The phrase take Manhattan appears to reference the song Manhattan by Rogers & Hart, first heard in the Garrick Gaieties from 1925.
The line in the original is We'll have Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island too ... [lorenzhart.org]
Later renditions changed that line (among others) to I'll take Manhattan, ... [spiritofsinatra.com]
It also has overtones of the military meaning of take
Capture or gain possession of by force or military means:
twenty of their ships were sunk or taken
the French took Ghent [Oxford Dictionaries Online]
The phrase, I'll take Manhattan ... has become a meme, giving rise to a number of other works, as discussed by the original poster.