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FACTS AND FIGURES
NYC has 5 distinct boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx
and Staten Island) with just over 8 million people. Opinions differ on what comprises
the "metropolitan area", but according to some over 22 million people live there.
NYC's population is larger than 39 US states - more than twice of LA, the
second largest city in the country, and more than 27 times the population of Buffalo,
the second largest city in New York state.
NYC covers 301 square miles and has 578 miles of waterfront. Queens is the
largest borough covering 112.2 square miles. The Bronx is the only borough that is
connected to the mainland of the United States. Both Manhattan and Staten Island are
their own islands, while Brooklyn and Queens are on Long Island. If Brooklyn were its
own city (which it was prior to 1898) it would be the 4th most populated city in the
United States with 2.4 million people, falling just behind Chicago.
In 2004 there were an estimated 39 million visitors to the city, spending close
to $15 billion. Many of the visitors make a stop to the 843 acres of New York's famous
Central Park.
NYC is often considered the most cosmopolitan city in the United States with
residents from over 180 different countries. It is the headquarters of the United Nations.
Immigrants of Irish, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Dominican, Jamaican,
Iranian, Arab, Greek, African, Jewish (and more) origin all have enclaves within the city.
NYC has a higher Jewish population than Jerusalem.
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
Since 1991, New York City has seen a continuous fifteen-year trend
of decreasing crime and is now the safest large city in America.
Only 50% of NYC households and 20% of Manhattan have access to a car, compared to
over 90% nationwide. With 685 miles of track, the New York City subway system is the most
extensive in the world. The subways connect all the boroughs except for Staten Island and
experienced approximately 1.4 billion passenger trips last year. There are also 12,187 licensed
taxis that New Yorkers also use to get around.
Broadway's Original Name was the Wiechquaekeck Trail. It was an old Algonquin
trade route. Over 11 million people attended a Broadway show in the 2003-2004 season.
Babe Ruth hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium in the first game ever
played there.
Downtown NYC was the shipping capital of the world in the 19th century.
PEOPLE, PROBLEMS, ISSUES
According to the Coalition for the Homeless, during 2005 the
number of homeless New Yorkers residing in shelters each night has reached the highest
point in New York City's history. In February 2005 some 36,200 homeless men, women,
and children were sleeping each night in the New York City shelter system, including
14,900 children, 12,600 adult family members, and 8,700 single adults. Thousands more
sleep on city streets, park benches, and subway trains.
Approximately 90 percent of homeless New Yorkers are black or Latino, although
only 53 percent of New York City's total population is black or Latino.
According to the Census Bureau, in 1999 there was a shortage of nearly 390,000
units of affordable housing for extremely low income renter households in NYC.
New York City has the largest public school system in the country and manages
to graduate about 55% of its students. However, that rate goes down to only 42% when
looking specifically at the graduation rate for African Americans (according to the
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research).
INSIGHTS ON THE CITY
BY CINDY MENZ-ERB (Former City Director)
The Big Apple, The City that Never Sleeps, The Capital of the
World, Gotham, Empire City, and The Melting Pot are some of the nicknames given to New
York City. NYC is a myriad of different things to its many inhabitants, visitors and those
who have only dreamed of New York. More songs have been written about NYC that any other
city, with various song writers proclaiming their love, frustration, excitement and
commitment to this remarkable city. If any city could be considered a living organism,
it's New York. Just walking the streets of NYC can be an invigorating experience that can
also overwhelm with countless new sights, sounds, smells and tastes. It's a place that
everyone should visit at least once in their lives and for some, it's a place they could
never imagine leaving.
New York City is often considered the financial, cultural, music and fashion
capitol of the world. It is a city filled with glitz and glamour. It has the highest
rents and real estate prices in the country. Many of the worlds' wealthiest people live
or own property in NYC. These things only make the contrast that much greater as some of
the most deprived in our country are also claiming New York City as their home. It is
impossible to overlook the thousands of homeless men, women and children that are living
on those same streets where just above residents are paying anywhere from $2000-$15,000
in rent per month. One cannot fail to notice the thousands of immigrants attempting to
make it on nothing more than minimum wage jobs in restaurants where patrons are spending
anywhere from $20-$200 for a meal. While major world financial decisions involving millions
of dollars are being made on Wall Street, decisions just as significant are being made at
the United Nations about achieving peace and realizing justice in the worlds' poorest
countries. New York City is certainly a center for many powerful decision makers, and is
home to many powerless people.
The glimmers of light are all the churches, ministries, social services and
justice organizations that are working along side of and on behalf of those who are
considered the poor and powerless. They are hard working, passionate people who labor
daily to create change in the lives of people and change in oppressive systems. They are
people who are living out God's call to be his hands and feet in practical ways and they
are willing to let us help!
CSM MINISTRY SITE SAMPLER
The Bowery Residents Committee (BRC) serves men and women who
are (or are at risk of becoming) homeless. They give their clients the knowledge and
skills to become sober and ultimately desire each individual to achieve permanent
independence. Located throughout the five boroughs of NY, BRC offers a wide range of
programs (job counseling, a shelter, rehab clinic, HIV/AIDS patient support, etc).
The Urban Impact NYC is an independent missions organization
that desires to impact the world by ministering to the multitude of ethnically
diverse people living in the New York area. CSM teams participate in teaching
English as a Second Language (ESL) to clients
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