1. Historically-speaking
1.1. Location (port city)
1.1.1. Immigration- millions immigrants came through Ellis Island in the 1900's and many settled in NYC (1/3 of the entire US population can trace its ancestry back to an immigrant that came through Ellis Island)
1.1.2. Important for trading, which led to NYC becoming a financial hub
1.2. Important Movements
1.2.1. The Great Migration - NYC was a prime destination for African-Americans migrating from the South
1.2.2. The Harlem Renaissance - spurring from the Great Migration.. An important cultural movement, especially for Art and Music
1.3. United Nations
1.3.1. UN Headquarters (completed in 1950) emphasized NYC's political influence and importance
2. Currently-speaking
2.1. Culture
2.1.1. Museums - NYC is home to many of the world's most important museums: the Met, the Guggenheim, MoMA, AMNH, etc.
2.1.2. Fashion - NYC is a central location not only for fashion design, but also fashion media (magazines eg. Vogue and television eg. Project Runway)
2.1.3. Performing Arts - home to Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and many other important performance venues
2.1.4. Theater - Broadway! The highest level of achievement in a musical theater setting.. An attraction for tourists from all over the world
2.2. Landscape
2.2.1. Architecture
2.2.1.1. Current - the Conde Nast Building is an example of NYC being at the forefront of "green" building design
2.2.1.2. Skyline - what more can you say? NYC's skyline is iconic!
2.2.2. Parks - Central Park is the most visited park in the US w/25 million visitors each year
2.3. Transportation
2.3.1. NYC is central for international transportation, as many transfers occur at its area airports, JFK/LGA/Newark
2.3.2. NYC is also home to Grand Central Terminal, the largest train station (by # of platforms) in the world and also an important landmark
2.4. Finance
2.4.1. NYC is home to the New York Stock Exchange (the world's largest stock exchange) and Wall Street