York City, where it is known as winter. (Michael Ventre, L.A. Daily News)
• If you want to make Brooklyn in words or film or paint, you must see the way the sun defines the silent streets on an early Sunday morning, sculpting trees, buildings, fire hydrants, stray dogs, and wandering people with an almost perfect clarity. (Pete Hamill)
• New York [City] is to the nation what the white spire is to the village--the visible symbol of aspiration and faith, the white plume saying the way is up! (E.B. White, 1962)
• Palmyra is a very Hospitable Place but not necessarily to Strangers. (Samuel Hopkins Adams)
• A spread of poetry written by the Great Author of the Universe. (William Jennings Bryan about Naples)
• When I think of New York [City], I think of a giant infant playing with high explosives. (Henry Miller)

New York Symbols

• Nicknames: The Empire state, The Excelsior state
• Motto: Excelsior (ever upward)
• Song: I Love New York
• Dance: Lindy Hop
• Animal: Beaver
• Insect: Ladybug
• Bird: Bluebird
• Fish: Brook Trout
• Tree: Sugar Maple
• Flower: Rose
• Fossil: Sea Scorpion (Eurypterus Remipes)
• Shell: Bay Scallop
• Gemstone: Wine-Red Garnet
• Beverage: Milk
• Muffin: Apple Muffin
• Fruit: Apple
• Pro Sports Teams: NY Knicks (basketball); Buffalo Bills, NY Jets, NY Giants (football); NY Yankees, NY Mets (baseball); NY Rangers, NY Islanders, Buffalo Sabres (hockey)

Facts About New York

• Capital: Albany
• Residents: New Yorkers
• State Name Origin: named for the Duke of York (brother of King Charles II)
• Admitted to Statehood: 26 Jul 1788
• Order of Admission: 11th state
• Coastline/Shoreline: 127/1,850 miles
• Length: 330 miles
• Width: 283 miles
• Area: 54,556 square miles
• Size Rank: 27
• Number of Counties: 62
• Streams and Rivers: 52,337 miles
• Geographic Center: 12 miles S. of Oneida in Madison Co.
• Mean Elevation: 1,000 feet
• Highest Point: Mt. Marcy, 5,344 feet
• Lowest Point: Atlantic coast, sea level
• Agricultural Products: cattle, dairy products, corn, poultry, fruit, vegetables, wine
• Commercial Products: foreign trade, commercial and financial transactions, books and magazines, theatrical productions, automobile and aircraft parts, toys, sporting goods, electronic equipment, clothing and textiles, metal products
• Average Annual Rainfall: 39.3 inches
• Average Winter High Temperature: 20-35 degrees
• Record Low Temperature: -52 degrees (18 Feb 1979 Old Forge)
• Average Summer High Temperature: 70-80 degrees
• Record High Temperature: 108 degrees (22 Jul 1926 Troy)
• Official Language: English
• More information about New York

from I Love New York

(words and music by Steve Karmen)

I Love New York
There isn't another like it.
No matter where you go.
And nobody can compare it.
It's win and place and show.
New York is special.
New York is diff'rent' cause there's no place else
on earth quite like New York and that's why
I Love New York

Items of Interest

• If Manhattan had the same population density as Alaska, there would only be fifteen people living there.
• New York City was the nation's first capital and was the site of the inauguration of George Washington as President on April 30, 1789.
• New York was the first state to officially recognize Memorial Day in 1873
• Almost one out of every three Revolutionary War battles was fought in NY.
• The first American chess tournament was held in New York in 1843.
• The 641 mile Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway is the longest toll road in the U.S.
• The Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan is the only school in the world offering a Bachelor of Science Degree in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing.
• In 1807 The Clermont, the first successful steamboat, made its maiden voyage from New York City to Albany.
• New York City has 722 miles of subway track.
• Oneida has the world's smallest church with the dimensions of 3.5' by 6'.
• The first daily Yiddish newspaper appeared in 1885 in New York City.
• The "New York Post" established in 1803 by Alexander Hamilton is the oldest running newspaper in the United States.
• The first railroad in America ran a distance of eleven miles between Albany and Schenectady.
• The first capital of the U.S. was New York City. In 1789 George Washington took his oath as president on the balcony at Federal Hall.
• The first presentation of 3D films before a paying audience took place at Manhattan's Astor Theater in 1915.
• The Genesee River is one of the few rivers in the world that flows south to north.
• On July 28, 1945 an Army Air Corps B-25 crashed into the Empire State Building at the 79th floor level.
• The first Boy's Club was established in New York City in 1876.
• The Big Apple is a term coined by musicians meaning to play the big time.
• The oldest cattle ranch in the US was started in 1747 at Montauk on Long Island.
• New York was the first state to preserve an historic site (Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh).
• New York was the first state to declare land "forever wild" in the State Constitution (the Adirondack and Catskill forest preserves).
• Adirondack Park is larger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, and Olympic Parks combined.
• New York was the first state to require license plates on cars.
• Niagara Reservation is the first state park in the United States.
• New York State is home to 58 species of wild orchids.
• The first public brewery in America was established by Peter Minuit in lower Manhattan.
• Horseheads is the only village in the United States dedicated to the service of the American military horse.

Notable Natives

Some of these were born here, others just lived a while in the state.

• George Abbott - stage producer (Forestville)
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - basketball player (New York City)
• Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) - campaigned for women to have the right to vote (lived in Rochester)
• Lucille Ball - actress (Jamestown)
• L. Frank Baum - author of the Wizard of Oz (lived in Chittenago)
• Humphrey Bogart - actor (New York City)
• Bonnie Blair (1964- ) - Olympic gold medalist (Cornwall)
• James Cagney - actor (New York City)
• Maria Callas - soprano (New York City)
• Benjamin N. Cardozo - supreme court justice (New York City)
• Mariah Carey (1970- ) - singer (Huntington)
• Paddy Chayefsky - playwright (New York City)
• Shirley Chisholm (1924- ) - first black woman elected to Congress, first black Democrat to run for president (Brooklyn)
• Bruce Cooper Clark - general (Adams)
• Peter Cooper - industrialist, philanthropist (New York City)
• Aaron Copland - composer (Brooklyn)
• Tom Cruise (1962- ) - actor (Syracuse)
• Claire Danes - actress (New York City)
• Sammy Davis, Jr. - actor, singer (New York City)
• Agnes de Mille - choreographer (New York City)
• George Eastman (1854-1932) - inventor of Kodak camera (Waterville)
• Arthur R. Eldred - first Eagle Scout in 1912 (from Troop 1 in Oceanside)
• Julius "Dr J" Erving (1950- ) - basketball player (Roosevelt)
• Millard Fillmore (1800-1874)- 13th U.S. president (Summerhill)
• Joseph C. Gayetty - invented toilet paper in New York City in 1857
• Lou Gehrig - baseball player (New York City)
• Sarah Gellar - actress (New York City)
• George Gershwin (1898-1937) - composer (Brooklyn)
• Jackie Gleason - actor, comedian (Brooklyn)
• Learned Hand - supreme court justice (Albany)
• Bret Harte - writer (Albany)
• Edward Henry Harriman - financier
• Hiawatha - Indian leader
• Chamique Holdsclaw - basketball player (Flushing)
• Edward Hopper - painter (Nyack)
• Julia Ward Howe - author, social reformer (New York City)
• Charles Evans Hughes - supreme court justice (Glen Falls)
• Washington Irving - author (New York City)
• Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar - basketball player
• Henry James - author
• John Jay - supreme court justice (New York City)
• Billy Joel - singer, composer (Hicksville)
• Michael Jeffery Jordan (1963- ) - professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls (Brooklyn)
• Rockwell Kent - painter (Terrytown)
• Jerome Kern - composer (New York City)
• Burt Lancaster - actor
• Victor Lasky - author (Liberty)
• Gennaro Lombardi - opened the first US pizzeria in 1895 in New York City
• Vince Lombardi (1913-1970) - football coach (New York City)
• Chico, Groucho, Harpo, Zeppo Marx - comedians (New York City)
• Herman Melville (1819-1891) - author (New York City)
• Ethel Merman - singer, actress (Astoria)
• Ogden Nash - poet (Rye)
• Rosie O'Donnel - comedian (Commach)
• Eugene O'Neill - playwright (New York City)
• George Pullman - inventor (Brocton)
• Red Jacket - Seneca leader
• Christopher Reeve - actor, spokesperson for people with spinal cord injuries (Manhattan)
• Frederic Remington - artist
• Bill Richmond (1763- )- boxer, first international sports hero (from Staten Island)
• John David Rockefeller - industrialist, philanthropist (New York City)
• Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) - painter, illustrator (New York City)
• Mickey Rooney - actor (Brooklyn)
• Anna "Eleanor" Roosevelt - U.S. first lady, author, humanitarian (New York City)
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) - 32nd U.S. president (Hyde Park)
• Theodore Roosevelt (1858- ) - U.S. president (New York City)
• Jonas Salk (1914-1995) - polio researcher (New York City)
• Margaret Sanger - birth control advocate (Corning)
• Shenandoah - Indian leader
• Alfred Emanuel Smith - political leader (New York City)
• Elbridge G. Spaulding (1809-1897) - banker, treasurer of NY state, drafted the bill to create national paper currency (Summer Hill)
• Leland Stanford - railroad magnate (Watervliet)
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton - suffrage leader
• Barbara Stanwyck - actress (Brooklyn)
• Rise Stevens - mezzo-soprano (New York City)
• Barbra Streisand - singer (New York City)
• Louis Comfort Tiffany - painter, craftsman (New York City)
• Martin Van Buren (1782- )- U.S. president (Kinderhook)
• Denzel Washington (1954- ) - actor (Mount Vernon))
• Mae West - actress (Brooklyn)
• George Westinghouse Jr. - inventor (Central Bridge)
• Edith Wharton - author (New York City)
• Walt Whitman - poet (West Hills)
• John N. Willys - industrialist (Canandaiqua)
• Frank Winfield Woolworth - merchant (Rodman)

The New York State Flag
The state coat of arms is centered on a dark blue background. The shield shows a sun rising behind the Highlands of the Hudson River. Ships symbolize commerce. The goddess, Justice, symbolizes fairness and equality. The goddess, Liberty, symbolizes freedom. The discarded crown at her feet represents England. Below the shield is the state motto "Excelsior" (Ever Upward) on a white ribbon. Above the shield is an eagle on a globe representing the Western Hemisphere.

Why I Love New York

When it's Winter time in New York,
And the gentle breezes blow,
About seventy miles an hour
And it's fifty-two below.

You can tell you're in New York
'cause the snow's up to your butt,
And you take a breath of Winter air
And your nostrils both freeze shut.

The weather here is wonderful,
So I guess I'll hang around,
I could NEVER leave New York,
My feet are frozen to the ground.

You Live in New York City If...

• A 500 square foot apartment is large.
• America west of the Hudson is still theoretical to you.
• The deli guy gives you a straw with any beverage you buy, even a beer.
• Going to Brooklyn is considered a road trip. You only go there to attend weddings or funerals.
• It's not Manhattan...it's the "city".
• A presidential visit is a major traffic jam, not an honor.
• There is no north and south. It's 'uptown' or 'downtown'. And east or west is 'crosstown'.
• Someone bumps into you, and you check for your wallet.
• The subway makes sense to you, and the subway should never be called anything like the Metro.
• When ordering dinner you choose from the major food groups: Chinese, Italian, Mexican or Indian.
• You are not under the mistaken impression that you should be able to actually understand p.a. announcements on the subway.
• You believe that being able to swear at people in their own language makes you multilingual.
• You cross the street anywhere but on the corners and you yell at cars for not respecting your right to do it.
• You don't even notice the lady walking down the road having a conversation with herself.
• You don't hear sirens anymore.
• You have 27 different take-out menus next to your telephone.
• You have jaywalking down to an art form.
• You have never been to the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building.
• You haven't seen more than twelve stars in the night sky since you went away to camp as a kid.
• You know the differences between all the different Ray's pizzas.
• You know what a "regular" coffee is.
• You live in a building with a larger population than most American towns.
• You move 3,000 miles away, spend ten years learning the local language and people still know you're from Brooklyn the minute you open your mouth.
• You pay "only" $230 a month to park your car.
• You return after ten years and the first foods you want are a "real" pizza and a "real" bagel.
• You pay $5 without blinking for a beer that cost the bar 28 cents.
• You pay more each month to park your car than most people pay on their mortgage.
• You ride in a subway car with no air conditioning just because there are seats available.
• You say "the city" and expect everyone to know that this means Manhattan.
• You take a taxi to get to your health club to exercise.
• You think Central Park is nature.
• You think eye contact is an act of aggression.
• You wouldn't bother ordering pizza in any other city.
• Your door has more than three locks and is made of steel.
• Your internal clock is permanently set to know when alternate side of the street parking regulations are in effect.
• You're 35 years old and don't have a driver's license.
• You're not the least bit interested in going to Times Square on New Year's eve.
• You've worn out a car horn.

Songs about New York

• Another Rainy Day in New York City - Chicago (1976)
• Autumn in New York - Frank Sinatra (1961)
• Big Apple - Kajagoogoo (1983)
• Boy From New York City - Darts (1978)
• Englishman in New York - Sting (1990)
• Eyes of a New York Woman, The - B.J. Thomas (1968)
• Fairytale of New York - Pogues and Kirsty MacColl (1987)
• From New York to L.A. - Patsy Gallant (1977)
• Goodnight, New York - Priscilla Herdman (2003)
• Honeymoon in New York - B.E.F. (2006)
• I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City - Nilsson (1969)
• I Love New York - Madonna (2005)
• I Wouldn't Live in New York City - Buck Owens (1970)
• In a New York Minute - Ronnie McDowell (1985)
• Is it Raining in New York City? - Cashman and West (1973)
• King of New York - Fun Lovin' Criminals (1997)
• Lullaby of Broadway - Ella Fitzgerald (1959)
• My New York Memory - Brett Perkins (2000)
• Native New Yorker - Odyssey (1977)
• New York Afternoon - Mondo Kane (1986)
• New York City - T Rex (1975)
• New York City Boy - Pet Shop Boys (1999)
• New York City Cops - Strokes (2001)
• New York City Cowboys - Randy Barlow (1981)
• New York City, R.F.D. - Larry Collins (1969)
• New York City Woman - Gary Lee Vincent (1997)
• New York Cowboy - The Nashville Superpickers (1981)
• New York Eyes - Timmy Thomas (1985)
• New York, Goodbye - Steve Fromholz (1982)
• New York Groove - Hello (1975)
• New York in the Dark - The Ad Libs (1968)
• New York Mining Disaster 1941 - Bee Gees (1967)
• New York, New York - Ryan Adams (2001)
• New York Rain - Ronna Reeves (1998)
• New York State of Mind - Billy Joel (1976)
• New York World's Fair - Wilbert Harrison (1964)
• New York's a Lonely Town - The Trade Winds (1965)
• New York's My Home - Robert Goulet (1964)
• New York's Not My Home - Jim Croce (1972)
• Nights on Broadway - Candi Staton (1977)
• Sidewalks of New York, The - Duke Ellington Orchestra (1949)
• Sunday in New York - Mel Torme (1963)
• Welcome to New York - The Country Gentlemen (1987)
• Wind in New York City, The - Wendy Waldman (1978)

Songs about New York Cities

• Shuffle Off to Buffalo - Ruby Keeler (1933)
• Coney Island - Dizzy Gillespie (1964)
• Coney Island Baby - Lou Reed (1976)
• Girl From Greenwich Village, The - The Trade Winds (1965)
• Greenwich Village Folk Song Salesman - Jim and Jesse (1968)
• Harlem Desire - London Boys (1989)
• Harlem Shuffle - Rolling Stones (1986)
• There is a Rose in Spanish Harlem - Ben E. King (1961)
• Spanish Harlem - Aretha Franklin (1971)
• Ticonderoga - Sean Bonniwell (1963)
• Woodstock - Matthews' Southern Comfort (1971)

Songs about Brooklyn

• Brooklyn Beats - Scotti Deep (1997)
• Brooklyn on a Saturday Night - Neil Diamond (1983)
• Brooklyn Queens - 3rd Brass (1990)
• Brooklyn Roads - Neil Diamond (1968)
• No Sleep Till Brooklyn - Beastie Boys (1987)

Songs about Manhattan

• I'll Take Manhattan - Rod Stewart and Bette Midler (2004)
• Manhattan - Ella Fitzgerald (1958)
• Manhattan Serenade - Harry James Orchestra (1942)
• Manhattan Skyline - A-Ha (1987)
• Manhattan Spiritual - Reg Owen (1959)
• She's a Latin from Manhattan - Victor Young (1935)