Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. Inflicting nearly $70 billion in damage, it was the second-costliest hurricane on record in the United States until surpassed by Hurricanes Harvey and Maria in 2017; the eighteenth named storm, tenth hurricane, second major hurricane of the year, Sandy was a Category 3 storm at its peak intensity when it made landfall in Cuba. While it was a Category 2 hurricane off the coast of the Northeastern United States, the storm became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record. At least 233 people were killed along the path of the storm in eight countries. Sandy developed from a tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea on October 22 strengthened, was upgraded to Tropical Storm Sandy six hours later. Sandy moved northward toward the Greater Antilles and intensified. On October 24, Sandy became a hurricane, made landfall near Kingston, Jamaica, re-emerged a few hours into the Caribbean Sea and strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane.
On October 25, Sandy hit Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane weakened to a Category 1 hurricane. Early on October 26, Sandy moved through the Bahamas. On October 27, Sandy weakened to a tropical storm and restrengthened to a Category 1 hurricane. Early on October 29, Sandy curved west-northwest and moved ashore near Brigantine, New Jersey, just to the northeast of Atlantic City, as a post-tropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds. In Jamaica, winds left 70% of residents without electricity, blew roofs off buildings, killed one person, caused about $100 million in damage. Sandy's outer bands brought flooding to Haiti, killing at least 54, causing food shortages, leaving about 200,000 homeless. In Puerto Rico, one man was swept away by a swollen river. In Cuba, there was extensive coastal flooding and wind damage inland, destroying some 15,000 homes, killing 11, causing $2 billion in damage. Sandy caused an estimated $700 million in damage in The Bahamas. In the United States, Hurricane Sandy affected 24 states, including the entire eastern seaboard from Florida to Maine and west across the Appalachian Mountains to Michigan and Wisconsin, with severe damage in New Jersey and New York.
Its storm surge hit New York City on October 29, flooding streets and subway lines and cutting power in and around the city. Damage in the United States amounted to $65 billion. In Canada, two were killed in Ontario, the storm caused an estimated $100 million in damage throughout Ontario and Quebec. Hurricane Sandy began as a low pressure system which developed sufficient organized convection to be classified as Tropical Depression Eighteen on October 22 south of Kingston, Jamaica, it moved at first due to a ridge to the north. Low wind shear and warm waters allowed for strengthening, the system was named Tropical Storm Sandy late on October 22. Early on October 24, an eye began developing, it was moving northward due to an approaching trough; that day, the National Hurricane Center upgraded Sandy to hurricane status about 65 mi south of Kingston, Jamaica. At about 1900 UTC that day, Sandy made landfall near Kingston with winds of about 85 mph. Just offshore Cuba, Sandy intensified to winds of 115 mph, at that intensity it made landfall just west of Santiago de Cuba at 0525 UTC on October 25.
Operationally, Sandy was assessed to have peaked as a high-end Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. After Sandy exited Cuba, the structure became disorganized, it turned to the north-northwest over the Bahamas. By October 27, Sandy was no longer tropical, as evidenced by the development of frontal structures in the outer circulation. Despite strong shear, Sandy maintained convection due to influence from an approaching trough. After weakening to a tropical storm, Sandy re-intensified into a hurricane, on October 28 an eye began redeveloping; the storm moved around an upper-level low over the eastern United States and to the southwest of a ridge over Atlantic Canada, turning it to the northwest. Sandy re-intensified to Category 2 intensity on the morning of October 29, around which time it had become an large hurricane with a wind diameter of over 1,000 miles, an unusually low central barometric pressure of 940 mbar due to the large size of the system; this pressure set records for many cities across the Northeastern United States for the lowest pressures observed.
The convection diminished while the hurricane accelerated toward the New Jersey coast, the cyclone was no longer tropical by 2100 UTC on October 29. About 2½ hours Sandy made landfall near Brigantine, New Jersey, with winds of 80 mph. During the next four days, Sandy's remnants drifted northward and northeastward over Ontario, before merging with another low pressure area over Eastern Canada on November 2. On October 23, 2012, the path of Hurricane Sandy was predicted by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts headquartered in Reading, England nearly eight days in advance of its striking the American East Coast; the computer model noted that the storm would turn west towards land and strike the New York/New Jersey region on October 29, rather than turn east and head out to the open Atlantic as most hurricanes in this position do. By
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Midtown is home to some of the city's most iconic buildings, including the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project, the headquarters of the United Nations, Grand Central Terminal, Rockefeller Center, as well as Broadway and Times Square. Midtown Manhattan is the largest central business district in the world and ranks among the most expensive pieces of real estate. However, due to the high price of retail spaces in Midtown, there are many vacant storefronts in the neighborhood. Midtown is the country's largest commercial and media center, a growing financial center; the majority of New York City's skyscrapers, including its tallest hotels and apartment towers, are in Midtown. The area hosts commuters and residents working in its offices and retail establishments and students. Times Square, the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District, is a major center of the world's entertainment industry.
Sixth Avenue has the headquarters of three of the four major U. S. television networks. Midtown is part of Manhattan Community District 5, it is patrolled by the 18th Precincts of the New York City Police Department. Geographically, the northern bound of Midtown Manhattan is defined to be 59th Street. Midtown spans the entire island of Manhattan along an east-west axis, bounded by the East River on its east and the Hudson River to its west; the Encyclopedia of New York City defines Midtown as extending from 34th Street to 59th Street and from 3rd Avenue to 8th Avenue. In addition to its central business district, Midtown Manhattan encompasses many neighborhoods, including Hell's Kitchen and Chelsea on the West Side, Murray Hill, Kips Bay, Turtle Bay, Gramercy Park on the East Side, it is sometimes broken into "Midtown East" and "Midtown West", or north and south as in the New York City Police Department's Midtown North and Midtown South precincts. Neighborhoods in the Midtown area include the following: Between 59th Street to the north and 42nd Street to the south, from west to east: Hell's Kitchen from the Hudson River to Eighth Avenue, including Theatre Row on West 42nd Street between Eleventh Avenue and Ninth Avenue, where Hell's Kitchen meets Central Park and the Upper West Side at West 59th Street and Eighth Avenue, Columbus Circle Times Square and the Theater District from West 42nd Street to around West 53rd Street, from Eighth Avenue to Sixth Avenue The Diamond District on West 47th Street between Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue Midtown East from around Sixth Avenue to the East River, including: Sutton Place near the East River between East 53rd Street and East 59th Street Turtle Bay from 53rd Street to 42nd Street and from Lexington Avenue to the East River Tudor City from First Avenue to Second Avenue and East 40th Street to East 43rd Street Between 42nd Street north and around 34th Street, from west to east, north to south: Hell's Kitchen from the Hudson River to Eighth Avenue The Garment District from West 42nd Street to West 34th Street and from Ninth Avenue to Fifth Avenue Herald Square around the intersection of Broadway, Sixth Avenue, West 34th Street Murray Hill from East 42nd Street to East 34th Street and Fifth Avenue to Second Avenue Between 34th Street and 23rd Street, from west to east: Chelsea, between the Hudson River and Sixth Avenue Koreatown from 36th Street to 31st Street and Fifth and Sixth Avenues, centered on "Korea Way" on 32nd Street between Fifth Avenue and Broadway Rose Hill or Curry Hill between Madison Avenue and Third Avenue Kips Bay from Third Avenue to the East River Between 23rd Street and 14th Street, going west to east and north to south: Chelsea, between the Hudson River and Sixth Avenue The Meatpacking District in the southwesternmost corner of Midtown, to the south of West 15th Street Madison Square and the Flatiron District, the area surround the intersection of Broadway, Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street.
Union Square, to the northeast of the intersection of Broadway, East 14th Street and Park Avenue South Gramercy from East 23rd Street to East 14th Street and Lexington Avenue to First Avenue Peter Cooper Village from East 23rd Street to East 20th Street and 1st Avenue to Avenue C Stuyvesant Town from East 20th Street to East 14th Street and First Avenue to Avenue CMidtown is the original district in the United States to bear the name and included historical but now defunct neighborhoods such as the Ladies' Mile, along Fifth Avenue from 14th to 23rd Street. Important streets and thoroughfares Broadway 34th Street 42nd Street The border of Midtown Manhattan is nebulous and further confused by the fact that the term "Midtown Manhattan" can be used to refer either to a district or a group of neighborhoods and districts in Manhattan: The area between 14th and 86th Streets includes the center of Manhattan. Manhattan Community District 5 is located from 14th to 59th Streets between Lexington Avenue and Eighth Avenue.
Community District 5 is coterminous with Midtown but includes the Flatiron District, NoMad, Union Square, parts of Gramercy Park an
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is a major American airline headquartered in Fort Worth, within the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. It is the world's largest airline when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, scheduled passenger-kilometers flown, number of destinations served. American, together with its regional partners, operates an extensive international and domestic network with an average of nearly 6,700 flights per day to nearly 350 destinations in more than 50 countries. American Airlines is a founding member of Oneworld alliance, the third largest airline alliance in the world. Regional service is operated by independent and subsidiary carriers under the brand name American Eagle. American operates out with Dallas/Fort Worth being its largest. American operates its primary maintenance base in Tulsa in addition to the maintenance locations located at its hubs; as of 2017, the company employs over 122,000 people. Through the airline's parent company, American Airlines Group, it is publicly traded under NASDAQ: AAL with a market capitalization of about $25 billion as of 2017, included in the S&P 500 index.
American Airlines was started in 1930 via a union of more than eighty small airlines. The two organizations from which American Airlines was originated were Robertson Aircraft Corporation and Colonial Air Transport; the former was first created in Missouri in 1921, with both being merged in 1929 into holding company The Aviation Corporation. This in turn, was rebranded as American Airways. In 1934, when new laws and attrition of mail contracts forced many airlines to reorganize, the corporation redid its routes into a connected system, was renamed American Airlines. Between 1970 and 2000, the company grew into being an international carrier, purchasing Trans World Airlines in 2001. American had a direct role in the development of the DC-3, which resulted from a marathon telephone call from American Airlines CEO C. R. Smith to Donald Douglas, when Smith persuaded a reluctant Douglas to design a sleeper aircraft based on the DC-2 to replace American's Curtiss Condor II biplanes. Douglas agreed to go ahead with development only after Smith informed him of American's intention to purchase 20 aircraft.
The prototype DST first flew on December 17, 1935. Its cabin was 92 in wide, a version with 21 seats instead of the 14–16 sleeping berths of the DST was given the designation DC-3. There was no prototype DC-3. American Airlines inaugurated passenger service on June 26, 1936, with simultaneous flights from Newark, New Jersey and Chicago, Illinois. In 2011, due to a downturn in the airline industry, American Airlines' parent company AMR Corporation filed for bankruptcy protection. In 2013, American Airlines merged with US Airways but kept the American Airlines name, as it was the better recognized brand internationally; as of December 2018, American Airlines flies to 95 domestic destinations and 95 international destinations in 55 countries in five continents. American operates ten hubs. Charlotte – American's hub for the Southeast. About 42 million passengers fly through CLT on about 115,000 people per day. American has about 91% of the market share at CLT, making it the airport's largest airline.
Chicago–O'Hare – American's hub for the Midwest. About 28 million passengers fly on American through O'Hare every year, or about 77,000 people per day. American has about 35% of the market share at O'Hare making it the airport's second-largest airline after United. Dallas/Fort Worth – American's hub for the South. American has about 84% of the market share and flies 57 million passengers through DFW every year, about 156,000 people per day making it the busiest airline at the airport. American's corporate headquarters are in Fort Worth near the airport. DFW serves as American's primary gateway to Mexico, secondary gateway to Latin America. Los Angeles – American's hub for the West Coast and its transpacific gateway. About 16.5 million passengers fly through LAX on American every year, or about 45,000 people per day. American has about 19 % of the market share at LAX. Miami – American's primary Latin American hub. About 30 million passengers fly through MIA every year on American, about 79,000 people per day.
American has about 68% of the market share at Miami International, making it the largest airline at the airport. New York–JFK – American's secondary transatlantic hub. About 7 million passengers fly through JFK on American every year, or about 19,000 people per day. American has about 12% of the market share at JFK, making it the third-largest carrier at the airport behind Delta and JetBlue. Since 2017, American has been reducing its international operations at JFK, opting to expand its Philadelphia hub instead. JFK serves as a major connecting point for other Oneworld carriers. New York–LaGuardia – American's second New York hub. About 8.5 million passengers fly through LGA on about 23,000 people per day. The airport serves as a base for American Airlines Shuttle. American has about 27% of the market share at LGA, is the second-largest carrier behind Delta. Philadelphia – American's primary transatlantic hub. Americ
E-commerce
E-commerce is the activity of buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. Electronic commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange, inventory management systems, automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce uses the World Wide Web for at least one part of the transaction's life cycle although it may use other technologies such as e-mail. Typical e-commerce transactions include the purchase of online books and music purchases, to a less extent, customized/personalized online liquor store inventory services. There are three areas of e-commerce: online retailing, electric markets, online auctions. E-commerce is supported by electronic business. E-commerce businesses may employ some or all of the followings: Online shopping for retail sales direct to consumers via Web sites and mobile apps, conversational commerce via live chat and voice assistants Providing or participating in online marketplaces, which process third-party business-to-consumer or consumer-to-consumer sales Business-to-business buying and selling.
A timeline for the development of e-commerce: 1971 or 1972: The ARPANET is used to arrange a cannabis sale between students at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology described as "the seminal act of e-commerce" in John Markoff's book What the Dormouse Said. 1979: Michael Aldrich demonstrates the first online shopping system. 1981: Thomson Holidays UK is the first business-to-business online shopping system to be installed. 1982: Minitel was introduced nationwide in France by France Télécom and used for online ordering. 1983: California State Assembly holds first hearing on "electronic commerce" in Volcano, California. Testifying are CPUC, MCI Mail, CompuServe, Volcano Telephone, Pacific Telesis. 1984: Gateshead SIS/Tesco is first B2C online shopping system and Mrs Snowball, 72, is the first online home shopper 1984: In April 1984, CompuServe launches the Electronic Mall in the USA and Canada. It is the first comprehensive electronic commerce service.
1989: In May 1989, Sequoia Data Corp. Introduced Compumarket, the first internet based system for e-commerce. Sellers and buyers could post items for sale and buyers could search the database and make purchases with a credit card. 1990: Tim Berners-Lee writes the first web browser, WorldWideWeb, using a NeXT computer. 1992: Book Stacks Unlimited in Cleveland opens a commercial sales website selling books online with credit card processing. 1993: Paget Press releases edition No. 3 of the first app store, The Electronic AppWrapper 1994: Netscape releases the Navigator browser in October under the code name Mozilla. Netscape 1.0 is introduced in late 1994 with SSL encryption. 1994: Ipswitch IMail Server becomes the first software available online for sale and immediate download via a partnership between Ipswitch, Inc. and OpenMarket. 1994: "Ten Summoner's Tales" by Sting becomes the first secure online purchase through NetMarket. 1995: The US National Science Foundation lifts its former strict prohibition of commercial enterprise on the Internet.
1995: Thursday 27 April 1995, the purchase of a book by Paul Stanfield, Product Manager for CompuServe UK, from W H Smith's shop within CompuServe's UK Shopping Centre is the UK's first national online shopping service secure transaction. The shopping service at launch featured W H Smith, Virgin Megastores/Our Price, Great Universal Stores, Dixons Retail, Past Times, PC World and Innovations. 1995: Jeff Bezos launches Amazon.com and the first commercial-free 24-hour, internet-only radio stations, Radio HK and NetRadio start broadcasting. EBay is founded by computer programmer Pierre Omidyar as AuctionWeb. 1996: The use of Excalibur BBS with replicated "Storefronts" was an early implementation of electronic commerce started by a group of SysOps in Australia and replicated to global partner sites. 1998: Electronic postal stamps can be purchased and downloaded for printing from the Web. 1999: Alibaba Group is established in China. Business.com sold for US $7.5 million to eCompanies, purchased in 1997 for US $149,000.
The peer-to-peer filesharing software Napster launches. ATG Stores launches to sell decorative items for the home online. 1999: Global e-commerce reaches $150 billion 2000: The dot-com bust. 2001: Alibaba.com achieved profitability in December 2001. 2002: eBay acquires PayPal for $1.5 billion. Niche retail companies Wayfair and NetShops are founded with the concept of selling products through several targeted domains, rather than a central portal. 2003: Amazon.com posts first yearly profit. 2004: DHgate.com, China's first online b2b transaction platform, is established, forcing other b2b sites to move away from the "yellow pages" model. 2007: Business.com acquired by R. H. Donnelley for $345 million. 2014: US e-commerce and Online Retail sales projected to reach $294 billion, an increase of 12 percent over 2013 and 9% of all retail sales. Alibaba Group has the largest Initial public offering worth $25 billion. 2015: Amazon.com accounts for more than half of all e-commerce
Real estate
Real estate is "property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water. Also: the business of real estate, it is a legal term used in jurisdictions whose legal system is derived from English common law, such as India, Wales, Northern Ireland, United States, Pakistan and New Zealand. Residential real estate may contain either a single family or multifamily structure, available for occupation or for non-business purposes. Residences can be classified by. Different types of housing tenure can be used for the same physical type. For example, connected residences might be owned by a single entity and leased out, or owned separately with an agreement covering the relationship between units and common areas and concerns. Major categoriesAttached / multi-unit dwellings Apartment or Flat – An individual unit in a multi-unit building; the boundaries of the apartment are defined by a perimeter of locked or lockable doors. Seen in multi-story apartment buildings.
Multi-family house – Often seen in multi-story detached buildings, where each floor is a separate apartment or unit. Terraced house – A number of single or multi-unit buildings in a continuous row with shared walls and no intervening space. Condominium – A building or complex, similar to apartments, owned by individuals. Common grounds and common areas within the complex are shared jointly. In North America, there are rowhouse style condominiums as well; the British equivalent is a block of flats. Cooperative – A type of multiple ownership in which the residents of a multi-unit housing complex own shares in the cooperative corporation that owns the property, giving each resident the right to occupy a specific apartment or unit. Semi-detached dwellings Duplex – Two units with one shared wall. Detached dwellings Detached house or single-family detached house Portable dwellings Mobile homes or residential caravans – A full-time residence that can be movable on wheels. Houseboats – A floating home Tents – Usually temporary, with roof and walls consisting only of fabric-like material.
The size of an apartment or house can be described in square meters. In the United States, this includes the area of "living space", excluding the garage and other non-living spaces; the "square meters" figure of a house in Europe may report the total area of the walls enclosing the home, thus including any attached garage and non-living spaces, which makes it important to inquire what kind of surface area definition has been used. It can be described more by the number of rooms. A studio apartment has a single bedroom with no living room. A one-bedroom apartment has a dining room separate from the bedroom. Two bedroom, three bedroom, larger units are common. Other categoriesChawls Villas HavelisThe size of these is measured in Gaz, Marla and acre. See List of house types for a complete listing of housing types and layouts, real estate trends for shifts in the market, house or home for more general information, it is common practice for an intermediary to provide real estate owners with dedicated sales and marketing support in exchange for commission.
In North America, this intermediary is referred to as a real estate broker, or a real estate agent in everyday conversation, whilst in the United Kingdom, the intermediary would be referred to as an estate agent. In Australia the intermediary is referred to as a real estate agent or real estate representative or the agent
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, or Port Authority Police Department, is a law enforcement agency in New York and New Jersey, the duties of which are to protect and to enforce state and city laws at all the facilities, owned or operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the bi-state agency running airports and many bridges and tunnels within the Port of New York and New Jersey. Additionally, the PAPD is responsible for other PANYNJ properties including three bus terminals, the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, the PATH train system; the PAPD is the largest transit-related police force in the United States. The Port Authority Police Department was created in June 1928 when 40 men were selected to police the Goethals Bridge and Outerbridge Crossing; these original officers were known as Bridgemen, nine of whom were promoted to the rank of Bridgemaster, or Sergeant. The force grew in number with the opening of Port Authority facilities such as the Holland Tunnel in 1927, three Metropolitan Airports and a Marine Terminal in the 1940s, the Port Authority Bus Terminal in the 1950s.
The Port Authority assumed control of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad, rebranding it as the PATH. The PAPD protects three major airports: Newark Liberty International, John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia, which handle over 80 million air passengers, over 1.1 million aircraft movements, over 2.5 million tons of air cargo annually. Together, the three New York area airports create the largest airport system in the entire United States. Policing these aviation facilities involves a wide variety of duties. Police personnel cover screening points, respond to all aircraft incidents, aid travelers from all parts of the world. Escorting and protecting visiting dignitaries is provided for on a daily basis; the PAPD patrols the Port Authority-owned Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, much smaller than the other three airports and operates only general aviation aircraft. The PAPD does not patrol the Port Authority-operated Stewart International Airport, patrolled by the New York State Police; the PAPD is responsible for fire fighting and crash emergency rescue at the four airports and for all other aircraft emergency incidents.
Police personnel assigned to fire and rescue duty are trained in all phases of aircraft rescue and firefighting. They have a large number of aircraft rescue fire fighting vehicles, known as "crash trucks". Police operations at Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, Howland Hook, Port Jersey, the Red Hook, Brooklyn piers include traffic control and the prevention and investigation of cargo thefts; the department's headquarters is located at the Port Authority Technical Center in Jersey City, New Jersey. The nerve center of the force is the Central Police Desk, located at Journal Square, it is the hub of the communications network. There, personnel are assigned to needed areas, all radio transmissions are monitored, computer terminals are integrated into the NY & NJ Intelligence and Crime Information Systems as well as the National Crime Information Center in Washington, D. C.. Information received from these sources is supplied to officers in the field. 200,000 passengers use the PATH system daily.
The system's stations are monitored by video surveillance to aid police personnel. At the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels, the Bayonne and George Washington Bridges, the Outerbridge Crossing, the duties of PAPD officers are patrol, traffic control, hazardous cargo inspections, truck weigh and emergency services, as well as enforcement for violations of motor vehicle laws. Police at these crossings have instituted programs that maintain a constant campaign against drunk driving; the Port Authority operates the largest and busiest bus terminal in the nation, accommodating 57 million bus passengers and over 2.2 million bus movements in 2001. Police assignments demand a broad range of functions, everything from locating lost children to aiding everyday commuters, they are responsible for the general security of the facility utilizing a variety of patrol tactics. Police Officer/Social Worker teams patrol the bus terminal and identify youngsters who may be runaways, throwaways, or missing persons, they provide crisis intervention counseling, placement with social service agencies, reunions with families when appropriate.
The Port Authority owns the World Trade Center site and Port Authority Trans-Hudson, the PAPD is responsible for the general safety and security of those facilities. The Criminal Investigations Bureau consists of over 100 detectives and supervisors that are trained for crimes occurring at transportation facilities. During the past year, the Criminal Investigations Bureau has worked on computerized airline ticket fraud, property and drug interdictions, they have seized over 10 million dollars of goods including 35 kg of narcotics. Additionally, the Criminal Investigations Bureau has worked cooperatively with Local and Federal agencies in the fight against crime; some of these agencies include the New Jersey State Police, the New York City Police Department, United States Customs and Border Protection, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Members of the Criminal Investigations Bureau work as part of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force to prevent terrorist activities in the region; the Port Authority Police Emergency Services Unit was founded in 1983, over the objections of the Port Authority Po
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York, is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business and government in the City of New York, which itself originated at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in 1624, at a point which now constitutes the present-day Financial District. The population of the Financial District alone has grown to an estimated 61,000 residents as of 2018, up from 43,000 as of 2014, which in turn was nearly double the 23,000 recorded at the 2000 Census. Lower Manhattan is defined most as the area delineated on the north by 14th Street, on the west by the Hudson River, on the east by the East River, on the south by New York Harbor; when referring to the Lower Manhattan business district and its immediate environs, the northern border is designated by thoroughfares about a mile-and-a-half south of 14th Street and a mile north of the island's southern tip: around Chambers Street from near the Hudson east to the Brooklyn Bridge entrances and overpass.
Two other major arteries are sometimes identified as the northern border of "Lower" or "Downtown Manhattan": Canal Street half a mile north of Chambers Street, 23rd Street half a mile north of 14th Street. The Lower Manhattan business district forms the core of the area below Chambers Street, it includes the World Trade Center site. At the island's southern tip is Battery Park. South of Chambers Street are the planned community of Battery Park City and the South Street Seaport historic area; the neighborhood of TriBeCa straddles Chambers Street on the west side. North of Chambers Street and the Brooklyn Bridge and south of Canal Street lies most of New York's oldest Chinatown neighborhood. Many court buildings and other government offices are located in this area; the Lower East Side neighborhood straddles Canal Street. North of Canal Street and south of 14th Street are the neighborhoods of SoHo, the Meatpacking District, the West Village, Greenwich Village, Little Italy and the East Village. Between 14th and 23rd streets are lower Chelsea, Union Square, the Flatiron District, as well as Gramercy, with the large residential development known as Peter Cooper Village—Stuyvesant Town situated on the eastern flank of this zone.
The area that would encompass modern day New York City was inhabited by the Lenape people. These groups of culturally and linguistically identical Native Americans traditionally spoke an Algonquian language now referred to as Unami. European settlement began with the founding of a Dutch fur trading post in Lower Manhattan called New Amsterdam in 1626; the first fort was built at The Battery to protect New Netherland. Soon thereafter, most in 1626, construction of Fort Amsterdam began; the Dutch West Indies Company imported African slaves to serve as laborers. Early directors included Peter Minuit. Willem Kieft became director in 1638 but five years was embroiled in Kieft's War against the Native Americans; the Pavonia Massacre, across the Hudson River in present-day Jersey City resulted in the death of 80 natives in February 1643. Following the massacre, Algonquian tribes nearly defeated the Dutch; the Dutch Republic sent additional forces to the aid of Kieft, leading to the overwhelming defeat of the Native Americans and a peace treaty on August 29, 1645.
On May 27, 1647, Peter Stuyvesant was inaugurated as director general upon his arrival. The colony was granted self-government in 1652, New Amsterdam was formally incorporated as a city on February 2, 1653; the first mayors of New Amsterdam, Arent van Hattem and Martin Cregier, were appointed in that year. In 1664, the English conquered the area and renamed it "New York" after the Duke of York and the city of York in Yorkshire. At that time, people of African descent made up 20% of the population of the city, with European settlers numbering 1,500, people of African descent numbering 375. While it has been claimed that African slaves comprised 40% of the small population of the city at that time, this claim has not been substantiated. During the mid 1600s, farms of free blacks covered 130 acres where Washington Square Park developed; the Dutch regained the city in 1673, renaming the city "New Orange", before permanently ceding the colony of New Netherland to the English for what is now Suriname in November 1674.
The new English rulers of the Dutch New Amsterdam and New Netherland renamed the settlement back to New York. As the colony grew and prospered, sentiment grew for greater autonomy. In the context of the Glorious Revolution in England, Jacob Leisler led Leisler's Rebellion and controlled the city and surrounding areas from 1689–1691, before being arrested and executed. By 1700, the Lenape population of New York had diminished to 200. By 1703, 42% of households in New York had slaves, a higher percentage than in Philadelphia or Boston; the 1735 libel trial of John Peter Zenger in the city was a seminal influence on freedom of the press in North America. It would be a standard for the basic articles of freedom in the United States Declaration of Independence. By the 1740s, with expansion of settlers, 20% of the population of New York were slaves, totaling about 2,500 people. After a series of fires in 1741, the city became panicked that blacks
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