This year is the 400th year of New York City, showing how change, history, and culture has progressed over the years. New York City’s officials, such as former Mayor Eric Adams, launched the official campaign named Founded by NYC.
According to the website, “To mark the 400th anniversary of NYC in 2025 and the 250th of the United States in 2026, ” Founded By NYC “highlights how the City has helped shape history and continues to inspire the world today. In partnership with the City of New York and Hamilton, we invite the world to explore original storytelling, can’t-miss events, iconic sights and immersive tours that bring NYC’s groundbreaking innovations to life.”
The Founded by NYC campaign has held numerous events for the city, such as concerts, many free events, museum festivals, and programs that can be found in all the five boroughs that make up this city. For example, there was a free concert held in Times Square featuring 23 Broadway shows such as “The Lion King” and “Wicked,” two highly acclaimed shows.
The campaign also states that this celebration isn’t just for partying, but it is to recognize the indigenous roots of the city and how the city came to be in the first place. Some of these events that are running through the end of the year and beyond are audio tours focusing on the Dutch Heritage of New York, and tours to showcase the Remnants of Amsterdam. Many museums are also having gallery tours and performances.
The creation of New York City dates back centuries, first being home to the Lenape people for many years. In 1624-1625, Dutch settlers arrived, calling what we know as the Southern part of Manhattan, “New Amsterdam,” which a lot of people are familiar with. Over all these centuries that have gone by, New Amsterdam has been drastically changed into New York City, with newer civilizations in the land, becoming a world wide city everyone knows and loves to this day.
Celebrating New York City’s 400th birthday is important because it helps people acknowledge the culture, history, and change that our city has been through for many years, and even to this day, the city is still changing. Tourist or not, people are still adding onto history with what this city holds for us. This is also an opportunity to acknowledge the different parts of history, such as slavery, inequality, and many other issues that have taken place in the city, or are still taking place today. The campaign created by Eric Adams also covers this.
Celebrating the anniversary helps to strengthen the community. Students, families, and residents of the city have their own place in New York City. Acknowledging the past of our city and how we can see the future of it too.
As a high school student, this is far much more than just partying or having fun. This can bring students more attention to learning the history of the city, and how it came to be, for example learning about the different boroughs. It also serves to connect culture and identity for many New Yorkers. Although New York City is a small place, it is one of the most diverse in the world. Students may also participate in events with free concerts, festivals, or even any events a school might be doing. There are a lot of ways for students to get more involved with the city.
New York City’s 400th birthday is an important event. It’s not just a time to party and have fun, but a way to learn and reflect on what the city has been through: the past and how it can better us in the future. Everyone in this city are participants in contributing to the city’s history and its future.
