New York population reaches record 8.3 mn

New York: The population of New York City last year reached a record 8.3 million after, for the first time in more than six decades, the number of people moving into the Big Apple exceeded the number who left.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg Thursday made the announcement concerning the latest Census data, which reveal that the number of New York residents increased by 161,564 between April 2010 and July 2012, rising to 8,336,697, the highest figure in history. The increase in residents over the course of those two recent years came in all five boroughs making up the city: Brooklyn, with a 2.4 percent increase; Manhattan with 2.1 percent; Queens with 1.9 percent; The Bronx with 1.7 percent and Staten Island with 0.4 percent. Bloomberg ascribed the increase to "multiple indicators" of quality of life in the city, including a record low level of crime and historic highs in tourism. The mayor also emphasized the city`s high level of job creation and availability, with its total of 3.2 million private sector jobs in 2012, and the fact that 76 percent of New Yorkers live within 10 minutes walking distance from a park. Bloomberg also said that there was no better indicator of a city`s solidity than hitting a record high in its population and having a net inflow of people. He also emphasized that New Yorkers have an average life expectancy of 80.9 years. IANS