7 Interesting Facts About New York

New York is a big city with a lot of history. This makes it quite interesting. Here are 7 interesting facts about New York we bet you didn’t know.

1) New York City Will Pay To Relocate Its Homeless

Believe it or not, this is true. The New York shelter system is a huge expense to the city, costing roughly $36 thousand per family, annually. Because of this Mayor Bloomberg’s administration developed a scheme that pays one-way airfare for homeless families, so long as they have a place to stay when there. San Juan is the most popular destination.

2) Pinball Was Illegal In New York Until 1978

One of the most interesting facts about New York history is the illegality of this harmless game. Not only was it illegal, but as illegal as alcohol was in the 1920s. Police even used to raid places for pinball machines, smash them with hammers and arrest their owners. Oh, and then dump the broken machines in the rivers. Imagine that. Over pinball.

3) Winnie The Pooh Lives In New York

This strange-looking stuffed bear (pictured: right) is none other than Winnie the Pooh. P.B. here is actually none other than the original, who was bought by A. A. Milne for his son, Christopher. This teddy celebrity resides at none other than the Children’s Center of the New York Public Library on 5th Ave. The rest of the characters are (from left to right) Tigger, Kanga, and Piglet.

4) Albert Einstein’s Eyeballs Are In A Safe Deposit Box in New York City

Einstein’s pathologist, Dr. Thomas Harvey secretly kept Einstein’s brain for over 40 years. In 1996 he gave the eyeballs to the late genius’s eye doctor, Henry Adams, who stored them in a safe deposit box for safekeeping.

5) The Empire State Building Has Its Own Zip Code

Home to over 21,000 employees and 1,000 businesses, the Empire State Building is so grand it warrants its own zip code: 10118.

Fun fact: The building was previously partly owned by Donald Trump, until 2002.

6) New York’s Parks Used To Be Cemeteries

In 1794 Madison Square Park became a burial ground for those too poor for a proper burial. In 1797, the Common Council moved the graveyard to Washington Square Park, and also did public hangings there. To this day there are still approximately 20,000 bodies buried under it. Union Square Park was used in a similar fashion until 1807, and until 1840, for roughly 20 years, so was Bryant Park. This list goes on: James J. Walker Park, to Sara Delano Roosevelt Park, the park at City Hall, and even underneath the Waldorf Astoria until 1931. Fact: Today, unknown bodies are buried on Hart Island, off the Bronx.

7) Pizza And Subway Fare Have Always Been The Same

In 1960 the cost of the subway was 15 cents; so was pizza. In the early 70s, the far increased to 35 cents; so did pizza. By the early 2000s, the fare was $1.50, and the pizza was roughly the same, depending on the neighborhood. Now other than ‘dollar pizza,’ pizza is between $2 and $3 a slice, and so is a slice of a ride with the MTA. The question is: pizza or travel?

Interesting Facts About New York

These are but 7 interesting facts about New York. Expect to see more interesting facts about New York as we explore this state further in the future.