New York Web Cams

Manhattan Island, New York City

Page 2

Before European colonization, present-day Manhattan was part of Lenape territory. European settlement began with the establishment of a trading post by Dutch colonists in 1624 on Manhattan Island; the post was named "New Amsterdam" in 1626. The territory 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.

New York, based in present-day Lower Manhattan, served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor greeted millions of arriving immigrants in the late 19th century and is a world symbol of the U.S. and its ideals. Manhattan became a borough during the consolidation of New York City in 1898, and houses New York City Hall, the seat of the city's government. Manhattan produces the highest U.S. county GDP by both absolute and per capita measures. The borough hosts Billionaires' Row and Wall Street, as well as the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. Many multinational media conglomerates are based in Manhattan, as are numerous colleges and universities, such as Columbia University, New York University, Rockefeller University, and the City University of New York. The headquarters of the United Nations is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan.

This is Page 2 of our Manhattan pages and features among other places, Bryant Park, a 9.6-acre (39,000 m2) public park opened in 1847. Privately managed, it is located between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. The eastern half of Bryant Park is occupied by the Main Branch of the New York Public Library. The western half, which contains a lawn, shaded walkways, and amenities such as a carousel, is located entirely over an underground structure that houses the library's stacks. The park hosts several events, including a seasonal "Winter Village" with an ice rink and shops during the winter.

Back in the 1960s, when many things and places in the City were going bad, Bryant Park had a bad reputation and was known as one of the two "Needle Parks" in NYC, along with Sherman Square and the adjacent Verdi Square on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The two areas became the center of a heroin epidemic. Due to tall, isolating hedges that blocked sightlines in Bryant Park (which were removed in the late 1980s), the 10-acre park became a magnet for drug dealers and other illicit activities during that time. But that was then, and not at all the case today. Just like the old sex shops that used to be on 42nd Street  (see page 3), all of those old eyesores are gone today.

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Broadway @ 42nd Street

6th Ave @57th Street

FDR Drive @ 38th St

FDR Drive @ 79th Street (looking at the East River)

59th Street Bridge Upper Level Center Mall @ York Avenue

59th Street Bridge Upper Level @ Queens Pier

59th Street Bridge outer roadway @ York Ave

2nd Ave at 59th Street Bridge

FDR Drive @ E 53 Street (looking at 59th St Bridge, on top right corner of cam)

3rd Ave @ 23rd St

FDR Drive/96 Street (where Harlan River and East River meets)

Harlem River Drive at 150th Street (near Yankee Stadium)

Central Park West at 72th Street

7 Avenue @ 125th Street

(All above cams from the 511NY)

Bryant Park (at 5th Avenue & Avenue of the Americas [aka 6th Avenue] between 40th and 42nd Streets)
Known as Manhattan's Town Square, in Midtown Manhattan
(both cams from Bryant Park NYC)