New York City is a major American metropolis where the book takes place.
"Once upon a time, New York City had a sixth borough." "What's a borough?" ... "It's like a neighborhood. Or a collection of neighborhoods." (pg. 13)
On page 217 this same quote is brought up again. I think it is intresting to have the same exact quote in the book twice just in different places.
"I loved having a dad who was smarter than the New York Times..." (12)
" The biggest fireworks show in the history lit the skies of New York City that night, and the Philharmonic played its heart out."
Links
New York City is full of Skyscrapers, being such a large city.
The events of September 11 took place in New York City.
Pages 60 & 61 contain a picture of Central Park with White instead of the park. This possibly represents the fact that in the "6th Borough" story, Central Park wasn't a part of the other 5 boroughs.
"All in all, the feeling and the spirit of New York City is embodied in the empire state building." (249)