1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Boroughs of New York City
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New York City, in the U. S. state of New York, is composed of five county-level administrative entities called boroughs. They are Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, each borough is coextensive with a county of New York State. The county governments were dissolved when New York City consolidated in 1898, along all city, town. The term borough was adopted to describe a form of administration for each of the five fundamental constituent parts of the newly consolidated city in 1898. Under the 1898 City Charter adopted by the New York State Legislature, the term is also used by politicians to counter a frequent focus on Manhattan and thereby to place all five boroughs on equal footing. In the same vein, the outer boroughs refers to all of the boroughs excluding Manhattan. All of the boroughs were created in 1898 during consolidation, when the current boundaries were established. Ultimately in 1914, the present-day separate Bronx County became the last county to be created in the State of New York, the borough of Queens consists of what formerly was only the western part of a then-larger Queens County. The borough of Staten Island was officially the borough of Richmond until the name was changed in 1975 to reflect its common appellation, there are hundreds of distinct neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs of New York City, many with a definable history and character to call their own. Manhattan is the geographically smallest and most densely populated borough and is home to Central Park and most of the citys skyscrapers. Manhattans population density of 72,033 people per mile in 2015 makes it the highest of any county in the United States. Manhattan is often described as the financial and cultural center of the world, most of the borough is situated on Manhattan Island, at the mouth of the Hudson River. Manhattan Island is loosely divided into Lower, Midtown, and Uptown regions, Uptown Manhattan is divided by Central Park into the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side, and above the park is Harlem. The borough also includes a neighborhood on the United States mainland. New York Citys remaining four boroughs are collectively referred to as the outer boroughs, Brooklyn, on the western tip of Long Island, is the citys most populous borough. Brooklyn is known for its cultural, social, and ethnic diversity, an independent art scene, distinct neighborhoods, downtown Brooklyn is the only central core neighborhood in the outer boroughs. The borough has a long beachfront shoreline including Coney Island, established in the 1870s as one of the earliest amusement grounds in the country, marine Park and Prospect Park are the two largest parks in Brooklyn. Historically a collection of towns and villages founded by the Dutch
3.
Queens
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Queens is the easternmost and largest in area of the five boroughs of New York City. Coterminous with Queens County since 1899, the borough of Queens is the second-largest in population, with a census-estimated 2,339,150 residents in 2015, approximately 48% of them foreign-born. Queens County also is the second-most populous county in the U. S. state of New York, behind the borough of Brooklyn. Queens is the fourth-most densely populated county among New York Citys boroughs, if each of New York Citys boroughs were an independent city, Queens also would be the nations fourth most populous city, after Los Angeles, Chicago, and Brooklyn. Queens is the most ethnically diverse area in the world. Queens was established in 1683 as one of the original 12 counties of New York and it was named after the Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza, Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland. It became a borough of New York City in 1898, and from 1683 until 1899, Queens has the most diversified economy of the five boroughs of New York City It is home to JFK International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. These airports are among the busiest in the world, causing the airspace above Queens to be the most congested in the country, attractions in Queens include Flushing Meadows Park, Citi Field, the US Open tennis tournament, Kaufman Astoria Studios, Silvercup Studios, and Aqueduct Racetrack. European colonization brought Dutch and English settlers, as a part of the New Netherland colony, First settlements occurred in 1635 followed by early colonizations at Maspeth in 1642, and Vlissingen in 1643. Other early settlements included Newtown and Jamaica, however, these towns were mostly inhabited by English settlers from New England via eastern Long Island subject to Dutch law. After the capture of the colony by the English and its renaming as New York in 1664, the Flushing Remonstrance signed by colonists in 1657 is considered a precursor to the United States Constitutions provision on freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights. The signers protested the Dutch colonial authorities persecution of Quakers in what is today the borough of Queens, originally, Queens County included the adjacent area now comprising Nassau County. It was a county of New York State, one of twelve created on November 1,1683. The county was named after Catherine of Braganza, since she was queen of England at the time, the county was founded alongside Kings County, and Richmond County. On October 7,1691, all counties in the Colony of New York were redefined, Queens gained North Brother Island, South Brother Island, and Huletts Island. On December 3,1768, Queens gained other islands in Long Island Sound that were not already assigned to a county, Queens played a minor role in the American Revolution, as compared to Brooklyn, where the Battle of Long Island was largely fought. Queens, like the rest of Long Island, remained under British occupation after the Battle of Long Island in 1776 and was occupied throughout most of the rest of the Revolutionary War. Under the Quartering Act, British soldiers used, as barracks, even though many local people were against unannounced quartering, sentiment throughout the county remained in favor of the British crown
4.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
5.
1964 New York World's Fair
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The 1964/1965 New York Worlds Fair was the third major worlds fair to be held in New York City. However, the fair did not receive official sanctioning from the Bureau of International Expositions, hailing itself as a universal and international exposition, the fairs theme was Peace Through Understanding, dedicated to Mans Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe. American companies dominated the exposition as exhibitors, the theme was symbolized by a 12-story high, stainless-steel model of the earth called the Unisphere. The fair ran for two seasons, April 22 – October 18,1964, and April 21 – October 17,1965. Admission price for adults was $2 in 1964 but $2.50 in 1965, the fair is noted as a showcase of mid-20th-century American culture and technology. The nascent Space Age, with its vista of promise, was well represented, more than 51 million people attended the fair, though fewer than the hoped-for 70 million. Most major American manufacturing companies from pen manufacturers to auto companies had a major presence and this fair gave many attendees their first interaction with computer equipment. The site, Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the borough of Queens, was previously Manhattans Corona Ash Dumps featured prominently in F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby as the Valley of Ashes. Prior to that, the site had been a natural wetland — literally wetland meadows that would flush the nearby runoff entering the adjacent bay, Flushing Meadows had been a Dutch settlement, named after the village of Vlissingen. Subsequently, the site was reclaimed for the 1939/1940 New York Worlds Fair, one of the largest worlds fairs to be held in the United States, the 1939 fair also occupied space that was filled in for the 1964/1965 exposition. The 1964/1965 Fair was conceived by a group of New York businessmen who remembered their experiences at the 1939 New York Worlds Fair. Thoughts of a boom to the city as the result of increased tourism was a major reason for holding another fair 25 years after the 1939/1940 extravaganza. Then-New York City mayor, Robert F. Wagner, Jr and he was joined by Austrian architect Victor Gruen in studies that eventually led the Eisenhower Commission to award the worlds fair to New York City in competition with a number of American cities. Organizers turned to financing and the sale of bonds to pay the huge costs to stage them. The organizers hired New Yorks Master Builder Robert Moses, to head the corporation established to run the fair because he was experienced in raising money for vast public projects, Moses had been a formidable figure in the city since coming to power in the 1930s. He was responsible for the construction of much of the highway infrastructure and, as parks commissioner for decades. In the mid-1930s, Moses oversaw the conversion of a vast Queens tidal marsh/garbage dump into the fairgrounds that hosted the 1939/1940 Worlds Fair, called Flushing Meadows Park, it was Moses grandest park scheme. He envisioned this vast park, comprising some 1,300 acres of land, easily accessible from Manhattan, when the 1939/1940 Worlds Fair ended in financial failure, Moses did not have the available funds to complete work on his project
6.
Citi Field
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Citi Field is a stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens. Completed in 2009, it is the baseball park of Major League Baseballs New York Mets. Citi Field was built as a replacement for the formerly adjacent Shea Stadium, Citi Field was designed by Populous, and is named after Citigroup, a New York financial services company which purchased the naming rights. The $850 million baseball park was funded with $615 million in public subsidies, the payments will offset property taxes for the lifetime of the park. The Mets are receiving $20 million annually from Citibank in exchange for naming the stadium Citi Field, the entire public cost is being borne by city and state taxpayers in New York. The first game at Citi Field was on March 29,2009, the Mets played their first two games at the ballpark on April 3 and April 4,2009 against the Boston Red Sox as charity exhibition games. The first regular home game was played on April 13,2009. Citi Field hosted the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, marking the time the Mets have hosted the event. The stadium will host the 2018 NHL Winter Classic between the New York Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres, since the 1990s, the Mets had been looking to replace Shea Stadium. It had originally built as a multi-purpose stadium in 1964. The Mets also considered moving to Mitchel Field or Belmont Park in Nassau County, Long Island, Sunnyside Yard in Queens, or the West Side Yard in Manhattan. In December 2001, shortly before leaving office, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani announced tentative agreements for both the Mets and New York Yankees to build new stadiums. Of the $1.6 billion sought for the stadiums, city and state taxpayers would pick up half the tab for construction, $800 million, along with $390 million on extra transportation. The teams would keep 96% of ticket revenues and 100% of all revenues, not pay sales tax or property tax on the stadium. Business officials criticized the plan as giving too much money to successful teams with little reason to move to a different city, at the time, Bloomberg said that publicly funded stadiums were a poor investment. Under Bloomberg, the New York City government would offer public financing for infrastructure improvements. Bloomberg called the former mayors agreements corporate welfare, the final plans for what is now Citi Field were created as part of the New York City 2012 Olympic bid. After plans for a West Side Stadium fell through, New York looked for a stadium to host the opening and closing ceremonies and track
7.
Flushing Meadows Carousel
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The Flushing Meadows Carousel is a carousel located in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens. It contains four rows of figures, including 64 jumping horses,7 standing horses,1 menagerie animal, and 2 chariots. During the fair, it stood on a site within the park, and it was moved to its present site in 1968. In 2016 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the two predecessor carousels were the Feltman’s Carousel and the Stubbman Carousel, both of which were created for amusement operators in Coney Island. 47 horses and the frame are from the Stubbman Carousel, and 24 horses are from the Feltman’s Carousel, while Coney Island has seen resurgence since 2000, it had been busy during the Great Depression and had over twenty carousels spinning at once. The Feltmans Carousel had a restaurant and beer garden that occupied the site where the Luna Park currently sits, the carousel was indoors but faced Surf Avenue. Feltmans carousel is regarded by some as Marcus Illions masterpiece, the Stubbman Carousel was located at West 6th Street and Surf Avenue. It was part of the Stubbman’s Beer Garden, which sat adjacent to the Hotel Eleanor, the site is currently occupied by the New York Aquarium. The Stubbman machine had 64 horses and spun in Stubbman’s Beer Garden until 1953, the Summit article said that the Stubbman Carousel was, “commissioned by George and Henry Stubbman for their beer garden. The building housing the merry-go-round was prominently labeled, ‘Hotel Eleanor and its handsome Louis XIV chariots put the snake-headed, winged dragons of Feltman to shame. ”Both carousels were carved by master carousel carver Marcus Illions. He was one of the premier carvers in the Coney Island style of carving, the creatures that came out of this style were known for flamboyance and a flair for the dramatic. They did not focus on the realism in carving, rather, the Feltman Carousel was a classic Illions design and was extremely ornate. Carousel historian Frederick Fried, author of the book A Pictorial History of the Carousel, said it was, the Stubbman horses were a bit more subdued and simpler. Both frames were made by famed Coney Island ride manufacturer William F. Mangels, the Stubbman frame was eventually used on the Flushing Meadows Carousel when the two machines were combined. It has another feature rare to many carousels, slots in the floor allow the horses to tilt outwards as the machine picks up speed. The Feltman’s carousel spun under a few different owners and it ran from 1903 to 1954 as part Feltman’s. In 1954 Dewey Albert and Nathan Handwerker bought the property, improved it, Handwerker eventually wanted out of the deal and Albert now called the shots. He decided to build Astroland, the first phase of which opened in 1962, the carousel operated indoors until 1962 and outdoors through the 1963 season when it was packed up to make room for Astroland’s 200-foot Astrotower
