Don't know a thing -- help

I%26#39;ve just started browsing the NYC forum and found everyone to be extremely helpful. I%26#39;m considering a long weekend next spring and wanted to get a little familiar with the city by visiting this forum.

Since I don%26#39;t have a clue about the burroughs, could someone please let me know the differences between them?

Thanks

Don't know a thing -- help

New York State, like most states, is made up of counties. The counties were first created in 1683, and some of the oldest counties still have their original boundaries -- wh ich were surprisingly small. One of these is New York County, which was the island of Manhattan. The County of New York and the City of New York had the same boundaries. Across the River, in Kings County, was the village of Brooklyn. Eventually Brooklyn would become a large city in its own right, and would annex everything else that was in Kings County.

Next to Kings County was Queens County, which had a number of rural towns.

In the harbor was a large island named for the Dutch States General: Staten Island. This island was Richmond County.

As New York City grew, it grew north off of the island of Manhattan into the southern towns of Westchester County, near the Bronx River (named for Jonas Bronck, and early settler.)

In 1898, the City of New York and the the City of Brooklyn merged. At the same time, the new enlarged New York was given Richmond County, the western part of Queens County (the eastern part was made into a new county called ';Nassau';) and the southern part of Westchester County (which eventually became Bronx County.) It should be noted that the only one of these five counties on the mainland of the US is Bronx County -- all the rest are on islands. Since the City was so large, it was useful for administrative purposes to use the county lines (which still exist for the purposes of state government -- e.g., courts, or district attorneys -- there are five different DA%26#39;s in NYC) as administrative divisions of the City. When considered for City governmental purposes, these counties are called ';boroughs';, and in most cases have different names: New York County = Borough of Manhattan; Kings County=Borough of Brooklyn, Richmond County = Borough os Staten Island, and Bronx County = Borough of The Bronx. ONly Queens retains its identical name (Bronx County laks a ';the';,w hile the Borough of THE Bronx has one.)

Of the five, Brooklyn is the most populous, and the second largest in area. Queens is the largest in area, and the second most populous -- more than half of all New Yorkers live either in Brooklyn or Queens. Staten Island is the most ';suburban'; and the least populous. Manhattan is the smallest in area by far (it is less than half the size of the Bronx, and less than a quarter the size of Queens), but is the one that has most of the things visitors want to see.

Don't know a thing -- help

Here%26#39;s a fun link for you to browse:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City

It includes a definition and listing of our five boroughs.

This forum is great and indeed very helpful, but I would suggest you read a good guidebook to start. By becoming more familiar with the area first, I found it easier to understand the questions !!

I got the DK Eyewitness New York City from Costco for less than $15 and it has some great pictures, too. You can always borrow one from the library if you prefer.

I STRONGLY agree with Kitty - get a guidebook. Bookstores, library book sales, libraries themselves and discount outlets usually offer a good selection.

Even if you get an outdated one, don%26#39;t fret, while prices may change, the basics are still the same!

Happy reading and researching!

Poppa

Hey Shelb!

Are you a member of Triple A (AAA)? -- they have great guidebooks that you can pick up by just going to your local AAA office. Many hotels also offer AA discounts as well.

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