Population
New York has nearly 8 million inhabitants, distributed over a 831m2 area divided into the 5 boroughs of Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. The population of the metropolitan area, which extends into the three states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, is approximately 20 million inhabitants.

Currency
US Dollar

Form of Government
Federal Republic

Religion
Reformed Christian and Catholic, with large minorities of all other religions.

Documents
To enter the US, tourists must have an electronic passport with a digital photo valid for at least the duration of the trip starting from the day of arrival.

Time Zone
-7 GMT (08:15)  - 6 hours behind Italian time.

Climate
New York winters are grey and frequently freezing with temperatures dipping below zero. The coldest month is January with an average temperature of 3°. During summer, temperatures soar above 30 degrees especially during the month of August. The greatest number of rainy days occur between the months of March and May.

Airport
There are three important airports available to New York: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), located in Jamaica (Queens) 25 k from Manhattan; Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), in New Jersey; and Fiorello LaGuardia Airport (LGA), located in Jackson Heights (Queens) which is almost exclusively dedicated to domestic flights.

Public Transportation
The Subway, New York’s famous underground transportation system, operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is divided into 22 lines, has 469 stations and covers a distance of 369 kilometres. With the subway, you can reach almost any point in NY and its not difficult to find your way by using the maps that are distributed in all stations. In addition to the subway, the NY public transportation system also includes 3,700 city buses, 204 local lines as well as 31 suburban lines. “Regular” buses stop every two or three blocks or after 10 minutes or so,  'Limited Stop' buses only stop every 10 blocks or at main intersections and “Express” buses go directly to outer lying neighbourhoods with very few stops in the city.

Holidays and Events
The most important holidays are New Year’s day (1 January), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (the third Monday in January), President's Day (the third Monday in February), Memorial Day (the last Monday in  May), Independence Day (4 July), Labour Day (the first Monday in September); Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday in November); Christmas Eve, Christmas (24 and 25 December) and New Year’s Eve (31 December).

Useful Addresses
Italian Consulate
NEW YORK. 690, Park Av.
tel. (001-212) 737.910.0

www.consnewyork.esteri.it
E-mail: info.newyork@esteri.it

Italian Cultural Institute
NEW YORK. 686, Park Av.
tel. (001-212) 879.424.2
www.iicnewyork.esteri.it
E-mail: iicnewyork@esteri.it