New York City

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The source does not describe any events involving King Kong or a confrontation atop the Empire State Building. It does state that the city is anchored by Wall Street in Manhattan's Financial District and has been called both the world's premier financial and fintech center and the most economically powerful city in the world. As of 2024, the New York metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a gross metropolitan product of over US$2.44 trillion. The city is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by market capitalization of their listed companies: the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. New York City is an established haven for global investors.

In Their Own Story

The source does not provide a narrative about a giant ape rampaging through New York City. It does note that the city has a 24/7 rapid transit system and leads the world in urban automobile traffic congestion. As of 2025, New York City is the most expensive city in the world for expatriates and has the highest residential rent costs of any American city; New York County (Manhattan) is by a significant margin the most expensive U.S. county in terms of average home price per square foot and produces the highest U.S. county GDP by both absolute and per capita measures. Fifth Avenue is an ultra-luxury international shopping corridor that is undergoing additional infrastructure investment.

Reader's Guide

Geographically, New York City is located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs—Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island—each being coextensive with its respective county. Manhattan Island was inhabited by Munsee-speaking Lenape around 1624. By then, Dutch colonists had established Fort Amsterdam as a center of trade on the island. This was the first European settlement in what would become New York City. The settlement was named New Amsterdam in 1626 and was chartered as a city in 1653. The city came under English control in 1664 and was temporarily renamed New York after Charles II granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York, before this name was permanently adopted in 1674. Following independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, the city was the national capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. The modern city was formed by the 1898 consolidation of its five boroughs.

Did You Know?

• New York City has an estimated population of 8,584,629 as of July 2025, distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km2), making it the most densely populated major city in the United States.
• An estimated 800 languages are spoken in New York City, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world.
• The New York metropolitan area's economy is larger than all but nine countries, with a gross metropolitan product of over US$2.44 trillion as of 2024.
• New York City is home to the highest number of billionaires, individuals of ultra-high net worth (greater than US$30 million), and millionaires of any city in the world by a significant margin.
• In 1664, New York was named in honor of the Duke of York (later King James II of England) after England seized it from Dutch control.