The Dutch established the first major European settlement in thearea. They called it New Amsterdam. Later, they gave New Amsterdamto Britain as part of a peace treaty. The British renamed the colony"New York." In the middle and late seventeen hundreds, New Yorkplayed an important part in the struggle for American independence.

VOICE ONE:

In the eighteen hundreds, millions of European immigrants arrivedin New York through Ellis Island, in New York Harbor. Today NewYorkers represent almost every race and ethnic group on the planet.They speak more than one hundred languages.

The last population count, in two thousand, found that forty-fivepercent of New Yorkers were white. Blacks and Hispanics eachrepresented twenty-seven percent of the population. Ten percent ofNew Yorkers were Asian. This adds up to more than one hundredpercent, because Hispanics can be of any race. Many of the Spanishspeakers in New York come from Puerto Rico.

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VOICE TWO:

Manhattan is known for its tall buildings. But there are alsoplaces to enjoy nature, like Central Park. Central Park covers threehundred forty hectares. There are walking paths, play areas forchildren, a lake and a zoo.

The southern part of Manhattan, called Lower Manhattan, is thefinancial center of the city. The Financial District includes WallStreet, home to the New York Stock Exchange.

Manhattan also represents the cultural heart of the city. Thefamous theaters of Broadway and the Lincoln Center for thePerforming Arts are there. New York City has about eighty museums;most are in Manhattan. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has thelargest collection in America.

From Manhattan, many visitors take a boat to see the Statue ofLiberty in New York Harbor. The statue reopened to the publicrecently. It was closed for security improvements after theSeptember eleventh attacks.

Visitors to New York also like to go up to the observation areaat the top of the Empire State Building. The Empire State Buildingwas completed in nineteen thirty-one. It has more than one hundredfloors. Until the early nineteen seventies, it was the tallestbuilding in the world.

VOICE ONE:

There are lots of places to shop in New York. Some of the finestare along Fifth Avenue. Rockefeller Center is also on Fifth Avenue;it is home to the Radio City Music Hall.

Other areas of Manhattan include Greenwich Village and Harlem.Greenwich Village is popular with artists. Harlem is the traditionalcenter of African American life in New York.

And along the East River in Manhattan is a glass-covered buildingwith a lot of flags outside. This is the headquarters of the UnitedNations.

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VOICE TWO:

Like Manhattan, Brooklyn is densely populated. Brooklyn has thelargest population of the five boroughs. Its two and one-halfmillion people live mainly in apartment buildings and houses linedclose together.

During the summer, many people visit Coney Island in Brooklyn.There are swimming beaches along the Atlantic Ocean as well as ridesand other activities for families. Brooklyn also has a major museum,the Brooklyn Art Museum.

In different parts of New York, there are areas of wealth, butalso poverty. Some of the poorest areas are in the South Bronx,known for its public housing projects. Yet the Bronx also hasFieldston, an area with large homes. The Bronx is also home tocultural and educational centers.

VOICE ONE:

Queens has major industry along the East River. It also has thetwo major airports in New York City: John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia.

The borough with the fewest people is Staten Island. In nineteensixty-four, the Verrazano Narrows bridge linked the island withBrooklyn. But there is no bridge between Staten Island andManhattan. So people sail across on the Staten Island Ferry.

New York is also known for its underground trains. The first partof the subway system opened one hundred years ago this October.

VOICE TWO:

New York has many of the same problems as other big cities. Theseinclude problems with the public schools and the health care systemfor the poor. Many new immigrants arrive in the city needing help.

Some people have the idea that New Yorkers are not very friendlyor helpful to others. Yet, after the September eleventh attacks,people saw just the opposite. America's Big Apple won many newfriends. And now New York even hopes to win the Summer Olympics intwo thousand twelve.

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VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by CatyWeaver. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Gwen Outen. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICAin VOA Special English.