What is the origin of the term 'New York minute'?

"It appears to have originated in Texas around 1967. It is a reference to the frenzied and hectic pace of New Yorkers' lives. A New Yorker does in an instant what a Texan would take a minute to do."

Urbandictionary.com
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=new%20york%20minute

There seems to be considerable debate over this. As with most urban expressions, 'New York minute' was most likely coined through common use over time and it's exact origins will be forever shrouded in mystery.

The most reliable web reference I can find dates the expression (in print) back to at least 1954 but does not explain exactly how the phrase came into existence.

http://www.wordwizard.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=20826

- 1954 "Betty Jean Bird of the Pirate Club has what she claims the smallest French poodle in the nation. . . It's no bigger than a New York minute and that's only thirty seconds."-Galveston News (Texas), 15 August, page 22/5

My favourite definition of the phrase is credited to Johnny Carson in the Urban Dictionary at http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=new%20york%20minute :

"It's the interval between a Manhattan traffic light turning green and the guy behind you honking his horn."