History Main / BigApplesauce

* ''Film/TheMuppetsTakeManhattan'': Justified, since they were trying to get their college variety show on UsefulNotes/{{Broadway}}.

* The theater industry itself. Theatres are divided into "UsefulNotes/{{Broadway}}", "off-Broadway", and "off-off-Broadway", based mostly on their seating capacity, and shows are forever branded as the highest level they've gotten to within the Apple. You can get up to about five offs before leaving Manhattan. Obviously playing in a Broadway theatre means being in the center of the English-speaking theater world -- you'll see a few things billed internationally as ''Trope-tastic! The West End Musical'', but not many.

* One of the early levels of ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden II'' (both the NES game and the entirely different UsefulNotes/XBox360 / UsefulNotes/{{PS3}} game) has Ryu traversing the Big Apple.

* The original UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}'s main processor was nicknamed "Broadway".[[note]]The main graphics processor was nicknamed "Hollywood".[[/note]]

* Creator/DCComics averts this by having every hero protect a different (usually fictitious) city, although the two most famous (Gotham and Metropolis) are based on New York. The major [[Franchise/TheDCU DC]] comic book to be set in the real NYC was the 80s run of ''ComicBook/TheNewTeenTitans'' which had the original Titans Tower on an island in the East River.

** ''VideoGame/MarioKartTour'' features a track known as New York Minute, being one of the first tracks in the series to be based on a real-life location. In this course, drivers race around New York Square and around the Central Park, and back into the city. Another version of the track was introduced during the game's one year anniversary. Interestingly enough, Pauline, the mayor of the city based on the Big Apple, favors this course. Both versions of the track was added later in Wave 2 of the Booster Course Pass [=DLC=] in the Nintendo Switch port of ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'' as a combined version.

* Even though ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' and ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'' have no explicit storyline connection to New York, both choose to set a Multiplayer level there ("Skidrow" for the former and "Stadium" for the latter).
** It does appear in ''Modern Warfare 3'''s campaign mode, as the setting of the first two missions. "Black Tuesday" takes place around Wall Street, while "Hunter-Killer" is centered on a Russian submarine in New York Harbour.

* Virtually all the heroes of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse set up shop in New York, as well as the major teams like Comicbook/TheAvengers and the Comicbook/FantasticFour. (The Comicbook/XMen were usually based in Westchester County before the move to Utopia, off the coast of San Francisco. They've since returned to Westchester.) Part of this was their distinction of living in a "real city" versus most of the fictional DC ones - and a healthy dose of CreatorProvincialism, given Marvel is headquartered there.[[note]]So was DC, before Time Warner sent the company to Burbank.[[/note]] Teams not set in New York are either the rare {{West Coast team}}s, the "international" teams that pop up every so often, or jokes (the Great Lakes Avengers). Naturally, all the bad stuff for them to save the world from occurs in New York as well.

** This is also Lampshaded in ''Comicbook/ScarletSpider''; Kaine Parker flees to Houston to avoid Spider-Man and the Avengers, and ends up becoming the city's defender after seeing that it has no heroes of its own.

** Marvel decided to promote ''Comicbook/{{USAvengers}}'' [[https://www.comicsbeat.com/marvel-unveils-all-of-the-us-avengers-state-variants-with-a-few-countries-thrown-in/ with variant covers featuring all 50 states.]] The problem is, many Avengers were born and raised in NYC, so when Comicbook/LukeCage got New York, others had to be spread to other states. Captain America in Delaware was justifiable (First Avenger = First State). Others, not so much, such as [[Comicbook/FantasticFour The Thing]] in Michigan and Spider-Man in New Hampshire.

** The first issue of ''Comicbook/WestCoastAvengers2018'' follows a TerribleIntervieweesMontage with [[Characters/HawkeyeKateBishop Kate Bishop]] noting that this trope is a deterrent for when [[WestCoastTeam building a team elsewhere]] (note that afterward she's visited by a New Yorker, [[Comicbook/TheUnbelievableGwenpool Gwenpool]], and instantly [[GotVolunteered drafts her]]):

** That said, there are a handful of prominent Marvel heroes whose stories are set outside of NYC, many of whom are comparatively recent additions. For example, [[Comicbook/MsMarvel2014 Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan]] is from Jersey City, and part of her characterization is that she's just outside of where all the chaos truly happens. Lampshaded when Shocker, a secondary Comicbook/SpiderMan villain, visits with the hopes of making a name for himself in a less crowded field:

** Superheroes that have lived in Franchise/TheDCU's New York include the Franchise/{{Green Lantern}}s Alan Scott (originally based in Gotham), Guy Gardner, John Stewart, and Kyle Rayner; Plastic Man; ComicBook/PowerGirl (when she's not living in Metropolis); [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Manhattan Guardian]]; ComicBook/{{Artemis}} while she [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 was the current]] Franchise/WonderWoman, the Comicbook/TeenTitans before they removed to San Francisco; and the original Sandman. Comicbook/{{Static}} and ComicBook/{{Hawkman}} are the protectors of New York in the ComicBook/{{New 52}} continuity. [[ComicBook/IAmBatman The new Batman Jace Fox]] moved to New York in the aftermath of ''ComicBook/FearState'' wanting to get out of Bruce Wayne's shadow and be his own Batman.

* The situation is {{Lampshaded}} in the ''[[WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012 Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' episode "Spidah-Man," where it's pointed out that since most of the superheroes like Spider-Man and Comicbook/TheAvengers live in New York, very few other cities have their own heroes. The episode ends with Spider-Man entrusting the protection of Boston to a teen hero named the Steel Spider.

* ''Literature/TheBabySittersClub'' series has club member Stacey [=McGill=] constantly reminding the readers how awesome her hometown of New York is. The characters make a big deal out of Stacey being from the city as well and consider her more sophisticated for it. At least two books--''Stacey's Mistake'' and the special edition ''New York, New York!'' take place there when the baby-sitters visit.

* ''Literature/TheBabySittersClub'' series has Stacey constantly reminding the readers how awesome New York is. The other book narrators make a big deal out of Stacey being from the city as well.

Is an AlienInvasion in progress? Watch for [=UFOs=] landing in Queens. Is there a neighborhood full of world-class martial artists with superhuman powers? It's in Brooklyn. Bunch of feared gangsters known to pummel ass and take names? [[Film/TheWarriors check out Coney Island]]. UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny? Madison Square Garden's got your front-row seats. A magical gateway between worlds? Look in the Queens Midtown Tunnel, or perhaps Central Park. Looking for TheLeader of a secret den of [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]]? He's probably chowing down on a burger at the Times Square [=McDonald's=]. Is there a mysterious gigantic cavern hidden just beneath the Earth's surface, wherein the {{Precursors}} created all life on Earth? Check in the Queens Midtown Tunnel again. Has ThePlague or a ZombieApocalypse broken out? The epicenter is in Harlem. And, of course, beware the MageInManhattan.

Is an AlienInvasion in progress? Watch for [=UFOs=] landing in Queens. Is there a neighborhood full of world-class martial artists with superhuman powers? It's in Brooklyn. UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny? Madison Square Garden's got your front-row seats. A magical gateway between worlds? Look in the Queens Midtown Tunnel, or perhaps Central Park. Looking for TheLeader of a secret den of [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]]? He's probably chowing down on a burger at the Times Square [=McDonald's=]. Is there a mysterious gigantic cavern hidden just beneath the Earth's surface, wherein the {{Precursors}} created all life on Earth? Check in the Queens Midtown Tunnel again. Has ThePlague or a ZombieApocalypse broken out? The epicenter is in Harlem. And, of course, beware the MageInManhattan.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' is set in New York.

* The Heisman Trophy is the most prestigious in [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball college football]]; it was awarded by the Manhattan-based Downtown Athletic Club from the award's creation in 1935 until the club went bankrupt in 2002. The award ceremony, now handled by The Heisman Trust, remains in Manhattan. Interestingly, college football is possibly the only sport that is not represented in the New York City area, which has no top-level teams within 30 miles.[[note]] The city's three college football teams, Columbia, Fordham, and Wagner, are all FCS level and play in stadiums that seat less than 20,000.[[/note]]
* The New York area has ''thirteen'' professional sports teams: [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball the Yankees, the Mets]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Basketball}} the Knicks, the Nets, the Liberty]], [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague the Rangers, the Islanders, the Devils]], [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague the Giants, the Jets]], [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueSoccer Red Bulls, NYCFC]], and the Lizards (Lacrosse). Together, they make up America's largest sports market. In addition, all of the leagues that feature these teams, with the exception of Major League Lacrosse, have their primary offices in New York. (MLL is based in Boston.)

* During the "Golden Age" of Major League Baseball, New York City boasted three teams: the Yankees, playing in the Bronx, the Giants in uptown Manhattan, and the Dodgers in Brooklyn. These teams accounted for over half of the pennants and World Series titles from 1940 until 1958, when the Dodgers and Giants moved to Los Angeles and San Francisco respectively. They also boasted some of the sport's most storied players: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe [=DiMaggio=], Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, etc.

* The NFL has had a policy for many years that the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl must be played in either a warm outdoor stadium or a dome. Many cities which are large enough to host a Super Bowl (Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Denver, Philadelphia, etc) were excluded by this policy until 2014, when New York[[note]]well, New Jersey, but who's counting?[[/note]] was the first one allowed to do so.

* Inverted with the summer UsefulNotes/OlympicGames, which have been hosted by nearly every other city of equivalent size and stature as well as two other American cities, but never New York.

* The Big East Conference has held their annual men's basketball championship tournament at Madison Square Garden (incidentally where member St. John's also plays several of its home games) since 1983, the longest running conference tournament at any one site in all of college basketball.

* Every {{Shoujo}} genre anime in the 8:30AM Sunday timeslot on TV Asahi since 1994 ([[Manga/GokinjoMonogatari with]] [[Anime/YumeNoCrayonOukoku three]] [[Anime/AshitaNoNadja exceptions]]) will have at least one scene set in New York City:

* ''Film/{{Mirage 1965}}'' is set in New York, and much of it was filmed on location. Settings include the zoo and the UsefulNotes/NewYorkCitySubway, and a corporate headquarters is actually 2 Broadway. There's also a scene where Creator/GregoryPeck and Diane Baker walk from Battery Park to City Pier A.

* Music/TheyMightBeGiants are New York-based, and apparently their songs are packed with obscure references, especially Village landmarks and personalities

* ''Series/GrandArmy'': The characters attend the fictional Grand Army High School in Brooklyn.

* ''Series/LukeCage'' takes place in Harlem.

* ''Series/JessicaJones'' takes place mainly in Hell's Kitchen, a neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan.

* ''Series/{{Daredevil}}'' is set mainly in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan.

* The New York area has ''thirteen'' professional sports teams: [[UsefulNotes/MLBTeams the Yankees, the Mets]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Basketball}} the Knicks, the Nets, the Liberty]], [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague the Rangers, the Islanders, the Devils]], [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague the Giants, the Jets]], [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueSoccer Red Bulls, NYCFC]], and the Lizards (Lacrosse). Together, they make up America's largest sports market. In addition, all of the leagues that feature these teams, with the exception of Major League Lacrosse, have their primary offices in New York. (MLL is based in Boston.)

** The first issue of ''Comicbook/WestCoastAvengers2018'' follows a TerribleIntervieweesMontage with [[Comicbook/HawkeyeKateBishop the female Hawkeye]] noting that this trope is a deterrent for when [[WestCoastTeam building a team elsewhere]] (note that afterward she's visited by a New Yorker, [[Comicbook/TheUnbelievableGwenpool Gwenpool]], and instantly [[GotVolunteered drafts her]]):

* ''ComicBook/KatieTheCatsitter'' has a New York City in which superheroes [[(NonPoweredCostumedHero minus superpowers)]] and giant robot attacks are treated as a fact of life.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMutantMayhem'' takes place mainly in Manhattan, but the turtles briefly visit Brooklyn at one point, and the villains are based on Staten Island.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMutantMayhem'' takes place in New York City.

-->'''Duke:''' New York... If I can kill them here, I can kill them anywhere!
-->'''Duke:''' Time to de-worm the Big Apple!
* ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'' takes place in New York City. TheVirus and the [[ArmiesAreEvil Army]] [[HeWhoFightsMonsters That Fights It]] trash the city during their war. All you can really do is finish the job or [[ImAHumanitarian eat everyone]] while you finish the job. ''VideoGame/{{Prototype 2}}'' trashes it even further (with Manhattan being blocked from the other buroughs for suffering the worst).
* The team working on ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}} 2'' apparently chose NYC for the sequel, because it was the city that constantly appeared on the top of their lists due to its iconic nature.
** Oh, and it's had an epidemic of TheVirus, with the C.E.L.L. organization attempting to contain it by murdering any potential carriers-that is to say, anything that moves and isn't one of them. DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything?

* ''Series/{{FBI}}'' is about a group of agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York City field office.

** This was {{Lampshaded}} in-universe during the Civil War storyline, when someone pointed out that if, for example, aliens invaded anyplace BUT New York, there would be no one to stop them (or at least, lots of people would die before the heroes could get there.) This resulted in the creation of The Initiative, a government program to give every state in the US its own superteam, with the Avengers remaining in New York while everyone else was drafted to new parts of the country. The program only lasted a couple of years, and once it folded nearly all the heroes clumped back together in New York.

** The prevalence of disasters centred on New York and Los Angeles are [[DiscussedTrope commented on]] in ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'', when the eponymous character is assigned a mission in Iowa:

** The Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse films have tended to avoid this however, with very varied settings. The only movies with a heavy presence of New York are ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' and ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'', with the other three ''Avengers'' movies also having important scenes in the city, and the final battle of ''Film/{{The Incredible Hulk|2008}}'' happening on Harlem. This even extends to certain backstories, such as the MCU version of [[Film/BlackPanther2018 Erik Killmonger]] growing up in Oakland instead of Harlem.
** This is not the case with the Netflix series, all of whom are set in New York City (Harlem in ''Series/{{Luke Cage|2016}}'', Hell's Kitchen in ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'', ''Series/{{Jessica Jones|2015}}'', ''Series/{{Iron Fist|2017}}'' and ''Series/{{The Defenders|2017}}'') but not necessarily filmed in the neighborhoods they're set in. Brooklyn doubles for Hell's Kitchen, since in the shows, Hell's Kitchen is being rebuilt after [[Film/TheAvengers2012 the Incident]]. ''Series/{{The Punisher|2017}}'' is also mostly in New York, aside from early Season 2 in Ohio. Another streaming case is the Creator/DisneyPlus show ''Series/{{Hawkeye|2021}}''.
** While ComicBook/ThePunisher is no stranger to out-of-town (or even country) settings, he mostly operates in New York (specifically TheBigRottenApple with an endless supply of criminals limited only by the author's imagination), offering commentary on the social issues and and the GangOfHats that plague specific suburbs. In "Six Hours To Kill", he ends up in Philadelphia, and claims he hates the place.
** The first issue of ''Comicbook/WestCoastAvengers2018'' follows a TerribleIntervieweesMontage with [[Comicbook/HawkeyeKateBishop the female Hawkeye]] noting that this trope is a deterrent for when [[WestCoastTeam building a team elsewhere]] (note that afterwards she's visited by a New Yorker, [[Comicbook/TheUnbelievableGwenpool Gwenpool]], and instantly [[GotVolunteered drafts her]]):
-->Can't swing a dead cat in Manhattan without hitting forty freaking super heroes... here I interview '''fifty-two''' "super heroes" and the most promising one is Toast-Man...