Verhovayak Lapja, 1953 (36. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1953 / Verhovay Journal
PAGE 2 Verhovay Journal December 16, 1953. NewYork-The Magnificent New York, gateway to America, began to function as a port more than three hundred years ago when Henry Hudson sailed up through the Narrows and discovered a harbor that undoubtedly seemed to him a navigator's paradise. New York was then a wilderness, inhabited by a few Indians. It has since grown to be an empire in itself, embracing within the environs of the port district almost ten per cent of the nations business. New York has been called the most dramatic city in the world. The appellation may be justified either on the basis of the mushroom character of its growth as compared with old-world metropolises or on the sudden grandeur of the spectacle which is seen by the visitor from the sea when he catches a glimpse of the towers, onesixth of a mile high or more, which make the first view of the Island of Manhattan unbelieveably strange and beautiful. It is the incomparable harbor that has made New York, whether we speak of it in terms of New York City, New York State, stretching hundreds of miles north and west, of which it is a part, or in terms of the great Metropolitan area, comprising the Port of New York, some parts of which are under separate political jurisdictions. The city itself has within its outlines approximately 7,835,000 people. The heart of the city is situated on an island 131 miles long with a breadth of 2-j miles at one point. On three sides of this island, which comprises the Borough of Manhattan, are four other boroughs: Bronx to the north, Queens and Brooklyn to the east, and Staten Island, the borough of Richmond to the south; all interspersed with bays, waterways, spacious boulevards on the street level and tunnels below. Surrounding the city itself is another broad area with more waterways, more rivers, more bays, more tunnels, marvelous ■ inter-connecting railroads, highways, and great terminals for freight and passangers. This, the whole area, comprises the Port of New' York District, and within it dwells a population of upwards of 11,000;000 people. There are approximately 300 square miles in the City of New York. There are over 3,700 square miles in the larger area known as the New York Metropolitan District. • Within the area dwells perhaps the most cosmopolitan people on earth. Whi e the vast majority of the people who themselves or whose parents came from other shores to make up this great world metropolis have been educated to American speech, ideals and American customs, and are true Americans, there are still some forty different languages and dialects spoken and written in New York City and newspapers are published in some twenty odd different languages besides English. The Port of New York is the gateway. Beyond is the hinterland of America, reached by railroads and great highways going out from New York like spokes from the hub of a wheel. To the north and northwest is New York State with many; smaller industrial cities, with broad fields given over to the type of farming which makes it one of the premier dairyng sections of the* world, to fruit growing with thousands of tons of apples, peaches and grapes, and to many other form of agriculture. Three hours away from New York City are the Catskill Mountains, one of the summer playgrounds of the people. In the northern part of the state are the Adirondack Mountains with their Whiteface and Mount Marcy, the last named, the highest in the state. To the northeast is New England, another combination of agriculture) and industrial territory, with the Berkshire Hills, the Green Mountain and White Mountain ranges, annd the lakes of Maine. To the west are the Poconos. All of these can be reached in a few hours from New York, and with New York’s own mountains and nearby beaches, they constitute the g'reat summer playground of eastern America. To the east of the city :1s Long Island with its beaches änd truck farms — acre upon acre of potatoes, cabbages, and vegetables of every variety — and to the west, and southwest is New Jersey with more truck farms and fruit farms. Ninety miles to the southwest lies the great industrial city of Philadelphia. And now as the newest attraction New York City offers the United Nations. World history in the making. Tickets tc meetings, available free for the asking, are required to ■attend plenary sessions or committee meetings. Write for reservations as far in advance as possible to the Admissions Office, United Nations, New York, or telephone the day before to PLaza 4-1234, ext. 634. Paid guided tours of the Headquarters are now operating every day from 9:30 a. m. until 6:00 p. m. The charge — $1.00 for individuals, 75d for adult groups, 50d for students and military personnel — is expected to cover the cost of operating. The United Nations Permanent Headquarters occupies an eighteen acre, six block area between 42nd and 48th Streets and First Avenue and the East River. The public entrance is on the north end of the Assembly Building approximately at 46th Street. Periodic meetings of the Security Council and other Councils and Commissions of the United Nations are held in the Conference Building. Make reservations as above! CLIMATE New York is in the North Temperate Zone at 40° 42’ North Latitude and 70" West Longitude. Taken as a whole, its climate is brisk and invigorating, a fact that has undoubtedly been a great factor in producing a people who are energetic, persistent and imaginative. The harbor is never closed by ice, yet the days in the summer wren the temperature is too hot for comfort are normally few. The city has snow but seldom does it have storms which are severe enough to interfere with traffic in the streets: occasional fogs but not many days during the year when the fog is dense enough to tie up traffic about the hundreds of mi!es of waterfront which are part of the harbor. The mean temperature of New York varies from 30" in January to 73.8° (Fahrenheit) in July. Sometimes in the winter, the thermometer goes down close tc zero but not often, the normal teperature being about 24°. Once in a while in summer, the mercury climbs above 90° but infrequently, the normal high on a summer's day being about 82°. Rainfall is usually abundant but :iot excessive, the average rainfall being about 43 inches a year. EDUCATIONAL AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES New York City combines with its finance and its industry marvelous facilities for education and play. Beyond all question, it is the nation’s educational center. It is the home of no less than thirty-seven institutions of higher education, including thirteen general colleges and universities, eight schools of medicine and two schools of law in addition to law schools connected with the •larger universities, five technical institutions and four schools of theology. * The largest of the universities is New York University which, in point of number of students, is one of the largest universities in- the United States. In 1951-1952, this institution had 65,388 students in its various schools and divisions. Columbia University, the second largest in size, had approximately 41,000 on its rolls. Other institutions of higher education include the College of the City of New York, a city-supported, university; Hunter College, also supported by the city; Fordham University, Manhattan College, Pratt Institute; the Cornell Medical School, and a host of technical, medical, musical, business preparatory and private institutions. Appropriation of public funds combined with private philanthropy has made it easy for the youth of either sex -to obtain an education in New York City. Free courses are .offered in such subjects as architecture, architectural drawing, building equipment and construction, art appreciation, costume designing, decorating, industrial and commercial art, lettering, printing and painting, sculpturing and modeling, biology, domestic science, history and more than thirty other subjects covering a wide range in the technical and cultural fields. At the base of the educational facilities in New York City stands the city’s public school system. The city has approximately 900 public schools with almost a million and a (Continued on page 6) NEW YORK SKYLINE Verhovay members who attend the 1954 Verhovay Tournament and Fellowship Days will see this most wonderful sight of the New York Skyline. The island of Manhattan plays a role in world affairs out of proportion to its size. The combination of historical background, population concentration and financial and cultural eminence makes New York City the goal of businessmen and vacationists alike. Truly» “the biggest vacation bargain in the world — where you get more for your money.” THOUSANDS OF MEMBERS OF OUR ASSOCIATION WILL MAKE THE GRAND TRIP, WHY DON’T YOU?
