| Reading the SBA Resource Guide for NYC is a great | | | | anymore, but the name stuck, and now refers to |
| way to become familiar with state regulations and | | | | any parade down a major New York City street with |
| local agency contact information for all five boroughs | | | | confetti thrown in celebration of the occasion. |
| and the surrounding counties. | | | | SPORTS |
| The state income tax rate ranges from 4.0% to | | | | NFL Football: New York Giants (at Giants Stadium in |
| 7.7%, and the local income tax rate ranges from | | | | East Rutherford, NJ) |
| 2.907% to 4.45%. The state sales tax rate is 4%, | | | | NBA Basketball: New York Knicks (at Madison Square |
| and the local sales tax rate is 4.375%. | | | | Garden in Manhattan, NY) |
| According to city-data.com, the five largest | | | | MLB Baseball: New York Mets (at Shea Stadium/Citi |
| employers in the NYC area are the City of New York | | | | Field in Flushing, NY) and New York Yankees (at |
| (by far), the New York Public Schools, Merrill Lynch, | | | | Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY) |
| JFK International Airport, and the Goldman Sachs | | | | NHL Hockey: New York Rangers (at Madison Square |
| Group. | | | | Garden in Manhattan, NY) |
| The climate can be hot and humid in the summer and | | | | MLS Soccer: New York Red Bulls (at Giants Stadium |
| freezing cold in the winter, with the possibility of | | | | in East Rutherford, NJ) |
| every variation of weather in the spring and fall. | | | | If conversation is at a lull, and you are with a baseball |
| New York City is actually made up of five separate | | | | fan or two, get them to tell you the history of |
| counties, or boroughs: Queens (Queens County), | | | | baseball stadiums in New York. From a good |
| Brooklyn (Kings County), the Bronx (Bronx County), | | | | storyteller, you can hear all about Ebbets Field, the |
| Staten Island (Richmond County), and Manhattan | | | | emigration of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the end of |
| (New York County). | | | | an era at Yankee Stadium. |
| TRADITIONS | | | | TRIVIA |
| The city's street vendors are part of local culture. | | | | The corner of 54th Street and Broadway is called |
| Almost everyone agrees that this is a fine way to | | | | "Big Apple Corner" because that's where the |
| get good, inexpensive food quickly. | | | | gentleman who coined the term "Big Apple" used to |
| The annual Easter Parade is probably more about | | | | live. A 1997 city ordinance says so. |
| clothes than about Easter, since its unusual hats and | | | | Residents of Staten Island (Richmond County) had |
| costumes are what distinguishes this parade from | | | | once voted to secede from New York City, but the |
| any other. | | | | state of New York required that the city be given |
| Every once in a while, New Yorkers decide that a | | | | veto power over the vote. The city's mayor didn't |
| momentous occasion deserves a ticker tape parade. | | | | want to disrupt the budget or the city services, so |
| The "ticker tape" comes from the leftover stock | | | | he denied Staten Island's request. |
| ticker tape that was used as an impromptu | | | | Legend has it that Peter Minuit purchased the entire |
| substitute for confetti when they decided to | | | | island of Manhattan from the Algonquin Indians for |
| celebrate the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. | | | | the equivalent of $24.00 USD in 1626. |
| People don't use stock tickers or the ticker tape | | | | |