Short answers, pulled from the story.
New York City was founded by Dutch colonists around 1624. The first permanent European presence near New York Harbor was established in 1624, making New York the 12th-oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental United States.
The first documented visit to New York Harbor by a European was in 1524 by explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano. He claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême.
New York City had an estimated population of 8,478,072 in July 2024. The 2020 Census found that New York City was home to 8,804,190 people.
Slavery was completely abolished in New York State in 1827. The state passed a Gradual Emancipation Act in 1799 that freed slave children born after the 4th of July 1799, but they were indentured until they were young adults.
Two of the four hijacked airliners were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on the 11th of September 2001, resulting in the collapse of both buildings and the deaths of 2,753 people. This included 343 first responders from the New York City Fire Department and 71 law enforcement officers.