New York City is one of the most famous cities in the world, but behind its towering skyline and busy streets lies a collection of strange, surprising, and sometimes unbelievable stories. 25 Weird & Wonderful Facts About New York City explores the hidden quirks of the Big Apple, from bizarre buildings and unusual laws to historic moments and incredible coincidences. These facts reveal that even a city as familiar as New York still holds plenty of oddities waiting to be discovered.
Massive Tenant Buyout Story
1. Evicting the final four tenants of a Manhattan apartment building to allow renovations cost $20 million. The last tenant was so stubborn and savvy that he received $17 million and lifetime use of a $2 million condo.
2. Henryk Siwiak was shot dead on September 11, and because deaths from the terrorist attacks are not included in the city’s official crime statistics, Siwiak’s killing is the only homicide recorded in New York City on that date.
3. A Superhero Supply store in Brooklyn features a Cape Fitting room with a wind tunnel. The shop also sells Oxygen Gum and Bottled Chaos and includes an Invisibility Testing Center.
4. A 550-foot skyscraper at 33 Thomas Street in New York City has no windows. It was built to withstand the fallout of a nuclear blast for up to two weeks.
5. On November 26, 2012, New York City reported no incidents of violent crime across the entire city. This was the first known time that had happened.
6. Twenty thousand people attended a Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden in 1939.
7. When the Empire State Building opened in New York City in 1931, much of its office space remained unrented; New Yorkers nicknamed it the “Empty State Building”, and it did not become profitable until 1950.
8. After the series finale of M-A-S-H, New York City’s sewer system experienced a 6.7 million gallon increase, and it is estimated that one million residents held it in until the ending.
9. Retired New York City subway cars are dumped into the ocean to provide habitats for sea creatures.
10. In 1906, the Bronx Zoo exhibited an African man, Ota Benga, caged as an attraction.
New York Annual Move Day
11. Until World War II, nearly all people who rented an apartment in New York City had to move on the same day each year.
12. Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla invented one of the world’s first wireless remote controls and unveiled it at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1898.
13. If the Native Americans really did sell Manhattan to the European for $16 in the 1600s and had invested that $16 at annual interest rates of 8%, today that $16 would be worth enough for them to buy back all of Manhattan and still have $222 Trillion dollars left over.
14. 800 different languages are spoken in New York City, making it the most linguistically diverse city on Earth.
15. Hell’s Kitchen is a neighborhood in Manhattan, NYC most likely named after 2 cops watching an Irish riot. The rookie said “this is hell,” and the veteran said, “It’s hotter. It’s Hell’s Kitchen.”
16. Albert Einstein’s brains were retained and dissected improperly and against his wishes. His brain and eyeballs remain in a safe deposit box in New York City.
17. Snapple attempted to set a world record for the largest Popsicle, but it melted and covered Times Square in pink goo.
18. If Texas had the same population density as New York City, the entire world’s 7.4 billion people would fit within the state’s borders.
19. Madison Square Garden has not paid property taxes since 1982 because a 10-year tax abatement was inadvertently made perpetual due to a clerical error. This has cost New York City (and saved MSG) about $200M.
20. There’s a man named Raffi Stepanian in New York City who mines sidewalk cracks for gold. He can make over $600 a week.
Midnight Bull Pricey Protest Sculpture
21. Wall Street’s famous Charging Bull, a New York City tourist attraction, cost $360,000 to build; it was illegally installed in the middle of the night in 1989 after a stock market crash, was impounded, and was returned to the streets following public outcry.
22. No more than 40 people live above 800 feet elevation in New York City, making it an exclusive privilege for the super-rich.
23. Times Square occupies only 0.1% of New York City’s total land area yet produces 11% of the city’s economic output and 10% of its jobs.
24. Homeowners in New York City can request a free tree to be planted outside their homes.
25. On 9/11, when all transport out of the city was shut down, citizen boat owners transported over 500,000 people from Manhattan Island in an event known as the “9/11 Boatlift”.
Add Comment