New York City

 

New York City is situated in one of the world's largest natural harbours. Its population in 2020 was nearly 9 million and was 20 million in its greater metropolitan region. 

In the precolonial era, the area of present-day New York City was inhabited by the Algonquian Native Americans.  The first documented visit into the New York Harbor by a European was in 1524 by the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano.  The English Henry Hudson rediscovered New York Harbor in 1609 while searching for the Northwest passage. 

The Statue of Liberty is a world-famous symbol of freedom.  It was a gift from France to the United States to celebrate American Independence.  It was sculpted by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi in 1886.

The heart of Manhattan, Central Park is 843 acres of green space featuring running paths, a boating lake, a zoo, fountains, and a skating ring.  New Yorkers have gathered at this beautiful park since 1857 to enjoy being close to nature.

View of Brooklyn and Brooklyn bridge from Manhattan.  The East river is in the foreground.

Brooklyn has become a favorite borough of mine among other reasons because my son and his wife live there.  Strolling through Brooklyn neighborhoods is like entering a genteel bygone era. 

Prospect Park a 585-acre green oasis is less crowded than Manhattan's Central Park and it offers gorgeous green spaces for exercise, cycling, tai-chi, or simply hanging out to read a book. 

A young couple enjoying a stroll in Prospect Park.

This is the fifth time I have visited New York City.  There are so many venues to enjoy in this great city but one of the best is Brooklyn promenade that offers a magnificent night view of Manhattan.

9/11 and its aftermath

 

Twenty years ago, I struggled to absorb the images of fire and smoke wafting from the World Trade Center.

I turned the TV on when the second plane was ready to hit the tower.  I thought it was a movie.

When I later saw the beams twisted and in rubble, it was eerie, very eerie!

It is still hard to process what happened but the melancholy and pain of that day have been replaced by hope as we see the One World Trade Center tower and adjacent buildings in lower Manhattan.

So, what has happened in the interim?  The masterminds behind the attack are incarcerated, and Osama bin Laden was killed.  The Taliban that provided a safe haven to OBL were overthrown but they are again back in charge.  Nearly 3000 people lost their lives in that horrible day and thousand upon thousand more in the wars that followed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and other Arab countries.  And the wars ended but the pain and confusion still persist for millions of people. 

The story America told itself in the aftermath was one of resilience but the grief is still alive in our hearts and tears are rushing down when the brutal events of that day and those that followed come to our minds.

Big Apple

View of the lower Manhattan from the Empire StateBuilding an 102-story iconic American skyscraper located in the Midtown Manhattan.  It was designed in the Art Deco style and its construction was completed in 1930.  It stood as the world tallest building for forty years.

TimesSquare is a major commercial intersection and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan at the cross sections of Broadway and Seventh Avenues.  It has a pedestrian plaza which is the hub of Broadway Theater District. It is rightly considered New York’s entertainment district.  Enormous ads light up the buildings around the plaza day and night.  The plaza is the place where New Yorkers gather to celebrate the arrival of New Year.    

New York Stock Exchange is located at 11 Wall Street is by far the World’s largest exchange by market capitalization with the value of its listed companies at $16 trillion American dollars as of February 2015.    

The first Trinity Church was a modest rectangular structure constructed in 1698.  The church was destroyed in the Great New York City Fire of 1776 that left thousands of New Yorkers homeless.  A second Trinity Church was build in 1788; but was torn down after being weakened by severe snows during the winter of 1838–39.  The third and current Trinity Church that belongs to the Episcopal Diocese was finished in 1846 and at the time of its completion its 281-foot (86 m) spire and cross was the highest point in New York.  The present church is a classic example of Gothic Rival architecture and has been designated as a National Historical Landmark.

The Grand Central Station is the busiest terminal in the country.  Its main concourse leads to near 100 platforms and tracks. Its vast spaces are decorated with meticulous attention to detail.  The floors were built with Tennessee marble while on the exterior imposing sculptures or Poseidon, Hercules and Athena are found on the 42^nd street façade.

OneWorld Trade Center is under construction at the site of the original Twin Towers, which were destroyed at the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.  The Freedom Tower is a 104-story skyscraper that has been completed and is currently the tallest building in the western hemisphere.  Its height is 1776 feet a deliberate reference to the year the United States Declaration of independence was signed.