New York

  INTERNAL AFFAIRS

POPULATION

US: 260 million

New York (Manhattan): 8 million

  TIME

GMT minus five hours; summertime (May to October), plus one hour

  TELEPHONE

IDD country code 1

New Yord 1-212, 1-718, 1-516

Los Angeles 1-213, 1-310, 1-818

New Orleans 1-504

Chicago 1-312

To call internationally from New York, dial 011 followed by the country code and then the number you wish to contact.

To call nationally, dial 1 before any number that begins with a different prefix to the one you are dialling from. So to call Chicago from New York, dial 1-312 and the number.

All telephone numbers listed below take the code 212 unless stated otherwise.

  WEATHER

New York is best avoided in high summer (mid-July to the end of August), when tempers rise with the temperature. In autumn, winter and spring, the city is looser, livelier and less packed.

  COMMERCIAL HOURS

Banks 8.00-15.00, Monday-Friday

Offices 9.00-18.00, Monday-Friday

Shops 10.00-19.00, Monday-Saturday. Many shops are open on Sundays as well; check first.

  NATIONAL HOLIDAYS 1996

1 January, third Monday in January (Martin Luther King Day), third Monday in February (Washington's Birthday), last Monday in May (Memorial Day), 4 July, first Monday in September (Labor Day), second Monday in October (Columbus Day), 11 November, fourth Thursday in November (Thanksgiving), 25 December. Also, 12 February (Lincoln's birthday) and Good Friday are observed in most states.

  BEST GUIDES & MAPS

For comprehensive information try the Blue Guide by Carol von Pressentin Wright. For good inside information, Eyewitness Travel Guide, New York (Dorling Kindersley) is perfect.

  TOURIST INFORMATION

New York Convention and Visitors Bureau: 2 Columbus Circle, New York Tel 397 8222

  ELECTRIC CURRENT

110 volts

  TRADING PLACES

Number of screens in US: 24,639

Number of screens in New York State: 1,476

VCR penetration in US: 67,465,686 (73% of total households)

  TV NETWORKS

ABC-TV

7 Lincoln Square, New York, NY 10023 Tel 456 1000

NBC

30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112 Tel 664 4444

CBS

CBS Corporate Headquarters, 51 Weat 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019 Tel 975 4321

WNET (PBS)

356, W 58th Street, New York, NY 10019 Tel 560 2000

  MAIN INDUSTRY EVENTS

1996

New Directors/New Films

22 March-7 April

Ethnogenre African American Film Festival

May

Asian Cinevision

July

Independent Feature Film Market

15-22 September

New York Film Festival

27 September-13 October

  SHOPPING

Barney's

106 7th Ave Tel 929 9000; and uptown at 660 Madison Ave Tel 826 8900

Bergdorf-Goodman

754 5th Ave at 58th Street Tel 753 7300

Bloomingdales

1000 3rd Ave Tel 705 2000

  MONEY

Thomas Cook Currency

29 Broadway Tel 363 6207; and midtown at 630 5th Ave Tel 757 6915

  LOST/STOLEN CREDIT CARDS

American Express 800 528 4800

Visa 800 336 8472

Mastercard 800 627 8372

  COURIERS

DHL 1-800-CALL DHL

Midnite Express (718) 729 9192

Breakaway (514) 964 8400

  PUBLICATIONS

Newspapers: The New York Times, The Daily News

Weekly, listings: The Village Voice, The New Yorker, New York Magazine

  THE X FILES TIPPING

Generally 15%, although in restaurants it is customary to simply double the sales tax of 8.25% which appears on the bill. Otherwise follow the tradition of tipping $1 per purchase (either on each round or each drink) at the bar: the bartender will expect this and serve major shots of liquor next round. Tipping cabbies is at your discretion.