Fun Facts About New York: The City That Never Sleeps Has Secrets You’d Never Guess!

That’s just one of the many facts about New York City we’ll dive into as we uncover the interesting, quirky, and downright bizarre details of this iconic city. Read on to learn the wackiest and most interesting facts about New York City!

Facts About New York City You’ll Have to Read to Believe

New York Times: Times Square is named after The New York Times. Originally, it was known as Longacre Square until the Times moved there in 1904. Longacre Square doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, does it?

Pizza History: You probably know NYC is famous for pizza. However, did you know it’s home to the first-ever United States pizzeria? Add this one to your arsenal of New York fun facts.

Lombardi’s opened in 1895 and still serves some of the best pizza in New York City. (Bonus fact: The price of a pizza slice and a single subway ride has remained relatively equal for more than 50 years resulting in what economists call “The Pizza Principle.”

Weirdly, when the price of one goes up so does the other. By the way, using the NYC subway is quite easy. Follow our handy guide to help navigate this famous transit system.

Linguistically Diverse: New York City is one of the most linguistically diverse cities in the United States — and the world. More than 800 languages are spoken in New York City. Yes, 800!

Brooklyn Bridge vs Tower Bridge in London: Which landmark is older? Brooklyn Bridge or the Tower Bridge in London? If you guessed the Brooklyn Bridge, you’re correct.

Tripster offers amazing walking tours of this infamous bridge that touts views of the best sights in lower Manhattan. The two-hour tour features stunning sites like the Statue of Liberty, Freedom Tower, and other top landmarks.

Related Post: The Ultimate Guide to Hidden Gems in NYC

Honking is Illegal: If you’ve ever been to New York City, you’ve no doubt heard a lot of cars honking their horns. However, honking your horn in NYC is actually illegal. That’s one of the facts about New York City that doesn’t seem true but is!

First Capital of the U.S.: New York City, not Washington D.C., was the first capital of the United States of America. Another fun fact about New York is that it was named after the Duke of York.

Lots of Babies: We’ve all heard the phrase “faster than a New York minute.” However, did you know there is a birth in New York City every 4.4 minutes? That’s a lot of babies!

Going Topless: It’s not illegal to go topless in New York City. Don’t worry, though, people prefer to wear their clothes here! Keep reading for more New York fun facts.

Second Largest Library: The New York Public Library is home to more than 50 million books. As such, it’s the third-largest library in the world and the second-largest in the United States behind the Library of Congress.

The Beaux-Arts main branch is just two miles from the world-famous Central Park. Grab a book and head to this wonder!

NYC is Electrifying: The Empire State Building gets hit by lightning around 23 times a year. Talk about electricity! Discover this tour-de-force building with our Insiders Guide to the Empire State Building Experience.

Related Post: How to Spend a Day in New York City with Kids

Pro Tip: One of the best views of NYC is from the Top of the Rock. You’ll see the Empire State Building along the stunning NYC skyline.

Diversity: New York City has the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, the largest Chinese population outside of Asia, and the largest Puerto Rican population of any city in the world.

File this fun fact New York away for your next trivia night!

No Farting in Church: Going topless may be legal in New York City but farting in a church could result in a misdemeanor. This is due to a law stating a person is guilty of disruption or disturbance of a religious service, funeral, burial, or memorial service “when he or she makes unreasonable noise or disturbance while at a lawfully assembled religious service, funeral, burial or memorial service.”

Time to Move: Up until the 1920s, May 1 was moving day in New York City. As such, everyone who was moving apartments in New York City had to move on this day!

Can you imagine the chaos? This may be one of the strangest facts about New York City.

Socialites in Central Park: Continuing our list of New York City fun facts, the Central Park Mall, which is the only straight path in Central Park, was originally designed to let wealthy New Yorkers stroll, socialize, and show off their fancy duds.

Related Post: Ultimate Guide to the Empire State Experience – Coupons, Discounts, and Deals

You can’t hit the Big Apple without exploring this epic Adventureland with spectacular vistas, nature hikes, art, Bethesda fountain, music, and entertainment.

We have tickets to tour this fascinating mecca and uncover its deep historic roots. Or could also take a more modern approach and check out the Central Park TV & Movie Sites tour used in some of the most iconic films and television shows created.

NYC is Golden: New York City’s Federal Reserve Bank has the largest gold storage in the world. The vault, which holds more than 7,000 tons of gold bars or roughly $90 billion dollars, is 80 feet below ground.

Don’t worry, there are more New York facts about where that came from!

The Underground Park: You may have heard of The Highline, a park located above the New York City Streets.

But, have you heard of The Lowline? It’s the world’s first underground park in the world and is located on Manhattan’s West Side.

Shhhh…..Whisper: Grand Central Terminal has a Whispering Gallery. Stand at opposite diagonal corners of the Grand Central Station room to whisper to someone standing on the other side of the room.

Museum from 1642: The oldest building in New York City dates back to 1642. Known as Wyckoff Farm, the house, which is located in Brooklyn, is now a museum dedicated to the city’s Dutch heritage.

275 Different Birds: Attention birdwatchers! There are more than just pigeons in New York City. In fact, 275 of the 800 known North American bird species have been spotted in New York’s Central Park.

Related Post: New York Hidden Gems – Unveiling 14 of the Big Apple’s Best-Kept Secrets

Home Sweet Home: More than 8 million people live in New York City. That means 1 in every 38 people in the United States calls this bustling city home.

Gifting Lady Liberty: The Statue of Liberty may be a shining symbol of America but did you know it was originally gifted to the United States by France? The gift was bestowed in 1886 for America’s centennial celebration.

It was then shipped as 350 pieces in over 200 crates and took more than four months to assemble.

Cowboys in Manhattan? One of the oddest facts about New York City is that cowboys used to patrol the West Side of Manhattan. Why so?

Well, their job was to wrangle people out of the way of freight trains in an effort to avoid accidents. Luckily, as safety measures improved, they were no longer needed and phased out by 1941.

Fourth Largest City: If Brooklyn was its own city, instead of a borough of New York City, it would be the fourth largest city in the United States.

Related Post: Best Time to Visit New York City – An In-Depth Seasonal Guide

Home of Einstein’s Brain and Eyeballs: Albert Einstein’s brain and eyeballs are kept in a safe box in New York City. Strange, sure? True, you bet! This definitely qualifies as one of the most interesting facts about NYC.

Massive Ice Rink: In 1780, winter was so bad in New York City that New York Harbor froze over. As a result, people could walk from Manhattan to Staten Island on the ice.

That’s definitely one of the strangest facts about New York City! December is the perfect month to twirl and dip to your heart’s content in the legendary Rink at Rockefeller Center.

Free Plants: If you’re a New York homeowner, you can request a tree get planted outside of your home for free. How amazing is that?! Some fun facts about NYC are just good to know.

Home of the Billionaires: New York City is home to the most billionaires in the world. And, there are more than 380,000 millionaires in the City.

Rental Prices: Speaking of money, you’re going to need it if you plan on living in New York City. The average rent price is around $3500 a month. This is one of the NYC facts you won’t want to think about if you’re considering moving here!

Related Post: 17 Incredibly Fun Things to Do with Toddlers in NYC

The Yellow Taxi: New York City wouldn’t be the same without its round-the-clock fleet of yellow and black taxis. Oddly enough, though, the first gasoline-powered taxis in the City were red and green. New York City cabs didn’t adopt the yellow color until 1912.

Texas Ya’ll: Imagine this: The entire world’s population could fit in the state of Texas if it were as densely populated as New York City.

The “Bronck”: The Bronx was named after Jonas Bronck, who was the first European to settle in the region in 1639. Over the years, “Bronck” changed to “Bronx” and the rest is history.

Largest Subway in the World: If you tried to navigate the entire NYC subway system, it would take approximately 24 hours. And, that’s if you hurry! With 34 lines and 460 stops, the system is one of the largest in the world.

Gold Digging in NYC: The gold rush might have happened in San Francisco but you might be surprised to learn there’s a literal gold digger in NYC. He mines the sidewalk cracks for gold and can make over $600 a week. Pretty impressive!

Oyster Streets: One of the more interesting facts about New York City is that oysters were so popular in the 19th century their shells were used to pave Pearl Street.

Parking Revenue: UPS, FedEx, and other commercial delivery companies receive up to 7,000 parking tickets a day! Yikes. That results in approximately $120 million in revenue for the City.

Disappearing Islands: A one-mile-long island called Hog Island used to exist south of Rockaway Beach. It disappeared after the hurricane of 1893.

No Girls Allowed: McSorley’s, which is one of the oldest bars in New York City, didn’t allow women inside until 1970.

Related Post: 13 Exciting Things to Do in NYC with Teenagers

Building Zip Code: Another one of our most surprising New York City facts? The iconic Empire State Building has its own zip code—10118.

Miles of Coastline: New York City has 520 miles of coastline. That’s more than the coasts of Miami, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco combined.

Buying a One-Way Ticket: The City of New York will pay for a homeless person’s one-way ticket if they have a guaranteed place to stay.

Number of College Students: There are more undergrad and graduate students in NYC than Boston has people.

Little Elbow Room: The narrowest house in NYC is in the West Village: 75 1/2 Bedford Street is just over 9 feet wide.

Expensive Hot Dog Stands: It can cost over $289,000 for a one-year hot dog stand permit in Central Park.

Hidden Train Platform: There is a secret train platform in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. File this away in your collection of New York interesting facts so you’ll know where to start exploring the next time you’re in town.

New York City FAQs

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The vibe of this bustling city is thrilling, and with so many interesting facts and mysterious surprises, whatever you do, you’re sure to have the time of your life. If you decide to plan a trip to this City of Dreams, let us be your guide for hotels, attractions, and insider guides.

While you’re there, wander Wall Street, rise to the top of the Empire State Building, and behold the Statue of Liberty. There’s so much to do in the City That Never Sleeps!

What Fun Facts About New York City Did We Miss?

After reading all 45 fun facts about New York City, you’re in on the secrets of this world-famous city. Which one surprised you the most? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments!