We watched all 1070 minutes of Ric Burns's exhaustive history of New York City back when we first moved here. It's quite a formidable history to get through but, aside from the unnecessary overviews that begin each episode, it's rather riveting.
The best bits, in my opinion, are about the Bowery Boys (much more interesting than the disappointing Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York); the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge; Jane Jacobs's battle to protect SoHo from Robert Moses; the depressing destruction of the old Penn Station; and the pre-depression era of unabashed glamour–it seems like this should be essential viewing for anyone that lives here.
The series originally aired on PBS in 1999, 2001, and 2003 and is currently available on DVD.
But what do you think?