<P> This in turn led to a surge in culture . New York City became, once again, "the center for all things chic and trendy". Hip - hop and rap music, led by New York City, became the most popular pop genre . Immigration to both the city and state rose . New York City, with a large gay and lesbian community, suffered many deaths from AIDS beginning in the 1980s . </P> <P> New York City increased its already large share of television programming, home to the network news broadcasts, as well as two of the three major cable news networks . The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times became two of the three "national" newspapers, read throughout the country . New York also increased its dominance of the financial services industry centered on Wall Street, led by banking expansion, a rising stock market, innovations in investment banking, including junk bond trading and accelerated by the savings and loan crisis that decimated competitors elsewhere in New York . </P> <P> Upstate did not fare as well as downstate; the major industries that began to reinvigorate New York City did not typically spread to other regions . The number of farms in the state had fallen to 30,000 by 1997 . City populations continued to decline while suburbs grew in area, but did not increase proportionately in population . High - tech industry grew in cities such as Corning and Rochester . Overall New York entered the new millennium "in a position of economic strength and optimism". </P> <P> New York entered a new era following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the worst terrorist attack ever to take place on American soil . Four hijacked passenger jets came towards the USA . Two of the hijacked passenger jets crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, destroying them, and killing almost 3,000 people . One flew into the Pentagon demolishing the walls . The final one was taken back over by the pilots and crashed into an open grassland with 296 out of the 500 people dead . Thousands of New Yorkers volunteered their time to search the ruin for survivors and remains in the following weeks . </P>

Who settled the area that eventually became known as new york