New York radio stations
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Culture
New York began as New Amsterdam, a Dutch trading post at the southern tip of Manhattan in the 1620s. In 1664 the English took over and renamed it after the Duke of York. In 1898 the city took its current shape, with five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. Between 1892 and 1954, millions of immigrants entered the country through Ellis Island, and that mix still shows on the streets: Chinatown and Little Italy side by side, Harlem with its African American history, Queens with neighbourhoods from almost every continent. Each area feels like a different town, and much of life happens on foot, on the subway or at the corner deli. The calendar has dates the whole world follows. On Thanksgiving, in November, the Macy's parade carries giant balloons down the avenues of Manhattan. In December the Rockefeller Center tree is lit and the Fifth Avenue shop windows become an attraction of their own. At New Year, an illuminated ball drops from a tower above Times Square in front of a huge crowd.
Things to see
Local food
- Pizza by the slice — Thin and wide, folded in half to eat on the go.
- Bagel with lox and cream cheese — A ring of dough boiled before baking, a legacy of Jewish immigration.
- Pastrami on rye — A pile of cured, smoked beef on rye bread, with mustard and a pickle.
- Street-cart hot dog — A frank with mustard, sauerkraut or onions, sold on nearly every corner.
- New York cheesecake — Dense and creamy, made with cream cheese on a biscuit crust.
Accent and slang
- “Deadass”
- "Seriously", "for real".
- “Mad”
- Very, a lot. "It's mad cold."
- “Bodega”
- The corner shop, open late.
- “Schlep”
- To haul something heavy or make a tiring trip. From Yiddish.
- “On line”
- In line. New Yorkers say "standing on line".
- “The City”
- Manhattan, to people who live in the other boroughs.
Tip: play a local news station to hear the accent.
Local music
Hip hop was born in the Bronx in 1973, at block parties where DJs like Kool Herc stretched the breaks of records for the dancers. Before that, Harlem had been the centre of jazz in the 1920s and 1930s, and the Apollo Theater launched generations of singers. Salsa took shape here with the Puerto Rican community in the 60s and 70s, and punk found one of its stages at CBGB, with the Ramones. Broadway completes the soundtrack. The city's radio plays hip hop, R&B, pop, salsa, jazz, classical music and plenty of news.
More cities
Sources: Wikivoyage — Nova York (CC BY-SA) · Wikipedia — Nova Iorque (CC BY-SA) · UNESCO — Estátua da Liberdade.