New York City History Documentary Collection MP4 Video Download DVD
25.25
USD. Free Shipping Worldwide!
A Documentary History Of New York City, The Largest City Of The Empire State Of The United States Of America - 5 Hours Presented In The Highest DVD Quality MPG Video Format Of 9.1 MBPS In An MP4 Video Download Or Archival Quality 3 Disc All Regions Format DVD Set!
* July 2, 2024: Updated With WNYC-TV Signs Off Forever, Midnight June 30, 1996!
* February 5, 2023: Updated With A WNYC Time Capsule: 4-14-92!
Contains:
Carnegie Hall At 100: A Place Of Dreams (Color, 1990, 1 Hour)
The rich history and cultural significance of Carnegie Hall, New York City's most prestigious venue for a performing act to appear anywhere in the world, and how that was almost lost until the theater was saved by the host of this program, Isaac Stern, with sections of this documentary narrated by fellow stars of the hall Pete Seeger, Ray Charles, Garrison Keillor, Zubin Mehta, Van Cliburn, Wynton Marsalis, Lionel Hampton, Victor Borge, Alan King, Marilyn Horne, Julie Andrews, Madelaine Kahn, Liza Minelli, Alexander Schneider, Jason Robards, Agnes De Mille, Colleen Dewhurst, Leonard Bernstein, Rachel Worby, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Leontyne Price and more.
The People's Palace: Secrets Of The New York Public Library (Color, 1991, 1 Hour)
Jason Robards narrates this survey of the world's largest circulating library, its exemplary standards and practices, its history and its projected future, as well as the importance the library has to the cultural, literary and artistic life of the city and the nation.
The Hidden City (Color, 1989, 1 Hour)
Judd Hirsch guides us on a journey through the systems of New York City that the public never sees: its power system, its fresh water supply systems and its sewage removal and treatment systems, all of which are larger than any other system in any city in the country, without which the city would not function, and with which it continues to improve the quality of life of its residents.
Greenwich Village Sunday (Color, Early 1960s, 13 Minutes)
Jean Shepherd of radio, television, movie and literary fame narrates this Stewart Willensky film documenting life and neighborhood of this celebrated cultural center at a celebrated moment in its history.
Greenwich Village, Coney Island and New York Snowstorm (Color, 1944, 15 Minutes)
Part of the R.W. Wathen amateur film collection, a quality color motion picture of Greenwich Village, a summer's day at Coney Island and the aftermath of a snowstorm as seen from in and around the intersection of New York City's East 10th Street and University Place.
A WNYC Time Capsule: 4-14-92 (Color, Tuesday, April 14, 1992, 13 Minutes)
From New York City's great defunct public television station, WNYC Channel 31: A PSA for New York City's Child Abuse Hotline by Mayor David Dinkins; Ad for Aids Walk New York, held Sunday, May 31, 1992, benefitting Gay Mens Health Crisis; Ad for Adam Smith's Money World; WNYC/31 New York Top-Of-The-Hour Station ID; NEWS CITY 4-14-92 (segment), WNYC-TV's public affairs news program, where the host declares at the start of the show "for WNYC-TV News, I'm Sunny Mindel reporting" (who ironically served as future Mayor Rudy Guliani's Press Secretary when he closed the station down in 1996 by selling it to a Dow Jones/ITT partnership) and goes on to report on Mayor Dickins' press conference reactions to Newsday's cover story on the Mayor "No More Mr. Skinflint" as well as his plans to cut the city's construction spending, then reports on a subway station press conference by N.Y.P.I.R.G. (New York Public Interest Research Group), a member of the Coalition For A Smoke-Free City, to stop Joe Camel and other cigarette advertising on the city's mass transit system.
Coney Island (Black and White, 1940, 6 Minutes)
The many venues and attractions of New York City's celebrated leisure and entertainment center as it was just before the beginning of the second world war.
Coney (Color, 1975, 6 Minutes)
A day in the life of Coney Island presented sped-up so as to fill six minutes of this film by Frank Mouris and musical score by David Shoemaker, presenting a kaleidoscope of life as it was in the mid-1970s.
New York City, Fifth Avenue (Black and White, Silent, 1947, 5 Minutes)
A view of New York City's Fifth Avenue from some of the swankiest apartment buildings around Museum Mile on the city's Upper East Side, an area sometimes called Upper Carnegie Hill.
For The Living (Black and White, 1949, 22 Minutes)
The City Of New York's Television Unit presented this public service film on how living conditions in the city had improved and would improve with the construction of low-cost public housing. Narrated by eminent actor Fredric March, with appearances by New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Chairman Thomas F. Farrell and Mayor William O'Dwyer. In the years since this film was made, up until the present day (2023), NYCHA has been subject to many complaints, and tenant and federal lawsuits, for maintaining squalid conditions, failing to provide tenants with heat and hot water, not keeping residents safe from lead, violating health and safety regulations, exposing children to lead paint, and training its workers to deceive inspectors.
Boats (Black and White, 1938, 11 Minutes)
A pleasant and instructive sightseeing cruise all the way down the Hudson River from the state of New York's capitol city of Albany to its largest city, New York.
3rd Ave. El (Color, 1950s, 11 Minutes)
Stunning and historically precious color film of the L Train, aka "'El' Train", that bestrode New York City's east side skyline for 70 some years during the 19th and 20th century.
Warner-Pathe Newsreel: The End Of The "El" Train (Black and White, 1955, 3 Minutes)
The end of East Side New York City's old elevated "L" train line that ran North and South along 3rd Avenue.
WNYC-TV Signs Off Forever (Color, Midnight June 30, 1996, 3 Minutes)
New York City's venerable and beloved public television station WNYC-TV signs off for the final time. Twelve hours later, at noon on July 1, channel 31 reappeared as WBIS (branded as S+), carrying programming from the Classic Sports Network most of the day, and infomercials in overnights. The City of New York, which was one of the United States' first municipalities to enter into broadcasting with the 1924 sign-on of WNYC radio, was granted a construction permit to build a new commercial television station in 1954. Seven years later, on November 5, 1961, WUHF took to the air for the first time. Through the Municipal Broadcasting System, which held the channel 31 license, the city (led by then-mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr.) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) used WUHF as an experiment to determine the viability of UHF broadcasts within an urban environment. Some of the early programming on WUHF included simulcasts of New York's existing commercial VHF stations; educational films produced by WNYC's Television Film Unit, established in 1949; college-level distance education telecourses; and, reportedly, a nightly rundown of the New York City Police Department's "wanted" criminals list. The experiment was carried out through the installation of UHF receivers in several hundred test homes, public schools and businesses, with reception monitored by FCC and City engineers. After a year of test broadcasting was deemed successful, full control of WUHF was then transferred to the city. The station became a full-time operation on November 5, 1962, with new call letters WNYC-TV to match its sister radio stations WNYC (then at 830 AM and now at 820 AM) and WNYC-FM (93.9 MHz). Though the channel 31 license was classified as commercial, WNYC-TV was operated as a non-commercial educational station. Some of the programming from the experimental period continued, and now included live broadcasts of the United Nations General Assembly meetings. As a municipally-owned station, WNYC-TV also devoted airtime to shows focused on civic affairs, along with other public-interest programs. The station also carried some programming from National Educational Television (NET) and its successor, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), but later increasingly ran more independent educational television programs. For many years, WNYC-TV ran a 15-minute newscast on weekdays, called News from City Hall (later called News City and expanded to 30 minutes), highlighting the day's events in municipal government. In 1979, Mayor Ed Koch considered selling the WNYC stations to other interests due to a municipal fiscal crisis. Instead, the WNYC Foundation was established as an outlet to raise operating capital for the stations. Though there were twice-yearly fundraising appeals made by the WNYC stations, WNYC-TV did not run on-air pledge drives in a manner similar to other PBS stations, mostly because it was a commercial licensee. It would not, however, have faced any problems had it done so, as WNED-TV in Buffalo, New York operated for decades as a non-commercial broadcaster under a commercial license. Channel 31 also leased blocks of airtime to foreign-language broadcasters. In the 1980s, among the largest providers of foreign programming were Japan's Fujisankei Communications Group, which aired a morning show on weekdays, and RAI, the Italian public broadcaster which programmed two hours on weeknights, and five hours on Sunday mornings, a period which included airings of Italian soccer games. Also during this era, WNYC-TV joined the music video phenomenon - and in the process contributed to the growth of hip hop culture and rap music. In the summer of 1983, channel 31 premiered the hour-long Video Music Box, created by station employee Ralph McDaniels. The program started off with an eclectic selection of videos from pop, rock, and rhythm-and-blues artists. Rap music was also included, but eventually the program became exclusive to the rap and R & B genres. Video Music Box served as a launching pad for many rap music artists, and was said to have been the basis behind MTV creating Yo! MTV Raps several years later. Video Music Box would remain prominently on WNYC-TV's schedule for the next decade (the show now airs on WNYE-TV, channel 25). Shortly after becoming mayor in 1994, Rudy Giuliani said that he was considering selling the WNYC stations. Giuliani said that broadcasting was no longer essential as a municipal entity, and that any financial compensation would be used to help the City cover budget shortfalls. The final decision was made in March 1995: the WNYC radio stations would be sold to the WNYC Foundation, while the city opted to solicit separate bids for WNYC-TV through a blind auction. In August 1995, a partnership of Dow Jones and Company and ITT Corporation (licensed as ITT-Dow Jones Television LLC) was declared the winner of the WNYC-TV auction with a bid of 207M USD, which at the time was the largest price ever paid for a UHF television station. The sale of channel 31 to commercial interests had many detractors. Foreign broadcasters complained, as they now found themselves without an outlet for their programming, and individual financial contributors criticized the Giuliani administration for selling the station to the highest commercial bidder, rather than to the WNYC Foundation. The foreign producers found new outlets through WNYE-TV, Newton, New Jersey-based WMBC-TV, and the City-owned Crosswalks cable TV network (now NYC Media), and eventually dispersed among the many low power television stations launched in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and currently through various digital subchannels both on full and low-power stations in the Tri-State. The sale took nearly a year to become official, as licensing troubles with the FCC and the aforementioned complaints from foreign broadcasters would ultimately delay the transaction. Eventually, at midnight, June 30, 1996, WNYC-TV signed off for the final time. Twelve hours later, at noon on July 1, channel 31 reappeared as WBIS (branded as S+), carrying programming from the Classic Sports Network most of the day, and infomercials in overnights. Meanwhile, Dow Jones and ITT worked on their planned permanent format for WBIS, which would offer business news during the day and professional sports news and games at night. The S+ name was designed to mean "sports, stocks, style, and success", as a nod to the format being worked by both partners. Former WNYW general manager Carolyn Wall was brought on board to supervise the launch of the station in the same capacity. The launch of the new format was beset by many difficulties: initially planned for that fall, it would be ultimately delayed, as business, editorial and creative differences between both partners concerned many station employees.
On January 1, 1898, The City Of Greater New York, the term used by many politicians and scholars for the expanded City Of New York, was created when New York, New York consolidates the existing City of New York with Brooklyn, western Queens County, and Staten Island, creating the modern city of five boroughs. The section of the Bronx west of the Bronx River had been annexed to the City and County of New York in 1874 and was known as the Annexed District. The section of the Bronx east of the Bronx River had been annexed to New York City, and New York County, in 1895. In the years leading up to consolidation, the City of Brooklyn had expanded by annexing all of the other towns and cities in Kings County. Only the western part of Queens County was part of the consolidation plan. In 1899, its three eastern towns separated to form the new Nassau County. The city is now known officially as the City of New York, but is most often called New York City, NYC, or simply New York. New York City is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2019 population of 8,336,817 distributed over about 302.6 square miles (784 km2), New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. Located at the southern tip of the State of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass. With almost 20 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and approximately 23 million in its combined statistical area, it is one of the world's most populous megacities. New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, significantly influencing commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports, and is the most photographed city in the world. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy, and has sometimes been called the capital of the world. Situated on one of the world's largest natural harbors, New York City is composed of five boroughs, each of which is a county of the State of New York. The five boroughs-Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island-were created when local governments were consolidated into a single city in 1898. The city and its metropolitan area constitute the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York,] making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. New York is home to more than 3.2 million residents born outside the United States, the largest foreign-born population of any city in the world as of 2016. As of 2019, the New York metropolitan area is estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of 2.0T USD. If the New York metropolitan area were a sovereign state, it would have the eighth-largest economy in the world. New York is home to the highest number of billionaires of any city in the world. New York City traces its origins to a trading post founded on the southern tip of Manhattan Island by Dutch colonists in 1624. The settlement was named New Amsterdam (Dutch: Nieuw Amsterdam) in 1626 and was chartered as a city in 1653. The city came under English control in 1664 and was renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York. The city was regained by the Dutch in July 1673 and was renamed New Orange for one year and three months; the city has been continuously named New York since November 1674. New York City was the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790, and has been the largest U.S. city since 1790. The Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the U.S. by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is a symbol of the U.S. and its ideals of liberty and peace. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a global node of creativity, entrepreneurship, and environmental sustainability, and as a symbol of freedom and cultural diversity. In 2019, New York was voted the greatest city in the world per a survey of over 30,000 people from 48 cities worldwide, citing its cultural diversity. Many districts and landmarks in New York City are well known, including three of the world's ten most visited tourist attractions in 2013. A record 62.8 million tourists visited New York City in 2017. Times Square is the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District, one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections, and a major center of the world's entertainment industry. Many of the city's landmarks, skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. The Empire State Building has become the global standard of reference to describe the height and length of other structures. Manhattan's real estate market is among the most expensive in the world. Providing continuous 24/7 service and contributing to the nickname The City That Never Sleeps, the New York City Subway is the largest single-operator rapid transit system worldwide, with 472 rail stations. The city has over 120 colleges and universities, including Columbia University, New York University, Rockefeller University, and the City University of New York system, which is the largest urban public university system in the United States. Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City has been called both the world's leading financial center and the most financially powerful city in the world, and is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.
A Documentary History Of New York City, The Largest City Of The Empire State Of The United States Of America - 5 Hours Presented In The Highest DVD Quality MPG Video Format Of 9.1 MBPS In An MP4 Video Download Or Archival Quality 3 Disc All Regions Format DVD Set!
* July 2, 2024: Updated With WNYC-TV Signs Off Forever, Midnight June 30, 1996!
* February 5, 2023: Updated With A WNYC Time Capsule: 4-14-92!
Contains:
Carnegie Hall At 100: A Place Of Dreams (Color, 1990, 1 Hour)
The rich history and cultural significance of Carnegie Hall, New York City's most prestigious venue for a performing act to appear anywhere in the world, and how that was almost lost until the theater was saved by the host of this program, Isaac Stern, with sections of this documentary narrated by fellow stars of the hall Pete Seeger, Ray Charles, Garrison Keillor, Zubin Mehta, Van Cliburn, Wynton Marsalis, Lionel Hampton, Victor Borge, Alan King, Marilyn Horne, Julie Andrews, Madelaine Kahn, Liza Minelli, Alexander Schneider, Jason Robards, Agnes De Mille, Colleen Dewhurst, Leonard Bernstein, Rachel Worby, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Leontyne Price and more.
The People's Palace: Secrets Of The New York Public Library (Color, 1991, 1 Hour)
Jason Robards narrates this survey of the world's largest circulating library, its exemplary standards and practices, its history and its projected future, as well as the importance the library has to the cultural, literary and artistic life of the city and the nation.
The Hidden City (Color, 1989, 1 Hour)
Judd Hirsch guides us on a journey through the systems of New York City that the public never sees: its power system, its fresh water supply systems and its sewage removal and treatment systems, all of which are larger than any other system in any city in the country, without which the city would not function, and with which it continues to improve the quality of life of its residents.
Greenwich Village Sunday (Color, Early 1960s, 13 Minutes)
Jean Shepherd of radio, television, movie and literary fame narrates this Stewart Willensky film documenting life and neighborhood of this celebrated cultural center at a celebrated moment in its history.
Greenwich Village, Coney Island and New York Snowstorm (Color, 1944, 15 Minutes)
Part of the R.W. Wathen amateur film collection, a quality color motion picture of Greenwich Village, a summer's day at Coney Island and the aftermath of a snowstorm as seen from in and around the intersection of New York City's East 10th Street and University Place.
A WNYC Time Capsule: 4-14-92 (Color, Tuesday, April 14, 1992, 13 Minutes)
From New York City's great defunct public television station, WNYC Channel 31: A PSA for New York City's Child Abuse Hotline by Mayor David Dinkins; Ad for Aids Walk New York, held Sunday, May 31, 1992, benefitting Gay Mens Health Crisis; Ad for Adam Smith's Money World; WNYC/31 New York Top-Of-The-Hour Station ID; NEWS CITY 4-14-92 (segment), WNYC-TV's public affairs news program, where the host declares at the start of the show "for WNYC-TV News, I'm Sunny Mindel reporting" (who ironically served as future Mayor Rudy Guliani's Press Secretary when he closed the station down in 1996 by selling it to a Dow Jones/ITT partnership) and goes on to report on Mayor Dickins' press conference reactions to Newsday's cover story on the Mayor "No More Mr. Skinflint" as well as his plans to cut the city's construction spending, then reports on a subway station press conference by N.Y.P.I.R.G. (New York Public Interest Research Group), a member of the Coalition For A Smoke-Free City, to stop Joe Camel and other cigarette advertising on the city's mass transit system.
Coney Island (Black and White, 1940, 6 Minutes)
The many venues and attractions of New York City's celebrated leisure and entertainment center as it was just before the beginning of the second world war.
Coney (Color, 1975, 6 Minutes)
A day in the life of Coney Island presented sped-up so as to fill six minutes of this film by Frank Mouris and musical score by David Shoemaker, presenting a kaleidoscope of life as it was in the mid-1970s.
New York City, Fifth Avenue (Black and White, Silent, 1947, 5 Minutes)
A view of New York City's Fifth Avenue from some of the swankiest apartment buildings around Museum Mile on the city's Upper East Side, an area sometimes called Upper Carnegie Hill.
For The Living (Black and White, 1949, 22 Minutes)
The City Of New York's Television Unit presented this public service film on how living conditions in the city had improved and would improve with the construction of low-cost public housing. Narrated by eminent actor Fredric March, with appearances by New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Chairman Thomas F. Farrell and Mayor William O'Dwyer. In the years since this film was made, up until the present day (2023), NYCHA has been subject to many complaints, and tenant and federal lawsuits, for maintaining squalid conditions, failing to provide tenants with heat and hot water, not keeping residents safe from lead, violating health and safety regulations, exposing children to lead paint, and training its workers to deceive inspectors.
Boats (Black and White, 1938, 11 Minutes)
A pleasant and instructive sightseeing cruise all the way down the Hudson River from the state of New York's capitol city of Albany to its largest city, New York.
3rd Ave. El (Color, 1950s, 11 Minutes)
Stunning and historically precious color film of the L Train, aka "'El' Train", that bestrode New York City's east side skyline for 70 some years during the 19th and 20th century.
Warner-Pathe Newsreel: The End Of The "El" Train (Black and White, 1955, 3 Minutes)
The end of East Side New York City's old elevated "L" train line that ran North and South along 3rd Avenue.
WNYC-TV Signs Off Forever (Color, Midnight June 30, 1996, 3 Minutes)
New York City's venerable and beloved public television station WNYC-TV signs off for the final time. Twelve hours later, at noon on July 1, channel 31 reappeared as WBIS (branded as S+), carrying programming from the Classic Sports Network most of the day, and infomercials in overnights. The City of New York, which was one of the United States' first municipalities to enter into broadcasting with the 1924 sign-on of WNYC radio, was granted a construction permit to build a new commercial television station in 1954. Seven years later, on November 5, 1961, WUHF took to the air for the first time. Through the Municipal Broadcasting System, which held the channel 31 license, the city (led by then-mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr.) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) used WUHF as an experiment to determine the viability of UHF broadcasts within an urban environment. Some of the early programming on WUHF included simulcasts of New York's existing commercial VHF stations; educational films produced by WNYC's Television Film Unit, established in 1949; college-level distance education telecourses; and, reportedly, a nightly rundown of the New York City Police Department's "wanted" criminals list. The experiment was carried out through the installation of UHF receivers in several hundred test homes, public schools and businesses, with reception monitored by FCC and City engineers. After a year of test broadcasting was deemed successful, full control of WUHF was then transferred to the city. The station became a full-time operation on November 5, 1962, with new call letters WNYC-TV to match its sister radio stations WNYC (then at 830 AM and now at 820 AM) and WNYC-FM (93.9 MHz). Though the channel 31 license was classified as commercial, WNYC-TV was operated as a non-commercial educational station. Some of the programming from the experimental period continued, and now included live broadcasts of the United Nations General Assembly meetings. As a municipally-owned station, WNYC-TV also devoted airtime to shows focused on civic affairs, along with other public-interest programs. The station also carried some programming from National Educational Television (NET) and its successor, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), but later increasingly ran more independent educational television programs. For many years, WNYC-TV ran a 15-minute newscast on weekdays, called News from City Hall (later called News City and expanded to 30 minutes), highlighting the day's events in municipal government. In 1979, Mayor Ed Koch considered selling the WNYC stations to other interests due to a municipal fiscal crisis. Instead, the WNYC Foundation was established as an outlet to raise operating capital for the stations. Though there were twice-yearly fundraising appeals made by the WNYC stations, WNYC-TV did not run on-air pledge drives in a manner similar to other PBS stations, mostly because it was a commercial licensee. It would not, however, have faced any problems had it done so, as WNED-TV in Buffalo, New York operated for decades as a non-commercial broadcaster under a commercial license. Channel 31 also leased blocks of airtime to foreign-language broadcasters. In the 1980s, among the largest providers of foreign programming were Japan's Fujisankei Communications Group, which aired a morning show on weekdays, and RAI, the Italian public broadcaster which programmed two hours on weeknights, and five hours on Sunday mornings, a period which included airings of Italian soccer games. Also during this era, WNYC-TV joined the music video phenomenon - and in the process contributed to the growth of hip hop culture and rap music. In the summer of 1983, channel 31 premiered the hour-long Video Music Box, created by station employee Ralph McDaniels. The program started off with an eclectic selection of videos from pop, rock, and rhythm-and-blues artists. Rap music was also included, but eventually the program became exclusive to the rap and R & B genres. Video Music Box served as a launching pad for many rap music artists, and was said to have been the basis behind MTV creating Yo! MTV Raps several years later. Video Music Box would remain prominently on WNYC-TV's schedule for the next decade (the show now airs on WNYE-TV, channel 25). Shortly after becoming mayor in 1994, Rudy Giuliani said that he was considering selling the WNYC stations. Giuliani said that broadcasting was no longer essential as a municipal entity, and that any financial compensation would be used to help the City cover budget shortfalls. The final decision was made in March 1995: the WNYC radio stations would be sold to the WNYC Foundation, while the city opted to solicit separate bids for WNYC-TV through a blind auction. In August 1995, a partnership of Dow Jones and Company and ITT Corporation (licensed as ITT-Dow Jones Television LLC) was declared the winner of the WNYC-TV auction with a bid of 207M USD, which at the time was the largest price ever paid for a UHF television station. The sale of channel 31 to commercial interests had many detractors. Foreign broadcasters complained, as they now found themselves without an outlet for their programming, and individual financial contributors criticized the Giuliani administration for selling the station to the highest commercial bidder, rather than to the WNYC Foundation. The foreign producers found new outlets through WNYE-TV, Newton, New Jersey-based WMBC-TV, and the City-owned Crosswalks cable TV network (now NYC Media), and eventually dispersed among the many low power television stations launched in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and currently through various digital subchannels both on full and low-power stations in the Tri-State. The sale took nearly a year to become official, as licensing troubles with the FCC and the aforementioned complaints from foreign broadcasters would ultimately delay the transaction. Eventually, at midnight, June 30, 1996, WNYC-TV signed off for the final time. Twelve hours later, at noon on July 1, channel 31 reappeared as WBIS (branded as S+), carrying programming from the Classic Sports Network most of the day, and infomercials in overnights. Meanwhile, Dow Jones and ITT worked on their planned permanent format for WBIS, which would offer business news during the day and professional sports news and games at night. The S+ name was designed to mean "sports, stocks, style, and success", as a nod to the format being worked by both partners. Former WNYW general manager Carolyn Wall was brought on board to supervise the launch of the station in the same capacity. The launch of the new format was beset by many difficulties: initially planned for that fall, it would be ultimately delayed, as business, editorial and creative differences between both partners concerned many station employees.
On January 1, 1898, The City Of Greater New York, the term used by many politicians and scholars for the expanded City Of New York, was created when New York, New York consolidates the existing City of New York with Brooklyn, western Queens County, and Staten Island, creating the modern city of five boroughs. The section of the Bronx west of the Bronx River had been annexed to the City and County of New York in 1874 and was known as the Annexed District. The section of the Bronx east of the Bronx River had been annexed to New York City, and New York County, in 1895. In the years leading up to consolidation, the City of Brooklyn had expanded by annexing all of the other towns and cities in Kings County. Only the western part of Queens County was part of the consolidation plan. In 1899, its three eastern towns separated to form the new Nassau County. The city is now known officially as the City of New York, but is most often called New York City, NYC, or simply New York. New York City is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2019 population of 8,336,817 distributed over about 302.6 square miles (784 km2), New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. Located at the southern tip of the State of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass. With almost 20 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and approximately 23 million in its combined statistical area, it is one of the world's most populous megacities. New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, significantly influencing commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports, and is the most photographed city in the world. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy, and has sometimes been called the capital of the world. Situated on one of the world's largest natural harbors, New York City is composed of five boroughs, each of which is a county of the State of New York. The five boroughs-Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island-were created when local governments were consolidated into a single city in 1898. The city and its metropolitan area constitute the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York,] making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. New York is home to more than 3.2 million residents born outside the United States, the largest foreign-born population of any city in the world as of 2016. As of 2019, the New York metropolitan area is estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of 2.0T USD. If the New York metropolitan area were a sovereign state, it would have the eighth-largest economy in the world. New York is home to the highest number of billionaires of any city in the world. New York City traces its origins to a trading post founded on the southern tip of Manhattan Island by Dutch colonists in 1624. The settlement was named New Amsterdam (Dutch: Nieuw Amsterdam) in 1626 and was chartered as a city in 1653. The city came under English control in 1664 and was renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York. The city was regained by the Dutch in July 1673 and was renamed New Orange for one year and three months; the city has been continuously named New York since November 1674. New York City was the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790, and has been the largest U.S. city since 1790. The Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the U.S. by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is a symbol of the U.S. and its ideals of liberty and peace. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a global node of creativity, entrepreneurship, and environmental sustainability, and as a symbol of freedom and cultural diversity. In 2019, New York was voted the greatest city in the world per a survey of over 30,000 people from 48 cities worldwide, citing its cultural diversity. Many districts and landmarks in New York City are well known, including three of the world's ten most visited tourist attractions in 2013. A record 62.8 million tourists visited New York City in 2017. Times Square is the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District, one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections, and a major center of the world's entertainment industry. Many of the city's landmarks, skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. The Empire State Building has become the global standard of reference to describe the height and length of other structures. Manhattan's real estate market is among the most expensive in the world. Providing continuous 24/7 service and contributing to the nickname The City That Never Sleeps, the New York City Subway is the largest single-operator rapid transit system worldwide, with 472 rail stations. The city has over 120 colleges and universities, including Columbia University, New York University, Rockefeller University, and the City University of New York system, which is the largest urban public university system in the United States. Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City has been called both the world's leading financial center and the most financially powerful city in the world, and is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.