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Yeah, New York - New Amsterdam - it rocks! www.ny400.org is pretty cool, especially the blogs.

As a representative of the Dutch Embassy in Washington DC I would like to inform you that we are celebrating the four hundred year anniversary with numerous exciting events that will take place in both New York and the Netherlands! At the website NY400.org you will find information on all upcoming events as well as daily features and the latest news about our shared history!

New Amsterdam welcomed minorities??

Check this

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2colb46&s=5

Not only Dutch links in our linguistic DNA, but also in our pets. Cats in NYC are genetically more similar to cats in the Netherlands, whereas cats in Boston are more similar to English cats.

The Flushing Remonstrance was a 1657 petition to Director-General of New Netherland Peter Stuyvesant, in which several citizens requested an exemption to his ban on Quaker worship. It is considered a precursor to the United States Constitution's provision on freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights.

Flushing, now in Queens, New York, was then part of the Dutch colony of New Netherland (then known as Vlissingen). Stuyvesant had formally banned the practice of all religions outside of the Dutch Reformed Church, the established church of the Netherlands, in the colony.[1] In 1656 William Wickenden, a Baptist minister from Rhode Island was arrested by Dutch colonial authorities, jailed, fined, and exiled for baptizing Christians in Flushing. Many other similar incidents took place prior to the Remonstrance[1]

The Flushing Remonstrace was signed on December 27, 1657 by a group of English citizens who were affronted by persecution of Quakers and the religious policies of Stuyvesant.[2][1] None of them were Quakers themselves. [3]

Four who signed were arrested by order of Stuyvesant. Two immediately recanted, but the writer of the remonstrance, Edward Hart, and sheriff of Flushing Tobias Feake remained firm in their convictions. The town government of Flushing was removed and Dutch replacements were appointed by Stuyvesant.

Subsequently, John Bowne of the colony allowed Quakers to meet in his house. He was arrested in 1662 and brought before Stuyvesant. Unrepentant, Bowne was sentenced to banishment to Holland, though he was of English descent and spoke no Dutch. After several months in the foreign land, Bowne petitioned the directors of the Dutch West India Company. After a month of deliberation, the WIC agreed to support Bowne, and advised Stuyvesant by a letter (1663) that he was to end religious persecution in the colony. One year later, in 1664, the colony fell to British control.

I'm originally from eastern long island where there is a good amount of marshland. While in amsterdam last year, I took a bike ride to haarlem through a bike path and, with the exception of the windmills in the background the my surroundings really reminded me of home. Especially the high reeds you might find in fire island.
Anyway, I wondered when the dutch settled in New York, they choose the NY area not only for the harbor, but becuase they felt at home in the marshland.

I Love Amsterdam, I can't wait to return. The people are smart and I wish NYC was a little more like Amsterdam!

Also the NY Yankees got their name from the dutch pronunciation of two dutch names Jaan (YON) and Kees (KACE) and through the years the names were combined and became americanized. Why I'm not sure

We should not forget The Marble Collegiate Church was founded by the Dutch. Marble along with West End Collegiate and Middle Collegiate churches are all fixtures of New York City

There is an Amsterdam XXX on the Manhattan Municipal Building.

Not In My Back Yard is very popular with the Dutch. It sounds like that stems from Dutch Tolerance.

Is it true that the first colonists from Holland were actually refugees from Belgium, who just stopped over in Amsterdam? One of my architecture professors claims that the original architecture of Lower Manhattan looks more Flemish than Dutch.

Please give a shout out to Flushing, Queens, my hometown. It's original name was Vlissingen, a city in southern Netherlands (later bastardized, I mean anglicized, to Flushing)

Important to remember that New Amsterdam was one of the few colonies NOT founded by religious exiles. It was founded on commerce.

What a coincidence - I just finished reading a new policy report from the Center for an Urban Future (about NYC's middle class), and it has a section on our Dutch heritage. Specifically the importance of the middle class to Holland's economic strength in the early 17th century.

BTW, the report could be a good future topic. Really good discussion of the future of NYC's middle class. And timely - even includes the current financial crisis. It's called "Reviving the City of Aspirations"

How about all the Dutch influence all over Rockland County - Haverstraw, New Hempstaid, etc.

Harlem is named after Haarlem in the Netherlands.
Brooklyn is named after Breukelen. Yonkers is named after the dutch work Jonkheer - Young Gentleman.

most of places in Staten Island is Dutch, i.s., Fresh Kill, Arthur Kill & Hylan Blvd. Also, the reason brownstone is narrow is Dutch used be taxed according to width of their house, hence narrower the house, less tax

I noticed food and culture are similar here and there. There is not too many "Dutch foods", except maybe cheese and pickled herring. They had many different foods. I ate at an Irish pub, a Malasian Restaurant and tacos made by a man that emigrated from Colorado. So I think they are multicultural like we are here in NYC.

brooklyn is based on the dutch translation for 'broken land'-

so why do we say The Bronx instead of just Bronx NY

I lived in Amsterdam for almost 4 years, and now live in Brooklyn. Amsterdam's Vondal Park and Prospect park feel and look extremely similar. I constantly feel that I'm still in Amsterdam walking through there.

Re: "Amsterdam isn't Dutch" and "NY isn't American" -- this is not a special connection between NY and Amsterdam. The same is said of Moscow, Jakarta, and most large cities.

I think Staten Island is a Dutch name also,

I was surprised to read a plaque on a landmarked church on Broadway, in Elmhurst, Queens, that stated that the services were conducted in the Dutch language until the 1830's.

sex and drugs are freer in old Amsterdam

Thanks for doing a segment on the Dutch history in NYC. Every time St. Patrick's Day rolls around I think... yeah, yeah, we all know about the Irish already. What about other cultures?

There's a great story about how Wall Street used to be a wall dividing the British and Dutch colonies. Then the winter got so cold, people stole the wood from the wall to keep warm. Is that true?

The brick size used in brownstones and town houses in NYC is the same as the Dutch brick size. The brick size in Boston is the same as the British brick size.

THE COLORS OF THE FLAG OF NEW YORK CITY, ARE THE COLORS OF THE DUTCH FLAG

Holland tunnel named for the first Engineer on the project, Clifford Holland

not the country, Holland

I think our financial crisis with its root causes in rampant speculation has a nice precedent in the tulipomania of 1630s Amsterdam.

Holland Tunnel is named after the engineer Clifford Holland....