LYCOS RETRIEVER
New York Metropolitan Area: New York City
built 236 days ago
Since its consolidation in 1898, New York City has been a metropolitan municipality with a "strong" mayor-council form of government. The mayor and councillors are elected to four-year terms. The New York City Council is a unicameral body consisting of 51 Council members whose districts are defined by geographic population boundaries. The mayor and councilmembers are limited to two four-year terms. The "Board of Estimates" used to be considered the "upper house" of the city legislature until it was abolished in the early 90's. City Council offices are located at 250 Broadway, adjacent to City Hall.
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New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the largest city and largest metropolitan area, by population, in the United States. It is at the center of international finance, politics, communications, music, fashion, and culture. The City is regarded as the United States' most important global city, as it is home to many world-class museums, galleries, performance venues, media outlets, international corporations, and stock exchanges. The city is ... home to all of the international embassies to the United Nations, which has its headquarters in the city.
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In 1898, New York City took the political form in which it exists to this day. Prior to 1898, New York City consisted of Manhattan and the Bronx, which was annexed by the city from southern Westchester County in two separate actions: the western portion in 1874, and the remaining portion in 1895. In 1898, a new municipal government, originally called "Greater New York," was created by new legislation. It was divided into five boroughs. The Boroughs of Manhattan and The Bronx covered the original city and the rest of New York County. The Borough of Brooklyn consisted of the City of Brooklyn as well as several municipalities in eastern Kings County.
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New York City, at the mouth of the Hudson River, is the largest city in the United States and one of the most important and exciting cities in the world. Originally explored in 1609 by Henry Hudson of the Dutch East India Company, it was settled five years later by the Dutch and called New Amsterdam. According to legend, Peter Minuet purchased the island of Manhattan for $28 worth of beads and trinkets. The settlement was claimed in 1664 by Great Britain and after the Revolutionary War by the United States, eventually becoming the capital of the country. By the turn of the 19th century, New York Stock Exchange was founded and the city overtook Philadelphia as the most populous city in the country. The development of railroads and the Erie Canal made New York the natural gateway to the Midwest, bringing additional prosperity and growth.
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Chartered by the New York State Legislature in 1965 as the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority (MCTA) it initially was responsible only for regulating and subsidizing commuter railroads, including the Long Island Rail Road and what is now the Metro-North Railroad. The MCTA changed its name to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in 1968 when it took over operations of the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) and Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), now MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) and MTA Bridges and Tunnels (B&T) respectively. The current CEO of the MTA is Elliot "Lee" Sander, appointed upon the recommendation of Governor Eliot Spitzer.
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New York's colonial heritage was arguably unique in British North America at the time of the Revolution, since New York was the one metropolitan city of note which started as a non-British colony of Dutch heritage. This heritage was reflected in city's heavy focus on trade, commerce, guild, and civic life which was the hallmark of other Dutch cities. Although by the time of the Revolution, with nearly 80% of it's population of English origin, New York City was virtually uniform as a typical British community, it's Dutch commercial inheritance was crucial in making New York the most important city in North America in the 19th Century once the Erie Canal was built.
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