NYC: Capital of the World
Taught by Peter Laskowich
Peter Laskowich indulges in his passion for New York by giving tours, lectures and classes of its history.
Among the organizations that have sponsored his presentations are the Municipal Art Society, Cooper Union and the American Museum of Natural History. His commentary has been featured on radio and on television, and his course “Understanding New York City” proved especially popular at NYU’s Osher Center.
Mr. Laskowich is now writing a book on New York history - specifically the connections between the history of New York and that of baseball. He is a former nonprofit director and a nonpracticing member of the California bar.
Every city is unique. What distinguishes New York is the profound presence of world trade - like no other place in history, the world trades in New York City. It has led the nation and now the world in the fields of commerce, culture, finance, communications, politics.
This is owing to natural features so compelling that in the 1790s, when the city's population totaled 25,000, George Washington predicted that New York would one day dominate the hemisphere and become, in his phrase, "the seat of empire."
Resulting patterns and effects illustrate New York as both shaped by and shaper of national and international affairs. Among them:
* Wall Street;
* Federal Hall;
* Ellis Island;
* a surpassing array of tall buildings;
* the attacks of September 11th;
* this city's (and this nation's) primary ethic and values.
With a few simple illustrations we read New York as the primary center of global activity, as capital of the world.
