This partial list of city nicknames in New York compiles the aliases, sobriquets, and slogans that cities in the U.S. state of New York are known by (or have been known by historically), officially and unofficially, to municipal governments, local people, outsiders, or the cities' tourism boards or chambers of commerce. City nicknames can help in establishing a civic identity, helping outsiders recognize a community or attracting people to a community because of its nickname; promote civic pride; and build community unity.[1] Nicknames and slogans that successfully create a new community "ideology or myth"[2] are also believed to have economic value.[1] Their economic value is difficult to measure,[1] but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have achieved substantial economic benefits by "branding" themselves by adopting new slogans.[2]
Some unofficial nicknames are positive, while others are derisive. The unofficial nicknames listed here have been in use for a long time or have gained wide currency.
^MSN Encarta states that this nickname "resulted from the meeting here in 1754 of the Albany Congress, which adopted Benjamin Franklin's Plan of Union, the first formal proposal to unite the colonies."[1]Archived 2009-10-29 at the Wayback Machine. Archived 2009-10-31.
^Ryley, Sarah. "Brooklyn Atlantic Yards: 'Wrong Church, Wrong Pew,' Says Manhattan Judge in Tenants' Case", Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 18, 2007. Accessed June 13, 2007. "State Supreme Court Justice Walter Tolub ruled the action 'was brought both in the wrong church and the wrong pew,' making reference to Brooklyn's early reputation as the 'City of Churches'. In a footnote, the judge cited an 1844 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle as the origin of that nickname."
^Mele, Andrew P. (2008). The Boys of Brooklyn: The Parade Grounds: Brooklyn's Field of Dreams. AuthorHouse. p. 292. ISBN978-1434340405.
^Morrone, James F. (2001). An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn. Gibbs Smith. pp. x. ISBN1586850474.
^Hoboken Claims Honor As Baseball Birthplace, The Washington Post, June 20, 1990. "Gov. Jim Florio made a pitch to have Hoboken declared the birthplace of baseball, and he did it from the pitcher's mound at a site not far from where supporters say the first game was played, on the game's anniversary today."
^Corning, New YorkArchived 2007-12-12 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 16, 2007. "Recognized as a world leader in glass-making – and dubbed "Crystal City" for its prominence – Corning boasts a heritage that dates to the 1860s."
^Local HistoryArchived 2017-01-26 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 5, 2007. "Known as the 'Crown City' because of its location on a plain formed by the convergence of seven valleys, Cortland is situated about 1,130 feet above sea level, making it the uppermost city to crown the state."
^Aswad, Ed; Meredith, Suzanne M. (2003). Endicott-Johnson. Charleston, SC: Arcadia. p. 23. ISBN9780738513065. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
^Florida, New YorkArchived 2008-01-02 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 16, 2007. "Onion farming became the primary source of agricultural revenue, resulting in the area being known as "The Onion Capital of the World." Growing, packing, and distribution of this crop continues to be Florida's most important industry."
^Motola, Chris. "Nestle and Sonoco Plants Expected to Resume Operation Under New Ownership", Oswego County Business, December 10, 2003, accessed April 16, 2007. "Fulton may once again live up to its slogan, 'a city with a future.' New York State Gov. George Pataki arrived to unveil the good news at a press conference at the Fulton Municipal Building on Dec. 10 at 2PM."
^[2], accessed November 19, 2013. "It may be 'the town that friendship built.' But Hamburg’s three-member Town Board has been rife with bickering and discord."
^Glenn Curtiss, accessed April 16, 2007. "Here, in the picturesque village of Hammondsport, known locally as the "cradle of aviation," Glenn H. Curtiss, world famous aviation pioneer who died unexpectedly in a Buffalo hospital, will be buried at 4 o'clock tomorrow afternoon."
^Purdum, Todd S. "POLITICAL MEMO; An Embattled City Hall Moves to Brooklyn", The New York Times, February 22, 1992. Accessed March 27, 2008. "Leaders in all of them fear that recent changes in the City Charter that shifted power from the borough presidents to the City Council have diminished government's recognition of the sense of identity that leads people to say they live in the Bronx, and to describe visiting Manhattan as 'going to the city.'"
^"Jacob's Voice". Jewish Press. 24 May 2006. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
^Joseph Nathan Kane, Gerard L. Alexander, Nicknames and Sobriquets of U.S. Cities, States, and Counties, Scarecrow Press, 1979, Page 340
^New Rochelle: The City of Huguenots, Knickerbocker Press, 1926, New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce
^Modern New Rochelle and The National City Bank, The National City Bank, 1909, M.J.Dillon, Page 19
^Sullivan, James; Williams, Melvin E.; Conklin, Edwin P.; Fitzpatrick, Benedict, eds. (1927), "Chapter IX. Westchester County.", History of New York State, 1523–1927(PDF), vol. 2, New York City, Chicago: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., p. 480, hdl:2027/mdp.39015019994048, WikidataQ114149636, The seat of hundreds of country estates, with more private and public parks than any like area in the United States, it is known as the "City of Parks."
^Finn, Robin. "A Vigilant Eye on Threats to the 'Capital of the World'", The New York Times, June 8, 2007. Accessed June 13, 2007. "'What makes this the biggest challenge in all that we do as an agency is, well, as the late pope said, New York City is the capital of the world,' he says, leading the way into his spacious sanctum at 26 Federal Plaza."
^"New York, New York" LyricsArchived 2008-01-11 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 16, 2007. "These vagabond shoes / Are longing to stray / And make a brand new start of it / New York, New York / I want to wake up in the city that never sleeps..."
^Pfeiffer, Rick. "NIAGARA FALLS: Courthouse crumbles"Archived 2012-09-09 at archive.today, Niagara Gazette, April 4, 2007, accessed April 16, 2007. "You don't have to look far to find structural faults — there is more police crime scene tape stretched around problem areas at the Public Safety Building then there is on Cataract City streets."
^The Town of Tonawanda - HistoryArchived 2016-08-11 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 16, 2007. "By the turn of the century Tonawanda and North Tonawanda, jointly known as 'The Lumber City', was the largest lumber supply center in the world."
^ abHistory of Ogdensburg, Thousand Islands. Accessed June 13, 2007. "Attracting people from far and wide, we became the 'New York of the North'. At that time the community was known as 'the Maple City' and a city form of government was adopted on April 27, 1868."
^"The First Annual Black Dirt Feast: Program Guide"(PDF). July 28, 2009. Archived from the original(PDF) on December 24, 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2012. By the mid 19th century ... immigrant farmers, had drained the mucklands and planted the magnificent golden onions that made the region famous, eventually reaching a yield of 30,000 pounds of onions per acre. Pine Island, in the heart of the Black Dirt, became known as 'The Onion Capital of the World'.
^ abcd"Rochester FAQs". Greater Rochester Visitors Association. Archived from the original on January 15, 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2007. Rochester has been known as the "Young Lion of the West," the "Flour City," and the "Flower City." During the 1990s, Rochester was called "The World's Image Centre," a title stemming from its unique and impressive history in photography, xerography, and optics along with its leading role in manufacturing/research activities, and impressive educational resources in both traditional and evolving imaging sciences.
^ abRochester's HistoryArchived 2018-01-17 at the Wayback Machine webpage; "1850–1899: Westward expansion has moved the focus of farming to the Great Plains. Rochester's importance as the center for flour milling has declined. Several seed companies in Rochester have grown to become the largest in the world. Rochester's nickname is changed from the Flour City to the Flower City."
^Paul Post, Saratoga group hopes to create Thoroughbred parkArchived 2019-05-01 at the Wayback Machine, Thoroughbred Times, November 21, 2008. "Mayor Scott Johnson said the city cannot afford to purchase the parcel but that he supports the foundation’s efforts, which he said would be a welcome addition to the 'Racing City's' landscape."
^Mokhiber, Jessica. "Spa City celebrates Mardi Gras with sister city", Capital News 9, February 18, 2007. Accessed June 13, 2007. "Waveland, Mississippi and Saratoga are hundreds of miles from each other but they are connected by a special bond. After hurricane Katrina they became sister cities. This weekend people from Waveland helped the Spa City celebrate its very first Mardi Gras."
"The Forgotten New York", U.S. News & World Report, January 7, 2007. Accessed June 13, 2007. "Back in the 1950s, maybe. But the song, adopted by the city in 1995, expresses more hope than reality these days. Once known as 'the city that lights and hauls the world,' Schenectady has become a dim bulb and the first stop in a long, bleak road that runs through much of upstate New York, a countryside pockmarked with a series of eerie industrial relics and shuttered mill towns."
^15 July 1928, New York Times, pg. RE1: "Urging Staten Island operators to be cautious about pricing their realty, W. Burke Harmon, President of the Harmon National Real Estate Corporation, yesterday declared that sudden price increases on properties at this time might well result in halting the normal development of what he calls 'this forgotten borough that has suddenly stepped into the limelight.'"
^"A History of Syracuse City Hall". City of Syracuse official website. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2015. Syracuse, called the 'Salt City,' flourished in the mid-1800s.