You seem to deeply misunderstand my position. New York City exists at its location because nature made it the greatest port facility in the western hemisphere.

You seem to deeply misunderstand my position. New York City exists at its location because nature made it the greatest port facility in the western hemisphere. Great cities emerge where there are transportation breaks: Seaports, rivers, lakeside sites (Chicago), the edge of mountain ranges (Denver). Any place goods need to be loaded and unloaded from long-range vehicles and onto other ones. The Erie Canal gave NYC access to America's hinterland, which floored the accelerator on the city's growth. But don't take my word for it; here's a foreword written by perhaps the most respected authority on the history of the city of New York: https://books.google.com/books?id=lVWSpqwqX8AC&lpg=PR15&ots=y68e-uRG4N&dq=%22New%20York%20City%20owes%20its%20location%2C%20its%20growth%2C%20its%20prosperity%2C%20and%20even%20its%20very%20existence%2C%20to%20its%20port%22&pg=PR15#v=onepage&q=%22New%20York%20City%20owes%20its%20location,%20its%20growth,%20its%20prosperity,%20and%20even%20its%20very%20existence,%20to%20its%20port%22&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=lVWSpqwqX8AC&lpg=PR15&ots=...