Welcome to New York City

1
Welcome to New York City!

• Lets learn to get around this fascinating town.

An interactive education tool by Judie Matthews
2
New York City
Do you recognize any of the places or things
above? All of these sites are in New York City.
Its the home of many landmarks, museums,
schools, and sport teams. Over seven million
people live in New York City and even more come
every day to work, shop, and visit. How do all
these people move around town? Lets take an in
depth look at the geography and transportation of
the greatest city on Earth. Click the arrow on
the right to start learning.
3
Click on the video below to see a train
approaching a station. Remember that while
subways are an efficient and convenient way to
move through the city, trains are dangerous
everywhere. If you travel to New York, please be
cautious and careful.
4
Lesson One Learn about the geography of New York
City, and the basic routes of the Subway system.
Lesson Two Find out how to get around New York
City by understanding Express trains and station
transfers.
Lesson Three Use what youve learned to determine
your own routes around the city.
5
New York City Geography

• New York City is actually five smaller
  communities called boroughs. Each borough has its
  own government, culture, and landmarks. The five
  boroughs of NYC are Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens,
  The Bronx, and Staten Island. When New York City
  was founded hundreds of years ago, the five
  communities were not right next to each other,
  but now they have grown into one continuous
  metropolis. Can you find all five boroughs on the
  map?

The Bronx is the only borough that is not
part of an island. Both Manhattan and Staten
Island are independent islands. Brooklyn and
Queens are the Western-most parts of Long Island.
The five boroughs are connected to each other and
to the State of New Jersey by bridges and tunnels
for cars and subway trains. Click on the map to
learn more about each area of New York City.
6
Manhattan

• Manhattan may be the most famous part of New
  York City. It is home to the Statue of Liberty,
  the Empire State Building, Carnegie Hall, Central
  Park, and Wall Street. It is very urban area full
  of crowds, tall buildings, and streets full of
  taxis.

Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a large, very populated area on Long
Island. It is connected to Manhattan by the
Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges. It
is home to New York Citys famous Coney Island
amusement park.
The Bronx
Separated from Manhattan by the Harlem River, The
Bronx is home to both Yankee Stadium and the
World Famous Bronx Zoo.
7
Queens
Queens is connected to Manhattan by the
Triborough Bridge. The borough is the most
diverse place in the city, home to people from
all countries and continents. It is more
residential than many other areas. Queens is
also home to New York Citys two largest
airports.
Staten Island
This is the least populated of all the NYC
boroughs. It is quite suburban. It is the home of
the Staten Island Ferry which travels between
Staten Island and Manhattan everyday.
Now lets learn more about the Subway system that
connects the boroughs and moves millions of
people around everyday.
8
The NYC Subway
The NYC subway services 4 boroughs of New
York City Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The
Bronx. All subway lines are identified by either
a letter or a number, and belong to a color
group. Lines of the same color share some tunnels
and tracks. Besides their letter or number
name, many lines are also referred to by their
path in Manhattan. Most lines closely follow
above ground streets, and many names are
similar. Take a look at the map you were
given in class. Can you see all the different
colored subway lines? Can you find the blue
lines? Those subways are called the A, C, and E
trains. They make different stops, and start and
end at different stations, but in Manhattan they
all run together. They are often referred to as
the 8th Avenue subway because the tracks run
underneath 8th Avenue in Manhattan.
9
The NYC Subway

• Try to identify which color of lines match these
  descriptions?
• Broadway?
• Lexington?
• 14th Street?

It can be hard to understand a subway map if
you have never used one before. Dont give up.
Try to follow the lines all the way from the
start to finish. Try to remember what letters or
colors use the same color. Also take a look at
how subway lines meet with other colors, and then
split again. Well learn how to change from line
to line in the next lesson.
QUIZ
10
Match the boroughs of New York City with their
characteristics.

• Home of the Empire State Building.
• The most ethnically diverse borough.
• North of Manhattan, and not an island.
• Home of Coney Island beach and boardwalk.

• The Bronx
• Queens
• Manhattan
• Brooklyn

• Manhattan
• Queens
• The Bronx
• Brooklyn

• Manhattan
• Staten Island
• Brooklyn
• The Bronx

11
Congratulations!

• You sure do know the boroughs of New York City.
• Are you a native?
• Lets move on to the next lesson.

12
Sorry, Try Again.

• Feel free to go back through the lesson to find
  some
• facts you may have missed.

Back to the Quiz.
13
Getting Around
Weve already learned that the one color of
subway lines can have several different trains.
Not only do these different trains have different
beginning and ending locations, they also may
make different stops within the boroughs. Some
trains stop at every single station. These trains
are called Locals. Other trains may only stop
at large stations where more people enter and
exit the subway system. These trains are called
Express. Look at the Blue Line train again.
It is the A,C, and E trains. Are you able to tell
which letter is the Express and which letters are
the Locals?
14
Express and Local Trains
When reading a map, especially for the first
time, its always best to look at the key.
Theres a lot of information on the key to the
left, but lets try to mine out what we need.
Look for the words local and express. See how
the black dots are local stops, and white dots
are all stops? You can also see how the dots
can stretch over several colors of track. This
means both routes will stop there and subway
riders can change trains without paying
again. Lets look at the map again and figure
out what subway trains are stopping where.
15
Express and Local Trains
Look at the section of map on the right. You can
see two stations on the blue line. However, one
station is a black dot and the other is white?
One must be local and the other express. Now you
can determine which train is the Express route.
Which letter only stops at the white dot? Right,
the A is an Express train. The A train goes
through special tracks in the middle of the 50th
Street station, but it does not stop there. The
letters or numbers of the trains that stop will
be listed next to the station. Its important to
learn and remember which trains stop where, or
else you may searching for a new route home.
16
Express and Local Trains
Heres another example, this time from Brooklyn.
Follow the brown J, M, Z lines. All the trains
stop at Marcy Avenue, but which wont slow down
for Hewes Street?
Understanding how to follow a trains route is
easy once you know what you are looking for, huh?
Now lets see how the various train lines
connect. Changing trains two, three, or even four
times on your trip is an inevitable part of
living in a big city.
17
Changing Trains
Here is where the ACE trains meet with the L
train. The L train is grey. See how both lines
share the same white dot. Passengers can exit any
of these trains and transfer to another.
This is a more complicated transfer. The black
line indicates a transfer between these two
stations. However since the stations are black
dots, this means only Local trains will stop
there. Study your own map to figure out which
trains a passenger can move between at this
station.
18
Changing Trains
Heres one last transfer to look at before a
quiz. Three different lines are connected at
these stations. Can you locate all the lines? The
Red 123, the Orange F V, and the Grey L are all
connected. Be careful though. While all three red
trains stop, only two orange routes do. Remember
to check if Express and Local trains stop at a
station before you plan your route.
QUIZ
19
Identify which trains stop at the 96th street
station.
A,B,C, D
B C
A,B,C,1, 3
20
Congratulations! You aced getting around the
Upper West Side of Manhattan. Have you visited
New York? Lets move on to the next question.
21
Sorry, Try Again.
Keep going. Go back through the lessons, or look
at the whole map to gain some clues.
Back to the Quiz.
22
Identify all the Trains that stop at the
Atlantic-Pacific Station.
This is the meeting point for two huge stations
in Brooklyn. Try to identify all the trains that
stop in the station. Passengers that get off at
these stations can transfer to a lot of different
lines. Answer on the next page.
23
Identify all the Trains that stop at the
Atlantic-Pacific Station.
2,3,4,5,B,D,M,N,Q,R
1,2,3,A,B,C,D,R,Q,W
4,5,6,D,F,R,Q,V
24
Congratulations!Youre great at transferring
around Downtown Brooklyn. Have you visited New
York?Lets go on to the Final Challenge.
25
Sorry, Try Again.
Go back to the quiz and remember what we learned
about reading the map.
Back to the Quiz.
26
Plan Your Own Route
Now that you know the basics of getting around
New York City on the Subway system, its time to
plan your own route around town. Youll be given
the location of the initial and final stops. You
can go on any line and through any borough. Use
either the print or .pdf map, and check your
decisions with your group or teacher. Good
Luck. Well do the first one together.
27
Find a route from Classon Av on the G Line in
Brooklyn to the 5th-53rd E/V Line in Manhattan.
First, find the two locations on the map. Theres
no obvious route there, so we need to keep
thinking. Well need to make a transferwhat
trains meet up with the G train? The G shares
stations with the A,C at Hoyt-Schermerhorn, the F
train at Bergen St., the L at Metropolitan-Lorimer
and the E at Court Sq. See where all those
transfers are? Would any of these lines help us
get to our destination quickly? Since the stop
we need to on the E line, the best route is to
take the G train North to Court Sq, transfer to
the E train, and get off at the 5 Av/53 St. stop.
It is possible to take some other trains between
the two stops, but we want to go as quickly as
possible, and on the fewest number of trains.
Think you can do this by yourself?
28
Travel from Vernon Blvd in Queens to 145th st in
Manhattan.
Dont forget that the 145st stop is a Local stop.
When you think you have a correct answer, check
on the next slide.
29
Travel from Vernon Blvd in Queens to 145th st in
Manhattan.
Did you take the 7 train to the Times Square
Station? Did you transfer there to a 1 train?
Thats probably the quickest route to get there.
If you had another answer, follow this one on the
map. See how few stops we had to make. Next trip
will be a little tougher.
30
Find the best path between Coney Island and the
Cypress Hills stop.
There are several different trains that come down
to Coney Island. You can choose any of them to
begin this journey. While Coney Island and
Cypress Hills seem relatively close on the map,
dont be alarmed if your path takes you seemingly
out of the way.
31
Find the best path between Coney Island and the
Cypress Hills stop.
Did you travel into Manhattan? While it seems
backwards to cross the river twice, taking the F
train to the J train at the Delancey-Essex
station is a pretty fast route.
You may be starting to understand how difficult
traveling around New York City can be. But
remember, it is also a lot of fun and worthwhile.
Challenge your friends to find routes between
points in the city. Or try to see how many or how
few trains you can take between two places.