At the time, New York City had a population of 5.7 million - the population had doubled in just 30 years due to mass immigration. The city was developing rapidly, and more than a quarter of the 300 largest companies in the US were headquartered in NYC.

The city was a destination for internal migrants as well as immigrants. Through 1940, New York was a major destination for African Americans during the Great Migration from the rural American South. The Harlem Renaissance flourished during the 1920s and the era of Prohibition. New York's ever accelerating changes and rising crime and poverty rates were reduced after World War I disrupted trade routes, the Immigration Restriction Acts limited additional immigration after the war, and the Great Depression reduced the need for new labor. The combination ended the rule of the Gilded Age barons. As the city's demographics temporarily stabilized, labor unionization helped the working class gain new protections and middle-class affluence, the city's government and infrastructure underwent a dramatic overhaul under Fiorello La Guardia, and his controversial parks commissioner, Robert Moses, ended the blight of many tenement areas, expanded new parks, remade streets, and restricted and reorganized zoning controls.

For a while, New York ranked as the most populous city in the world, overtaking London in 1925, which had reigned for a century. The 'Roaring 20s' also saw a construction boom, and many of New York's icons including Chrysler Center, Rockefeller Center, and the Empire State Building would be constructed in the ensuing decade.

For almost 20 years the Police foundation has funded the stationing of NYPD Intelligence Officers across the globe to gather firsthand intelligence on worldwide counterterror operations. There are now 18 officers in the International Liaison Program building contacts with local law enforcement agencies and providing in-depth analysis to their counterparts back home. In the event of a terrorist attack overseas, these detectives can be at the scene to provide timely information to the NYPD.

Interior designer CeCe Barfield Thompson decorated her family’s apartment on Gramercy Park in New York City by embracing the verdant colors just outside its windows. Her home feels like a sophisticated treehouse nestled amongst the trees, with worldly antiques and fine art adorning every corner. Cece and her husband purchased the apartment when it lacked even a fully-functioning bathroom, and then spent years restoring its classical style. Cece has succeeded in creating the perfect perch for her young family and dog, Oliver!