Manhattan is New York County, Brooklyn is Kings County, Queens is Queens County, the Bronx is Bronx County and Staten Island is Richmond County. The Bronx is the only borough attached to the North American mainland. Brooklyn and Queens sit on Long Island; Staten Island is reached from the rest of the city only by the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge or by the Staten Island Ferry.
Above Houston Street, Manhattan is laid out as numbered streets running east and west and numbered avenues running north and south. Fifth Avenue is the dividing line between east and west addresses. Most numbered streets are one-way: even-numbered streets generally carry eastbound traffic and odd-numbered streets generally carry westbound traffic, with wide two-way crosstown streets such as 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, 57th, 72nd, 79th, 86th, 96th and 125th as the exceptions. Sixth Avenue, officially Avenue of the Americas, runs north; Fifth, Seventh and Ninth run south; First, Third and Eighth run north. Park Avenue carries traffic in both directions.
The four free East River crossings between Manhattan and Brooklyn or Queens are the Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg and Ed Koch Queensboro bridges. MTA Bridges and Tunnels operates the Robert F. Kennedy, Verrazzano-Narrows, Throgs Neck, Bronx-Whitestone, Henry Hudson, Marine Parkway and Cross Bay crossings, plus the Queens Midtown and Hugh L. Carey tunnels. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates the George Washington Bridge, the Lincoln Tunnel and the Holland Tunnel, which are the interstate crossings to New Jersey.
John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport are both in Queens. Newark Liberty International Airport is in New Jersey. Know which expressway or parkway serves each borough: the Van Wyck Expressway and the Grand Central Parkway in Queens, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn, the Cross Bronx Expressway and the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx, the FDR Drive and the Henry Hudson Parkway in Manhattan, and the Staten Island Expressway in Staten Island. Commercial vehicles are barred from the parkways.
1. How many boroughs make up New York City?
The city was consolidated in 1898 from the five boroughs it still has today. Source: New York City Charter.
2. Which county corresponds to the borough of Manhattan?
Each borough is also a county of New York State, and Manhattan carries the name of the city itself. Source: New York City Charter.
3. Which county corresponds to the borough of Brooklyn?
The Dutch village of Breukelen gave the borough its name, while the county kept the older English one. Source: New York City Charter.
4. Which county corresponds to the borough of Staten Island?
Staten Island was called the Borough of Richmond until the modern name was adopted. Source: New York City Charter.
5. Which borough is the only one attached to the mainland of the United States?
Every other borough sits on an island, which is why so much of the city's road network is bridges and tunnels. Source: New York City geography.
6. Which two boroughs sit on Long Island?
Kings and Queens counties occupy the western end of Long Island, which is why the Long Island Expressway starts in the city. Source: New York City geography.
7. Which borough has the largest population?
Brooklyn has been the most populous borough for many decades, with Queens close behind it. Source: United States Census Bureau, New York City boroughs.
8. Which borough covers the largest land area?
Queens is by far the largest borough by area, which is why trips across it take so long. Source: New York City Department of City Planning.
9. Which borough has the smallest population?
Staten Island's separation from the rest of the city has kept it the least populous borough. Source: United States Census Bureau, New York City boroughs.
10. Which body of water separates Staten Island from Brooklyn?
The Narrows is the strait the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge crosses, and it is the entrance to the Upper Bay. Source: New York City geography.
11. Which river separates Manhattan from New Jersey?
Every crossing to New Jersey from Manhattan passes under or over the Hudson. Source: New York City geography.
12. Which waterway separates Manhattan from the Bronx?
The Harlem River is crossed by a series of short free bridges linking Upper Manhattan to the Bronx. Source: New York City geography.
13. Which waterway separates Brooklyn and Queens from Manhattan?
Despite the name it is a tidal strait rather than a river, and it carries the four free bridges. Source: New York City geography.
14. Which waterway forms part of the boundary between Brooklyn and Queens?
Newtown Creek runs inland from the East River and is crossed by the Pulaski and Kosciuszko bridges. Source: New York City geography.
15. Which boroughs does the Brooklyn Bridge connect?
It lands near City Hall on the Manhattan side and near Cadman Plaza on the Brooklyn side. Source: New York City Department of Transportation bridge list.
16. Which boroughs does the Manhattan Bridge connect?
It runs from the Canal Street and Bowery area to the Flatbush Avenue Extension in Brooklyn. Source: New York City Department of Transportation bridge list.
17. Which boroughs does the Williamsburg Bridge connect?
On the Manhattan side it lands at Delancey Street on the Lower East Side. Source: New York City Department of Transportation bridge list.
18. Which boroughs does the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge connect?
Drivers still call it the 59th Street Bridge after the Manhattan street it lands on. Source: New York City Department of Transportation bridge list.
19. Which four East River bridges carry no toll?
These four have never carried a toll, which is why traffic concentrates on them at peak times. Source: New York City Department of Transportation bridge list.
20. Which boroughs does the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge connect?
It is the only road link between Staten Island and the rest of New York City. Source: MTA Bridges and Tunnels facility list.
21. Which three boroughs does the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge link?
The three spans meet on Randalls and Wards Islands, which is what makes it a three-borough crossing. Source: MTA Bridges and Tunnels facility list.
22. By what earlier name is the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge still widely known?
The older name describes the structure better than the new one, which is why drivers kept it. Source: MTA Bridges and Tunnels facility list.
23. Which boroughs does the Throgs Neck Bridge connect?
It crosses the East River at its widest point, carrying traffic between the two boroughs. Source: MTA Bridges and Tunnels facility list.
24. Which boroughs does the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge connect?
Its two ends give it its name, and it runs a short distance west of the Throgs Neck crossing. Source: MTA Bridges and Tunnels facility list.
25. Which boroughs does the Henry Hudson Bridge connect?
It carries the Henry Hudson Parkway across the Harlem River between Inwood and Riverdale. Source: MTA Bridges and Tunnels facility list.
26. Which boroughs does the George Washington Bridge connect?
It lands in Washington Heights on the New York side and in Fort Lee on the New Jersey side. Source: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey facility list.
27. Which agency operates the George Washington Bridge?
The bi-state agency runs the interstate crossings, while the city and the transport authority run the others. Source: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey facility list.
28. Which crossing links Brooklyn to the Rockaway peninsula?
It carries Flatbush Avenue over Rockaway Inlet and is named for Gil Hodges. Source: MTA Bridges and Tunnels facility list.
29. The Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge lies entirely within which borough?
It links Broad Channel to the Rockaways, both of which are parts of Queens. Source: MTA Bridges and Tunnels facility list.
30. Which boroughs does the Pulaski Bridge connect?
It crosses Newtown Creek between Greenpoint and Long Island City. Source: New York City Department of Transportation bridge list.
31. Which expressway crosses the Kosciuszko Bridge?
The bridge carries the expressway over Newtown Creek between Greenpoint and Maspeth. Source: New York State Department of Transportation.
32. Which bridge carries traffic from Manhattan northbound into the Bronx over the Harlem River near 125th Street?
The Willis Avenue and Third Avenue bridges work as a one-way pair in opposite directions. Source: New York City Department of Transportation bridge list.
33. Which bridge carries traffic from the Bronx southbound into Manhattan as the partner of the Willis Avenue Bridge?
Knowing which of the pair runs which way saves a long detour in Harlem. Source: New York City Department of Transportation bridge list.
34. Which bridge crosses the Harlem River beside Yankee Stadium?
It carries 155th Street traffic from Manhattan into the Bronx close to the ballpark. Source: New York City Department of Transportation bridge list.
35. Which bridge gives road access to Roosevelt Island?
The only vehicle bridge to the island comes from Astoria, not from Manhattan, which surprises many drivers. Source: New York City Department of Transportation bridge list.