New York City, officially the City of New York, historically New Amsterdam, the Mayor, Alderman, and Commonality of the City of New York, and New Orange, byname the Big Apple, city and port located at the mouth of the Hudson River, southeastern New York state, northeastern U.S. It is the largest and most influential American metropolis, encompassing Manhattan and Staten islands, the western sections of Long Island, and a small portion of the New York state mainland to the north of Manhattan. New York City is in reality a collection of many neighbourhoods scattered among the city’s five boroughs—Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island—each exhibiting its own lifestyle. Moving from one city neighbourhood to the next may be like passing from one country to another. New York is the most populous and the most international city in the country. Its urban area extends into adjoining parts of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Located where the Hudson and East rivers empty into one of the world’s premier harbours, New York is both the gateway to the North American continent and its preferred exit to the oceans of the globe. Area 305 square miles (790 square km). Pop. (2000) 8,008,278; New York–White Plains–Wayne Metro Division, 11,296,377; New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island Metro Area, 18,323,002; (2010) 8,175,133; New York–White Plains–Wayne Metro Division, 11,576,251; New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island Metro Area, 18,897,109.