New York
| Capital | Albany |
|---|---|
| Nickname | The Empire State |
| Official Language | None |
| Governor | David A. Paterson, D |
| Senator | Kirsten Gillibrand, D (202) 224-4451 [no contact info] |
| Senator | Charles Schumer, D (202) 224-6542 Contact |
| Ratification of Constitution/or statehood | July 26, 1788 (11th) |
| Flag of New York | Motto: "Excelsior" |
New York state, one of the original 13 colonies, became a state in 1776 and was the 11th state to ratify the Constitution on July 26, 1788. In common use, "New York" most often refers to New York City, the financial, news and cultural capital of the U.S.
Contents
Politics
With the $133 billion state budget in the red by $17.7 billion, Governor David A. Paterson came into conflict with public service unions who rejected his call for sacrifice. Polls in show his popularity has plunged. Democrats do not believe he can be reelected and the White House has asked him to drop out of the 2010 race.
Polls show State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, leads potential GOP candidates Rick Lazio 65% to 26% and Rudy Giuliani 58% to 37%. Cuomo has a wide lead 61% to 27% in a Democratic Primary match-up with Paterson.
History
see History of New York State nice city
Facts
- Nickname: The Empire State.
- State Capital: Albany.
- Total area: 54,471.144 square miles (47,223.839 land and 7,247.305 inland water).
- Population: Based on the 2000 census – 18,976,457; 3rd most populous US state after California and Texas. Much of this population lives in New York City. "Upstate" New York has most of the land area in the state.
- State Song: "I Love New York"
- State Flower: Rose
- There are four mountain ranges in New York State: Adirondack, Catskill, Shawangunk and Taconic.
- The highest point in New York State is Mount Marcy in Essex County in the Adirondacks - 5,344 feet above sea level.
- The State has 70,000 miles of rivers and streams, 127 miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline, 9,767 miles of shoreline which includes 8,778 miles of lake shoreline.
Major Cities
Politics
New York City is the center of American liberalism. "Upstate" is much more conservative and the suburbs are split.
In 1980 the state elected 17 Republicans to the House; in 2008 it elected only three.
Miscellaneous
New York is the home and birthplace of four American presidents, Martin Van Buren, Millard Filmore, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt.
External Links
Further reading
- Blond, Becca, and China Williams. Lonely Planet New York State (2004) excerpt and online search from Amazon.com, a guide book.
- Eisenstadt, Peter, Laura-Eve Moss, and Carole F. Huxley, eds. The Encyclopedia Of New York State (2005) 1900 pages of articles by experts. The best starting point.
- Jackson, Kenneth, ed. The Encyclopedia of New York City (1995), excerpt and text search
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