The City of New York is a municipality in the state of New York. With a population of 8,143,197 in 2005, it is the most populous city in the United States.
It is one of the most dynamic and important cities in the world, and home of Wall Street, the Empire State Building, and formerly the World Trade Center.
Business in the city, as well as tourism, tends to be centered in the borough of Manhattan. In total, there are five boroughs: Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island.
History
New York City was formerly named New Amsterdam, in recognition of the original Dutch settlement of the area. It was not the largest city in the colonies (Boston, then Philadelphia, held those honors). But after the completion of the Erie Canal, New York City became a trading center connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes and Midwest.
The use of Ellis Island as the checkpoint for millions of European immigrants in the late 1800s caused New York City's population to swell, as many settled in nearby areas.