Top 10 New York City Fun Facts

Start a conversation with fellow New York travelers with these interesting
factoids culled from our giant store of useless information about NYC ...

Real life "Gangs of New York" The Dead Rabbits meet the Bowery Boys, 1857.

1. New York City's Chinatown is the largest Chinese enclave in the Western Hemisphere.

2. It takes 75,000 trees to print a Sunday edition of the New York Times.

3. The Outerbridge Crossing, connecting Staten Island and New Jersey, is actually named in honor of Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge, the first chairman of the New York Port Authority.

4. Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, the world's most famous sandwich spread, was first introduced by Hellmann’s Delicatessen in Long Island City, Queens in the early 1900's.

5. The Brooklyn Children’s Museum was the world’s first museum exclusively for kids.

6. Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village was originally used as a graveyard for yellow fever victims and later as a site for public executions.

7. Calvary Cemetery, established in the borough of Queens in 1848, is the burial site of nearly 3 million people, more than any other cemetery in the United States.

8. At 772 miles long, the New York City subway system is 81 miles longer than the state’s 641 mile thruway system.

9. Annual location shoots on the streets of New York number 40,000 — including commercials, feature films, television shows and series, music videos and documentaries.

10. The Dead Rabbits and other gangs mentioned in the film "Gangs of New York" were real gangs of New York during the 19th century. The character Bill "The Butcher" Cutting, played by actor Daniel Day-Lewis, is based on infamous New York gang leader Bill "The Butcher" Poole.

 

More New York City fun facts & trivia around the Web:

Fun facts about Manhattan & New York City

Downtown NYC Fun Facts

 

also see -> New York City Almanac