New York

State of New York

Flag of New York Seal of New York
State nickname: The Empire State
Official languages	English
Capital	Albany
Largest city	New York City
Governor	George Pataki (R)
Senators	Charles Schumer (D) Hillary Clinton (D)
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 13.3
Population  - Total (2000)  - Density	Ranked 3rd 19,190,115 155.18/km² (6th)
Admission into Union	July 26, 1788 (11th)
Time Zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Coordinates  - Latitude  - Longitude  - Width  - Length	40°29'40"N to 45°0'42"N 71°47'25"W to 79°45'54"W 455 km 530 km
Elevation  - Highest point  - Mean  - Lowest point	1,629 m 305 m 0 m
Abbreviations  - USPS  - ISO 3166-2	NY US-NY
Web site	www.state.ny.us

New York is a state in the northeastern United States. It is sometimes called New York State when there is need to distinguish it from New York City, the most populous city in both the state and the nation. Due to the preponderance of the population concentrated in the southern portion around New York City, the state is often regionalized into Upstate and Downstate. New York's postal abbreviation is NY.

History

Main article: History of New York

Early settlement

The first settlers in the area now known as the U.S. State of New York were Dutch settlers in the colony known as New Amsterdam, beginning in 1613. These settlers were claiming this land theirs, marginalizing the aboriginal inhabitants who had been living there since the Pleistocene epoch. The English seized the colony in 1664, renaming the it New York, after the Duke of York, the future King James II. On November 1, 1683, the government was reorganized. The colony, then called the Province of New York was divided into twelve counties, each of which was subdivided into towns. The territory of New York extended much farther than present-day New York State, having no official western boundary other than the Pacific Ocean. Two of New York's eastern coastal counties, Cornwall and Dukes, later became parts of Massachusetts and Maine. Counties were also ceded to Vermont before Vermont entered the Union in 1791.

Statehood

New York was one of the original thirteen colonies that became the United States. It was the 11th state to ratify the United States Constitution, on July 26, 1788.

Origin

The Dutch, who began to establish trading-posts on the Hudson River in 1613, claimed jurisdiction over the territory between the Connecticut and the Delaware Rivers, which they called New Netherlands. The government was vested in "The United New Netherland Company," chartered in 1616, and then in "The Dutch West India Company," chartered in 1621.

In 1649 a convention of the settlers petitioned the "Lords States-General of the United Netherlands" to grant them "suitable burgher government," such as their High Mightinesses shall consider adapted to this province, and resembling somewhat the government of our Fatherland," with certain permanent privileges and exemptions, that they might pursue "the trade of our country, as well along the coast from Terra Nova to Cape Florida as to the West Indies and Europe, whenever our Lord God shall be pleased to permit."

The directors of the West India Company resented this attempt to shake off their rule, and wrote their director and council at New Amsterdam: "We have already connived as much as possible at the many impertinences of some restless spirits, in the hope that they might be shamed by our discreetness and benevolence, but, perceiving that all kindnesses do not avail, we must, therefore, have recourse to God to Nature and the Law. We accordingly hereby charge and command your Honors whenever you shall certainly discover any Clandestine Meetings, Conventicles or machinations against our States government or that of our country that you proceed against such malignants in proportion to their crimes."

These grants embraced all the lands between the west bank of the Connecticut River and the east bank of (the) Delaware (say) sic.

The Duke of York had previously purchased in 1663 the grant of Long Island and other islands on the New England coast made in 1635 to the Marl of Stirling, and in 1664 he equipped an armed expedition which too(l)sic possession of New Amsterdam which was thenceforth called New York. This conquest was confirmed by the treaty of Credo, in July 1667. In July 1673 a Dutch fleet recaptured New York and held it until it was restored to the English by the treaty of Westminster in February, 1674. The second grant was obtained by the Duke of York in July, 1674 to perfect his title. The original grants are in the New York state Library.

Constitution

The New York constitution was based on its colonial charter. This constitution was framed by a convention which assembled at White Plains, New York on July 10, 1776, and after repeated adjournments and changes of location, terminated its labors at Kingston, New York on Sunday evening, April 20, 1777, when the constitution was adopted with but one dissenting vote. It was not submitted to the people for ratification. It was drafted by John Jay. (Verified from "Journals of the Provincial Congress, Provincial Convention Committee of Safety and Council of Safety of the State of New York, 1775, 1776 1777, vol. I. Albany: Printed by Thurlow Weed, printer to the State 1842." pp. 892-898.)

This constitution was a combination document, containing its Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, and its Constitutional Law. It called for a weak bicameral legislature and a strong executive. It retained provisions from the colonial charter such as the substantial property qualification for voting, and the ability of the governor to disband the elected legislature. This imbalance of power between the branches of state government kept the elite firmly in control, and disenfranchised most New Yorkers who would fight the Revolutionary War. Slavery was legal in New York until 1827.

Under this constitution, the Assembly had a provision for a maximum of 70 Members, with the following apportionment:

1. For the city and county of New York, nine.
2. The city and county of Albany, ten.
3. The county of Dutchess, seven.
4. The county of Westchester, six.
5. The county of Ulster, six.
6. The county of Suffolk, five.
7. The county of Queens, four.
8. The county of Orange, four.
9. The county of Kings, two.
10. The county of Richmond, two.
11. Tryon County (Now Montgomery County), six.
12. Charlotte County (Now Washington County.), four.
13. Cumberland County (Partitioned January 15, 1777 for the creation of the State of Vermont.), three.
14. Gloucester County (Partitioned January 15, 1777 for the creation of the State of Vermont.), two.

This apportionment was to stand unchanged until a period of seven years from the end of the Revolution had expired, whereapon a census was held to correct the apportionment.

On the subject of Disenfranchisement, Article VII of the new constition had the following to say:

VII. That every male inhabitant of full age, who shall have personally resided within one of the counties of this State for six months immediately preceding the day of election, shall, at such election, be entitled to vote for representatives of the said county in assembly; if, during the time aforesaid, he shall have been a freeholder, possessing a freehold of the value of twenty pounds, within the said county, or have rented a tenement therein of the yearly value of forty shillings, and been rated and actually paid taxes to this State: Provided always, That every person who now is a freeman of the city of Albany, or who was made a freeman of the city of New York on or before the fourteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, and shall be actually and usually resident in the said cities, respectively, shall be entitled to vote for representatives in assembly within his said place of residence.

• For more information on this constitution, see: New York State Constitutions

Westward expansion

The western part of New York had been settled by the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy for at least 500 years before Europeans came. The Iroquois had maintained the area between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes by annual burning as a grassland prairie, abounding in wild game including grazing American Bison herds. In colonial times, the Iroquois were prosperous, growing corn, vegetables and orchards, and keeping cows and hogs; fish and game were abundant.

The colonial charter of New York granted unlimited westward expansion. Massachusetts' charter had the same provision, causing territorial disputes between the colonies and with the Iroquois. During the war, four of the Iroquois nations fought on the side of the British. In 1779, Major General John Sullivan was sent to defeat the Iroquois. The Sullivan Expedition moved northward through the Finger Lakes and Genesee Country, burning all the Iroquois communities, destroying their crops and their orchards. Refugees fled to Fort Niagara, where they spent the following winter in hunger and misery. Hundreds died of exposure, hunger and disease. After the war, many moved to Canada.

Sullivan's men returned from the campaign to Pennsylvania and New England to tell of the enormous wealth of this new territory. Many of them were given land grants in gratitude for their service in the Revolution. From 1786 through 1797 several groups of wealthy land speculators entered into agreements with one another, with neighboring states, and with the Indians to obtain title to vast tracts of land in western New York. Some purchases of Iroquois lands are the subject of numerous modern-day land claims by the individual nations of the six nations.

Canals

Transportation in western New York was difficult before canals were built in the early part of the nineteenth century. The Hudson and Mohawk Rivers could be navigated only as far as Central New York. While the St. Lawrence River could be navigated to Lake Ontario, the way westward to the other Great Lakes was blocked by Niagara Falls, and so the only route to western New York was over land. Governor DeWitt Clinton strongly advocated building a canal to connect the Hudson River with Lake Erie, and thus all the Great Lakes. Work commenced in 1817, and the Erie Canal was finished in 1825. The canal opened up vast areas of New York to commerce and settlement, and enabled port cities such as Buffalo to grow and prosper. The Welland Canal was completed in 1833, bypassing Niagara Falls to connect Lakes Ontario and Erie.

Law and government

As in all fifty states, the head of the executive branch of government is a Governor. The legislative branch is called the Legislature and consists of a Senate and an Assembly. Unlike most States, the New York electoral law permits electoral fusion, and New York ballots tend to have, in consequence, a larger number of parties on them, some being permanent minor parties that seek to influence the major parties and others being ephemeral parties formed to give major-party candidates an additional line on the ballot.

New York's legislature is notoriously dysfunctional. The Assembly has long been controlled by the Democrats, the Senate has long been controlled by the Republicans, and there is little change in membership election to election. From 1984 through 2004, no budget was passed on time, and for many years the legislature was unable to pass legislation for which there was supposed to be a consensus, such as reforming the so-called Rockefeller drug laws.

In presidential elections, New York tends to support Democratic candidates and has done so consistently beginning in 1988, mainly because of the weight of New York City, a Democratic and Liberal stronghold. In 2004, New York gave John Kerry a comfortable margin of 18 percentage points and 58.4% of the vote. Many counties of Upstate New York, especially in rural areas, voted for the Republican candidate. However, this is with the notable exception of those Upstate counties with large cities, such as Erie County (Buffalo), Monroe County (Rochester), Onondaga County (Syracuse), Tompkins County (Ithaca), and Albany County (Albany), as well as several others which voted Democratic in 2004.

In 2002, 16,892 bills were introduced in the New York legislature, more than twice as many as in the Illinois General Assembly, whose members are the second most prolific. Of those bills, only 4 percent (693) actually became law, the lowest passing percentage in the country. In 2004, over 17,000 bills were introduced.

New York's legislature also has more paid staff (3,428) than any other legislature in the nation. Pennsylvania, whose staff is the second largest, only has 2,947, and California only 2,359. New York's legislature also has more committees than any other legislature in the nation.

New York's subordinate political units are its 62 counties. Other officially incorporated governmental units are towns, cities, and villages.

Many of New York's public services are carried out by public benefit corporations, frequently known as authorities or development corporations. The most famous examples are probably the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees New York City's subway, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (actually a bi-state agency). Some of New York's public benefit corporations have come under fire in recent years. The New York Times, for instance, has come to see many of them as obsolete and wasteful, even going so far as to refer to them a shadow government. Far from unique to New York State, and actually fairly common in English-speaking countries, public benefit corporations give the state the opportunity to carry out economic goals and infrastructure maintenance, while making risky investments that don't put the state's credit on the line.

For decades it has been the established practice for Albany to pass legislation for some meritorious project, but then mandate county and municipal government to actually pay for it. New York State has its counties pay a higher percentage of welfare costs than any other state and New York State is the only state which requires counties to pay a portion of Medicaid.

The court system in New York is notable for its "backwards" naming: the state's trial court is called the New York Supreme Court, while the highest court in the state is the New York Court of Appeals.

• See: List of New York Governors
• See: List of New York State Attorneys General
• See: Political subdivisions of New York State
• See: List of New York counties
• See: List of cities in New York
• See: List of towns in New York
• See: List of villages in New York
• See: List of census-designated places in New York
• See: List of political parties in New York
• See: New York public benefit corporations
• See: Politics of New York

In most of New York State, political subdivisions such as cities are contained within counties. Those living outside of cities in New York State automatically live inside towns. Towns, which are county subdivisions in New York State with governments of their own, can also contain villages, which are roughly comparable to what is thought of as a town in most of the United States; that is, villages are small incorporated muncipalities with limited taxation powers. Towns in New York State, on the other hand, are organizationally more like New England townships. In 1898, when New York City was consolidated into its present form, all previous town and county governments within it were abolished in favor of the present five boroughs and unified, centralized city government.

Geography

New York State's borders touch (clockwise from the northwest) two Great Lakes (Erie and Ontario, which are connected by the Niagara River), one former (briefly) Great Lake (Lake Champlain), the provinces of Ontario and Quebec in Canada, three New England states (Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut), the Atlantic Ocean, and two Mid-Atlantic states (New Jersey and Pennsylvania). In addition, Rhode Island shares a water border with New York.

Map of New York - PDF

New York is also the site of the only extra-territorial enclave within the boundaries of the USA, the United Nations compound on Manhattan's East River.

The southern tip of New York State—New York City, its suburbs, and the southern portion of the Hudson Valley—can be considered to form the central core of a "megalopolis," a super-city stretching from the northern suburbs of Boston to the southern suburbs of Washington and therefore occasionally called "BosWash". First described by Jean Gottmann in 1961 as a new phenomenon in the history of world urbanization, the megalopolis is characterized by a coalescence of previous already-large cities of the Eastern Seaboard, a heavy specialization on tertiary activity related to government, trade, law, education, finance, publishing and control of economic activity, plus a growth pattern not so much of more population and more area as more intensive use of already existing urbanized area and ever more sophisticated links from one specialty to another. Several other groups of megalopolis-type super-cities exist in the world, but that centered around New York City was the first described and still is the best example.

The five New York City boroughs (and their counties) are: (1) The Bronx (Bronx), on the mainland, north of (2) Manhattan (New York) on Manhattan Island. The Hudson River is their western boundary. (3) Brooklyn (Kings) and (4) Queens (Queens) are across the East River from Manhattan on the western end of Long Island, and (5) Staten Island (Richmond) is south of Manhattan. The eastern end of Long Island includes the suburban counties of Nassau and Suffolk, which, however, are not part of New York City.

The megalopolis, however, is not the only aspect of New York State. While best known for New York City's urban atmosphere, especially Manhattan's skyscrapers, by contrast the rest of the state is dominated by farms, forests, rivers, mountains, and lakes. Few people know that New York's Adirondack State Park is larger than any National Park in the U.S. outside of Alaska. Niagara Falls, on the Niagara River as it flows from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario is a popular attraction; the best view is from the Canadian side. The Hudson River begins with Lake Tear of the Clouds and flows south through the eastern part of the state without draining Lakes George or Champlain. Lake George empties at its north end into Lake Champlain, whose northern end extends into Canada, where it drains into the Richelieu and then the St Lawrence Rivers. Four of New York City's five boroughs are on the three islands at the mouth of the Hudson River: Manhattan Island, Staten Island, and Long Island.

The current New York license plate, introduced in 2001. It features New York City to the right, Mount Marcy in the middle, and Niagara Falls to the left.

"Upstate" is a common term for New York State north of the New York City metropolitan area. Which of the suburban counties north of The Bronx along the Hudson River (Rockland, Westchester, and Putnam) are included in the Upstate region depends on who is using this term. Upstate New York typically includes the Catskill and Adirondack Mountains, the Shawangunk Ridge, the Finger Lakes and the Great Lakes in the west and Lake Champlain, Lake George, and Oneida Lake in the northeast, and rivers such as the Delaware, Genesee, Hudson, Mohawk, and Susquehanna. The highest elevation in New York is Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks.

East of Manhattan extends the appropriately named Long Island, stretching approximately 120 miles (190 km) from Kings (Brooklyn) and Queens Counties (part of New York City) on the western end to Orient and Montauk Points in the rural "East End" of the Island. The two counties that are encountered as one travels east from New York City are Nassau and Suffolk. Three of Suffolk County's ten towns—Brookhaven, Riverhead, and Southampton—are host to the 102,500 acre (415 km²) state designated and protected Central Pine Barrens region. This remarkably undeveloped region overlies part of Long Island's federally designated Sole Source Aquifer which provides drinking water to nearly three million residents, and it contains terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of statewide and national significance, interconnected surface and ground waters, recreational areas, historic locales, farmlands, and residential communities. This region is the largest remnant of a forest thought to have once encompassed over a quarter million acres (1,000 km²) on Long Island following the last glacial advance some 15,000 to 20,000 years ago. Much of the region's ecosystem is similar to the larger New Jersey Pinelands (also called "Pine barrens") to the south and southwest of NY City, along with Cape Cod's pine barrens. All three areas share geologic and ecological characteristics common along the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the U.S.

Trees have played a major role in the surrounding areas of New York. Very large trees can even grow in the New York metropolitan area (for example, the Queens Giant is the tallest tree in the NY metro area and the oldest living thing in the NY metro area.)

Economy

Unisphere From The 1964 World's Fair in NYC

New York City dominates the economy of the state. It is the leading center of banking, finance and communication in the United States and is the location of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wall Street, Manhattan. The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that in 2004, the total gross state product was $900 billion, second only to California. If New York were a Nation, it would rank as the 16th largest economy in the World, behind South Korea. The state economy grew 4.7%, slightly faster than the 4.3% for the US. Its 2004 Per Capita Personal Income was $38,333, placing it 5^th in the nation, and 6th in the World. New York's agricultural outputs are dairy products, cattle and other livestock, vegetables, nursery stock, and apples. Its industrial outputs are printing and publishing, scientific instruments, electric equipment, machinery, chemical products, and tourism.

Many of the world's largest corporations locate their headquarters home offices in Manhattan or in nearby Westchester County, New York. The state also has a large manufacturing sector which includes printing, garments, furs, railroad rolling stock, and bus line vehicles. Some industries are concentrated in upstate locations also, such as ceramics (the southern tier of counties) and photographic equipment (Rochester).

There is a moderately large saltwater commercial fishery located along the Atlantic side of Long Island. The principal catches by value are clams, lobsters, squid, and flounder. There used to be a large oyster fishery in New York waters as well, but at present, oysters comprise only a small portion of the total value of seafood harvested. Perhaps the best known aspect of the fishing sector is the famous Fulton Fish Market in New York City, which distributes not only the New York catch, but imported seafood from all over the world. The famous Fulton Fish Market has been moved to the Bronx.

New York's mining sector is concentrated in three areas. The first is near New York City. Primarily, this area specializes in construction materials for the many projects in the city, but its also contains the emery mines of Westchester County, one of two locations in the USA where that mineral is extracted. The second area is the Adirondack Mountains. This is an area of very specialized products, including talc, industrial garnets, and zinc. It should be noted that the Adirondacks are not part of the Appalachian system, despite their location, but are structurally part of the mineral-rich Canadian Shield. Finally in the inland southwestern part of the state in the Allegheny Plateau is a region of drilled wells. The only major liquid output at present is salt in the form of brine; however, there are also small to moderate petroleum reserves in this area.

New York exports a wide variety of goods such as foodstuffs, commodities, minerals, manufactured goods, cut diamonds, good paying jobs, and automobile parts. New York's top 5 export markets in 2003 were Canada $9B, United Kingdom $3.3B, Japan $2.6B, Israel $2.4B, and Switzerland $1.8B. New York's largest imports are Oil, Gold, Aluminum, Natural Gas, Electricity, rough diamonds, and Lumber.

Agriculture

Dairy farm near Oxford, New York, July 2001

New York State is an agricultural leader, ranking within the top five states for a number of products including dairy, apples, cherries, cabbage, potatoes, onions, maple syrup and many other products. The state is the largest producer of cabbage in the United States. The state has about a quarter of its land in farms and produced 3.4 billion dollars in agricultural products in 2001. The south shore of Lake Ontario provides the right mix of soils and microclimate for many apple, cherry, plum, pear and peach orchards. Apples are also grown in the Hudson Valley and near Lake Champlain. The south shore of Lake Erie and the southern Finger Lakes hillsides have many vineyards. New York State is the nation's second-largest wine-producing state, behind California. The state surpassed Washington as the 2nd largest producer in 2004. In 2004, New York's Wine and Grape industry pumped $6B dollars into the state economy. The state has 30,000 acres of vineyards, 212 wineries, and produced 200 million bottles of wine in 2004. It is widely expected that the New York Wine and Grape industry will surpass California in popularity, quality and production within 20 years.

New York was heavily glaciated in the ice age leaving much of the state with deep, fertile, though somewhat rocky soils. Row crops, including hay, corn, wheat, oats, barley, and soybeans, are grown. Particularly in the western part of the state, sweet corn, peas, carrots, squash, cucumbers and other vegetables are grown. The Hudson and Mohawk valleys are known for pumpkins and blueberries. The glaciers also left numerous swampy areas, which have been drained for the rich humus soils called muckland which is mostly used for onions, potatoes, celery and other vegetables. Dairy farms are present throughout much of the state. Cheese is a major product, often produced by Amish or Mennonite farm cheeseries. New York is rich in nectar-producing plants and is a major honey-producing state. The honeybees are also used for pollination of fruits and vegetables. Most commercial beekeepers are migratory, taking their hives to southern states for the winter. Most cities have Farmers' markets which are well supplied by local truck farmers.

Demographics

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2005, New York was the third largest state in population after California and Texas, with a population of 19,201,040 a 0.1% decrease over the 2004 population (19,227,088). This is the first time New York lost population since 1980. The population decline is due primarily to the continued migration to the Southern and Western States, a fewer number of immigrants, the continued loss of jobs, and the fact that New York is a very expensive place to live. Because of this, New York still to this day is only 30% developed with the rest of the state covered in Forests and Farms. Current projections have Florida replacing New York as the 3rd most populous state by 2010.

According to 2003 estimate, 20.4% of the population was foreign-born. The racial makeup of the state was:

• 62.