New York City, the largest city by population in the United States is known as the “Big Apple”. The term was first popularized nearly 100 years ago by a fame sportswriter who referred to the Big Apple as being the the biggest prize on the horse racing circuit. At that time, the biggest prize was winning the New York horse races.
New York City has undergone a renaissance in recent years. In the 1970s New York City was reaching its nadir as a city. The city had rampant violent crime, its residents had an incredibly high unemployment rate of 12%, and in 1977 the city’s electrical grid completely failed for over a day in the summer of 1977, leading to widespread looting and fires.
New York City’s skyline also massively changed on September 11, 2001 with the terrorist attacks which caused the two World Trade Center towers to collapse. At the time, the twin World Trade Center towers were the tallest buildings in New York City. The Freedom Tower which was built in the area of the World Trade Centers is now the tallest building in New York City at 1776 feet tall. There is a really cool observatory at the top of the Freedom Tower.
Another great area to spend time in New York City is the borough of Brooklyn. There are five boroughs in New York City, each with its own unique aspects. There are some parks and walking trails along with the East River leading to the Brooklyn Bridge. These trails provide great views of Manhattan, which is the center of New York City.
New Yorkers love their sports teams, in fact for all four major sports, there are two teams that divide the city. In the summertime, it is New York Yankees baseball versus New York Mets baseball. The Yankees play at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. The Mets play at Citi Field in Queens. The ballparks are reachable via subway so when the teams play, it is known as the “Subway Series”. Each of these ballparks pay homage to the history of New York City baseball, as the Yankees have “Monument Park” beyond the centerfield fence, which is open before the games, the Mets have various components of their prior stadium, Shea Stadium incorporated into Citi Field. Both stadiums opened in the late 2000s.
Any stop to New York City is not complete without trying some New York City Pizza. New Yorkers love their pizza. There are countless pizza shops in and around New York City, which have many specialty pizza. Recently, I went to a mom and pop Pizza Shop in Brooklyn and had a delicious margherita style pizza. I have also been to Pizza shops in Queens that specialize in sourdough pizza from Naples, Italy.
