[52nd Street, New York, N.Y., ca. 1948]

New Orleans is credited with being the birthplace of jazz, the “Windy City” Chicago - with further spreading it throughout America, but it was New York that was responsible for making it a worldwide recognized genre. By 1930, New York had replaced Chicago as the jazz capital of the world. Those who aspired to jazz stardom had to prove their mettle in Manhattan. Count Basie’s orchestra set up a new home base at the Woodside Hotel in Queens in 1937 and played at the Roseland Ballroom, Savoy Ballroom, and Apollo Theater. Saxophonist Charlie Parker also relocated to Gotham and was playing at Three Deuces in Manhattan. In the 1940s, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie began experimenting with melodic and harmonic dissonance as well as rhythmic alterations. Harlem became the scene for these musicians. By 1941, Parker, Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Christian and Kenny Clarke were jamming there regularly with their experimental music that is known as bebop. In 1945, a young Miles Davis moved to New York and became intrigued with Parker. Soon he would work his way into Parker's quintet. By the end of the 1940s, bebop was the most popular style among young jazz musicians. By the early 1950s, it had mutated into new styles such as hard bop, cool jazz, and cuban jazz.

The history of New York City's transportation system. New York City is distinguished from other U.S. cities for its low personal automobile ownership and its significant use of public transportation. New York is the only city in the United States where over half of all households do not own a car (Manhattan's non-ownership is even higher, around 75%; nationally, the rate is 8%). New York City has, by far, the highest rate of public transportation use of any American city. New York City also has the longest mean travel time for commuters (39 minutes) among major U.S. cities. The Second Industrial Revolution fundamentally changed the city – the port infrastructure grew at such a rapid pace after the 1825 completion of the Erie Canal that New York became the most important connection between all of Europe and the interior of the United States. Elevated trains and subterranean transportation ('El trains' and 'subways') were introduced between 1867 and 1904. Private automobiles brought an additional change for the city by around 1930, notably the 1927 Holland Tunnel.