The mayor of New York City is the chief executive of the Government of New York City, as stipulated by New York City's charter. The current officeholder, the 110th in the sequence of regular mayors, is Eric Adams, a member of the Democratic Party.

During the Dutch colonial period from 1624 to 1664, New Amsterdam was governed by the Director of New Netherland. Following the 1664 creation of the British Province of New York, newly renamed New York City was run by the British military governor, Richard Nicolls. The office of Mayor of New York City was established in 1665. Holders were appointed by colonial governors, beginning with Thomas Willett. The position remained appointed until 1777. That year, during the American Revolution, a Council of Appointment was formed by the State of New York. In 1821 the New York City Council – then known as the Common Council – began appointing mayors. Since 1834, mayors have been elected by direct popular vote.[1]

The city included little beyond the island of Manhattan before 1874, when it annexed the western part of the Bronx, to be followed in 1895 by the rest of the Bronx. The 1898 consolidation created the city as it is today with five boroughs: Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. The first mayor of the expanded city was Robert Anderson Van Wyck.

The longest-serving mayors have been Fiorello H. La Guardia (1934–1945), Robert F. Wagner Jr. (1954–1965), Ed Koch (1978–1989) and Michael Bloomberg (2002–2013), each of whom was in office for twelve years (three successive four-year terms). The shortest terms in office since 1834 have been those of acting mayors: William T. Collins served a single day on December 31, 1925, Samuel B. H. Vance served one month (from November 30 to December 31, 1874), and Thomas Coman served five weeks (from Monday, November 30, 1868, to Monday, January 4, 1869).

Colonial mayors (1665–1783)

Before 1680, mayors served one-year terms. From 1680, they served two-year terms. Exceptions are noted thus (*). A dagger (†) indicates mayoralties cut short by death in office. (When the same man served more than one continuous term, his name is lightly shaded purely for clarity, but the tints have no other significance.)

More information No., Name ...
No.[2] Name Starting year of office Ending year of office
1 Thomas Willett (1st term) 1665 1666
2 Thomas Delavall (1st term) 1666 1667
3 Thomas Willett (2nd term) 1667 1668
4 Cornelius Van Steenwyk (1st term) 1668 1671
5 Thomas Delavall (2nd term) 1671 1672
6 Matthias Nicoll 1672 1673
7 John Lawrence (1st term) 1673 1675
8 William Dervall 1675 1676
9 Nicholas De Mayer 1676 1677
10 Stephanus Van Cortlandt (1st term) 1677 1678
11 Thomas Delavall (3rd term) 1678 1679
12 Francis Rombouts 1679 1680
13 William Dyre 1680 1682
14 Cornelius Van Steenwyk (2nd term) 1682 1684
15 Gabriel Minvielle (*) 1684 1685
16 Nicholas Bayard (*) 1685 1686
17 Stephanus Van Cortlandt (2nd term) 1686 1688
18 Peter Delanoy
(only popularly-elected mayor before 1834) 1
1689 1691
19 John Lawrence (2nd term *) 1691 1691
20 Abraham de Peyster 1691 1694
21 Charles Lodwik 1694 1695
22 William Merritt 1695 1698
23 Johannes de Peyster 1698 1699
24 David Provost 1699 1700
25 Isaac De Reimer 1700 1701
26 Thomas Noell 1701 1702
27 Phillip French 1702 1703
28 William Peartree 1703 1707
29 Ebenezer Wilson 1707 1710
30 Jacobus Van Cortlandt (1st term) 1710 1711
31 Caleb Heathcote 1711 1714
32 John Johnstone 1714 1719
33 Jacobus Van Cortlandt (2nd term) 1719 1720
34 Robert Walters 1720 1725
35 Johannes Jansen 1725 1726
36 Robert Lurting 1726 1735
37 Paul Richard 1735 1739
38 John Cruger 1739 1744
39 Stephen Bayard 1744 1747
40 Edward Holland 1747 1757
41 John Cruger Jr. 1757 1766
42 Whitehead Hicks 1766 1776
43 David Mathews 1776 1783
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Note

  1. Peter Delanoy was the first and only directly-elected mayor of New York[3] until 1834. Appointed mayors resumed in the wake of Leisler's Rebellion.

died in office

Pre-consolidation mayors (1784–1897)

The mayor continued to be selected by the Government of New York's Council of Appointment until 1821, when Stephen Allen became the first mayor appointed by a local Common Council. Under the Charter of 1834, mayors were elected annually by direct popular vote. Starting in 1849, mayors were elected to serve two-year terms.

More information #, Portrait ...
# Portrait Mayor Term start Term end Terms   Party
44 Thumb James Duane January 1, 1784 1789 5 None
45 Thumb Richard Varick 1789 1801 11 Federalist
46 Thumb Edward Livingston 1801 1803 2 Democratic-Republican
47 Thumb DeWitt Clinton (1st term) 1803 1807 4 Democratic-Republican
48 Thumb Marinus Willett 1807 1808 1 Democratic-Republican[4]
49 Thumb DeWitt Clinton (2nd term) 1808 1810 2 Democratic-Republican
50 Thumb Jacob Radcliff (1st term) 1810 1811 1 Federalist
51 Thumb DeWitt Clinton (3rd term) 1811 1815 4 Democratic-Republican
52 Thumb John Ferguson 1815 1815 12 Democratic-Republican
53 Thumb Jacob Radcliff (2nd term) February 13, 1815 1818 3 Federalist
54 Thumb Cadwallader D. Colden 1818 1821 3 Federalist
55 Thumb Stephen Allen 1821 1824 3 Federalist
56 Thumb William Paulding Jr. (1st term) 1825 1826 1 Democratic-Republican
57 Thumb Philip Hone 1826 1827 1 National Republican
58 Thumb William Paulding Jr. (2nd term) 1827 1829 2 Democratic-Republican
59 Thumb Walter Bowne 1829 1832 3 Democratic
60 Thumb Gideon Lee 1833 1834 1 Democratic
61 Thumb Cornelius Lawrence 1834 1837 3 Democratic
62 Thumb Aaron Clark 1837 1839 2 Whig
63 Thumb Isaac L. Varian 1839 1841 2 Democratic
64 Thumb Robert H. Morris 1841 1844 3 Democratic
65 Thumb James Harper 1844 1845 1 American Republican
66 Thumb William F. Havemeyer (1st term) 1845 1846 1 Democratic
67 Thumb Andrew H. Mickle 1846 1847 1 Democratic
68 Thumb William V. Brady 1847 1848 1 Whig
69 Thumb William F. Havemeyer (2nd term) 1848 1849 1 Democratic
70 Thumb Caleb S. Woodhull 1849 1851 1 Whig
71 Thumb Ambrose Kingsland 1851 1853 1 Whig
72 Thumb Jacob A. Westervelt 1853 1855 1 Democratic
73 Thumb Fernando Wood (1st term) 1855 1858 2 Democratic
74 Thumb Daniel F. Tiemann 1858 1860 1 Independent Party[5][6][7]
75 Thumb Fernando Wood (2nd term) 1860 1862 1 Democratic
76 Thumb George Opdyke 1862 1864 1 Republican
77 Thumb Charles G. Gunther 1864 1866 1 Democratic
78 Thumb John T. Hoffman1 1866 November 30, 1868 less than 1 Democratic
Acting Thumb Thomas Coman 1 November 30, 1868 January 4, 1869 5 weeks Democratic
79 Thumb Abraham Oakey Hall 2 January 4, 1869 December 31, 1872 1 Democratic
80 Thumb William F. Havemeyer 3(3rd term) January 1, 1873 November 30, 1874 less than 1 Republican
Acting Thumb Samuel B. H. Vance 3 November 30, 1874 December 31, 1874 1 month Republican
81 Thumb William H. Wickham January 1, 1875 December 31, 1876 1 Democratic (Reform)
82 Thumb Smith Ely Jr. 1877 1878 1 Democratic
83 Thumb Edward Cooper 1879 1880 1 Democratic (Reform)
84 Thumb William R. Grace (1st term) 1881 1882 1 Democratic (Reform)
85 Thumb Franklin Edson 1883 1884 1 Democratic
86 Thumb William R. Grace (2nd term) 1885 1886 2 None
87 Thumb Abram Hewitt 1887 1888 1 Democratic
88 Thumb Hugh J. Grant 1889 1892 2 Democratic
89 Thumb Thomas F. Gilroy 1893 1894 1 Democratic
90 Thumb William L. Strong 4 January 1, 1895 December 31, 1897 1
(3 years)
Republican
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Notes

  1. John T. Hoffman resigned after his election as Governor of New York state but before the end of his mayoral term.[8] Thomas Coman, President of the Board of Aldermen, completed Hoffman's term as acting mayor until his elected successor, A. Oakey Hall, took office.[9]
  2. When Hall temporarily retired during the Tweed investigation, the Acting Mayor of New York City was John Cochrane, the President of the New York City Council.
  3. William F. Havemeyer died during his last term of office. Samuel B. H. Vance, President of the Board of Aldermen, completed Havemeyer's term as acting mayor until his elected successor, William H. Wickham, took office.
  4. William L. Strong served an additional year in office because New York City mayoral elections were changed to be held in odd-numbered years due to the impending consolidation of New York City.

died in office

Post-consolidation mayors (since 1897)

The 1898–1901 term was for four years. The City Charter was changed to make the mayor's term a two-year one beginning in 1902, but after two such terms was changed back to resume four-year terms in 1906. George B. McClellan Jr. thus served one two-year term from 1904 to 1905, during which he was elected to a four-year term from 1906 to 1909.

The party of the mayor reflects party registration, as opposed to the party lines run under during the general election.

More information #, Portrait ...
#[2] Portrait Name Term in office Length of service Party affiliation Previous office
91 Thumb Robert A. Van Wyck1
(1849–1918; aged 69)
January 1, 1898

December 31, 1901
4 years   Democratic Chief Justice of the City Court of New York[10]
92 Thumb Seth Low 2
(1850–1916; aged 66)
January 1, 1902

December 31, 1903
2 years   Republican 11th President of Columbia University
(1890–1901)
93 Thumb George B. McClellan Jr.
(1865–1940; aged 75)
January 1, 1904

December 31, 1909
6 years   Democratic U.S. Representative for New York
(1895–1903)
94 Thumb William Jay Gaynor 3
(1849–1913; aged 64)
January 1, 1910

September 10, 1913
3 years, 253 days   Democratic Judge of the New York Supreme Court
(1893–1909)
Acting3 Thumb Ardolph L. Kline
(1858–1930; aged 72)
September 10, 1913

December 31, 1913
113 days   Republican President of the Board of Aldermen
95 Thumb John P. Mitchel
(1879–1918; aged 38)
January 1, 1914

December 31, 1917
4 years   Republican U.S. Customs Collector of the Port of New York;
President of the Board of Aldermen
96 Thumb John F. Hylan 4,[11]
(1868–1936; aged 67)
January 1, 1918

December 31, 1925
8 years   Democratic County Judge in Brooklyn[12]
Acting4 Thumb William T. Collins
(1886-1961; aged 75)
December 31, 1925[11] 1 day   Democratic President of the Board of Aldermen[11]
97 Thumb Jimmy Walker 5
(1881–1946; aged 65)
January 1, 1926

September 1, 1932
6 years, 244 days
(6 years, 8 months)
  Democratic New York State Senator
(1919–1925)
Acting5 Thumb Joseph V. McKee
(1889–1956; aged 66)
September 1, 1932

January 1, 1933
121 days
(4 months)
  Democratic President of the Board of Aldermen
98 Thumb John P. O'Brien
(1873–1951; aged 78)
January 1, 1933

December 31, 1933
1 year   Democratic Surrogate of New York County[13]
99 Thumb Fiorello H. La Guardia
(1882–1947; aged 64)
January 1, 1934

December 31, 1945
12 years   Republican[14] U.S. Representative for New York
(1922–1933)
100 Thumb William O'Dwyer 6
(1890–1964; aged 74)
January 1, 1946

August 31, 1950
4 years, 243 days
(4 years, 8 months)
  Democratic Brooklyn District Attorney
(1939–1945)
Acting 7 Thumb Vincent R. Impellitteri 6
(1900–1987; aged 86)
August 31, 1950

November 14, 1950
75 days   Democratic
(as acting mayor)
President of the City Council
(1945–1949)
101 November 14, 1950

December 31, 1953
3 years, 48 days   Experience Party
(as elected mayor)
Acting Mayor
102 Thumb Robert F. Wagner Jr.
(1910–1991; aged 80)
January 1, 1954

December 31, 1965
12 years   Democratic 17th Borough President of Manhattan
(1950–1953)
103 Thumb John Lindsay
(1921–2000; aged 79)
January 1, 1966

December 31, 1973
8 years   Republican 8 U.S. Representative for New York
(1959–1965)
  Democratic
104 Thumb Abraham Beame
(1906–2001; aged 94)
January 1, 1974

December 31, 1977
4 years   Democratic 36th and 38th New York City Comptroller
(1962-1965, 1970–1973)
105 Thumb Ed Koch
(1924–2013; aged 88)
January 1, 1978

December 31, 1989
12 years   Democratic U.S. Representative for New York
(1969–1977)
106 Thumb David Dinkins
(1927–2020; aged 93)
January 1, 1990

December 31, 1993
4 years   Democratic 23rd Borough President of Manhattan
(1986–1989)
107 Thumb Rudy Giuliani
(born 1944; age 80)
January 1, 1994

December 31, 2001
8 years   Republican United States Attorney for
the Southern District of New York

(1983–1989)
108 Thumb Michael Bloomberg
(born 1942; age 82)
January 1, 2002

December 31, 2013
12 years   Republican 9 CEO of Bloomberg L.P.
(1981–2001)
  None
109 Thumb Bill de Blasio
(born 1961; age 63)
January 1, 2014

December 31, 2021
8 years   Democratic 3rd New York City Public Advocate
(2010–2013)
110 Thumb Eric Adams 10
(born 1960; age 64)
January 1, 2022

Incumbent
2 years, 317 days   Democratic 18th Borough President of Brooklyn
(2014–2022)
Close

Notes

  1. Randolph Gugghenheimer I (born 1846) served as acting mayor in 1900 while Robert A. Van Wyck was away.[15][16]
  2. Seth Low previously served as Mayor of the City of Brooklyn from 1882 to 1885.
  3. William Jay Gaynor died September 10, 1913. Ardolph L. Kline, the unelected President of the Board of Aldermen, succeeded as acting mayor upon Gaynor's death, but then sought re-election as an alderman (successfully) rather than election as mayor. Kline has thus been the only mayor since 1834 never to win a citywide election (having been appointed Vice President of the Board of Aldermen by his colleagues and then succeeding to the presidency mid-term, rather than winning it by popular election at large).
  4. John Hylan and Police Commissioner Richard Enright resigned December 30, 1925 to ensure that they received their city pensions, which they may not have been entitled to keep had they stayed in office for one more day. William T. Collins became acting Mayor for one day, prior to the inauguration of Jimmy Walker[11]
  5. Jimmy Walker resigned September 1, 1932 and went to Europe, amid allegations of corruption in his administration. Joseph V. McKee, as President of the Board of Aldermen, became acting mayor in Walker's place, but was then defeated in a special election by John P. O'Brien.
  6. William O'Dwyer resigned August 31, 1950, during a police corruption scandal, after which he was appointed Ambassador to Mexico by President Harry S. Truman.
  7. Vincent R. Impellitteri, President of the New York City Council, became acting mayor when O'Dwyer resigned on August 31, 1950, and was then elected to the office in a special election held on November 7, 1950. He was inaugurated on November 14.
  8. John Lindsay switched party affiliation from Republican to Democrat in 1971 and ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for president in 1972.[17]
  9. Michael Bloomberg was a lifelong Democrat before registering as a Republican in 2001 and running for mayor. He then registered as an Independent in 2007, and re-registered as a Democrat in 2018 in preparation for his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020.[18]
  10. Eric Adams is the first sitting mayor of New York City to ever face indictment; he faces two charges of solicitation of a contribution from a foreign national, as well as charges of wire fraud, conspiracy, and bribery.[19]

died in office

Appendices

Mayoral terms and term limits in New York City since 1834

Direct elections to the mayoralty of the unconsolidated City of New York began in 1834 for a term of one year, extended to two years after 1849. The 1897 Charter of the consolidated City stipulated that the mayor was to be elected for a single four-year term. In 1901, the term halved to two years, with no restrictions on reelection. In 1905, the term was extended to four years once again. (Mayors Fiorello La Guardia, Robert F. Wagner Jr. and Ed Koch were later able to serve for twelve years each.) [20] In 1993, the voters approved a two-term (eight-year) limit, and reconfirmed this limit when the issue was submitted to referendum in 1996. In 2008, the New York City Council voted to change the two-term limit to three terms (without submitting the issue to the voters).[21] Legal challenges to the Council's action were rejected by Federal courts in January and April 2009.[22] However, in 2010, yet another referendum, reverting the limit to two terms, passed overwhelmingly.[23]

More information Year, Term ...
Year Term Term
limit
Years Mayor(s) affected
Unconsolidated City
18341 year(no limit)(unlimited)all from Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence to Caleb S. Woodhull
18492 years(no limit)(unlimited)all from Ambrose Kingsland to William L. Strong 1
Greater New York (The Five Boroughs)
18974 years
1 term
4 years
Robert A. Van Wyck
19012 years(no limit)(unlimited)Seth Low and George B. McClellan Jr.2
19054 years(no limit)(unlimited)all from George B. McClellan Jr.2 to David Dinkins 3
19934 years
2 terms
8 years
Rudolph Giuliani 4
20084 years
3 terms
12 years
Michael Bloomberg only 4, 5
20104 years
2 terms
8 years
Bill de Blasio and his successors 6
Close

Principal source: The Encyclopedia of New York City [24] especially the entries for "charter" and "mayoralty".

  1. Mayor Strong, elected in 1894, served an extra year because no municipal election was held in 1896, in anticipation of the consolidated City's switch to odd-year elections.
  2. George B. McClellan Jr. was elected to one two-year term (1904–1906) and one four-year term (1906-1910).
  3. David Dinkins was not affected by the term limit enacted in 1993 because he had served only one term by 1993 and failed to win re-election.
  4. The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan coincided with the primary elections for a successor to Mayor Giuliani, who was completing his second and final term of office. Many were so impressed by both the urgency of the situation and Giuliani's response that they wanted to keep him in office beyond December 31, 2001, either by removing the term limit or by extending his service for a few months.[25] However, neither happened, the primary elections (with the same candidates) were re-run on September 25, the general election was held as scheduled on November 6, and Michael Bloomberg took office on the regularly appointed date of January 1, 2002.
  5. On October 2, 2008, Michael Bloomberg announced that he would ask the city council to extend the limit for mayor, council and other officers from two terms to three, and that, should such an extended limit prevail, he himself would seek re-election as mayor.[26] On October 23, the New York City Council voted 29–22 to extend the two-term limit to three terms. (A proposed amendment to submit the vote to a public referendum had failed earlier the same day by a vote of 22–28 with one abstention.)[21]
  6. In November 2010, yet another popular referendum, limiting mayoral terms to two, passed overwhelmingly.[23]

Interrupted terms

Mayors John T. Hoffman (1866–1868, elected Governor 1868), William Havemeyer (1845–1846, 1848–1849, and 1873–1874), William Jay Gaynor (1910–1913), John Francis Hylan (1918–1925), Jimmy Walker (1926–1932), and William O'Dwyer (1946–1950) failed to complete the final terms to which they were elected. The uncompleted mayoral terms of Hoffman, Walker, and O'Dwyer were added to the other offices elected in (respectively) 1868, 1932, and 1950 [those three elections are listed as "special" in the table below because they occurred before the next regularly scheduled mayoral election; the "regular" mayoral elections of 1874 and 1913, on the other hand, were held on the same day that they would have happened had the mayoralty not become vacant.]

Interrupted terms of New York City's elected mayors since 1834
Elected mayor
Last elected
End of service
Interim successor1, 2
Election
Elected successor 3
Dec. 1867
resigned November 30, 1868
Dec. 1868 (special)A. Oakey Hall (D)
Nov. 1872
died November 30, 1874
Nov. 1874 (regular)William H. Wickham (D)
died September 10, 1913
Nov. 1913 (regular)John P. Mitchel (Fusion)
Nov. 1921
resigned December 30, 1925
Nov. 1925 (regular)Jimmy Walker (D)
resigned September 1, 1932
Nov. 1932 (special)John P. O'Brien (D)
resigned August 31, 1950
Nov. 1950 (special)Vincent Impellitteri
(Experience)

† Became acting mayor as the president of the board of aldermen or (in 1950) city council.

(D) = (Democratic)

(R) = (Republican)

  1. Mayor Havemeyer was a Democrat who ran as a Republican against the Democratic Tweed Ring in 1872.
  2. Acting Mayors Coman, Vance, Kline and Collins did not seek election as mayor.
  3. Acting Mayors McKee and Impellitteri were Democrats who lost the Democratic primary to succeed themselves, but still ran in the general election as independents.
  4. Elected Mayor Oakey Hall won re-election, while Mayor Wickham did not seek it. Mayors Mitchel and O'Brien lost attempts at re-election, while Mayor Impellitteri did not run for a full term in the 1953 regular general election after losing the Democratic primary.

Mayors of the City of Brooklyn, 1834–1897

Brooklyn elected a mayor from 1834 until consolidation in 1898 into the City of Greater New York, whose own second mayor (1902–1903), Seth Low, had been Mayor of Brooklyn from 1882 to 1885. Since 1898, Brooklyn has, in place of a separate mayor, elected a Borough President.

Mayors of Long Island City, 1870–1897

Long Island City, now within the Borough of Queens, was incorporated as a city in its own right on May 4, 1870 and (like the City of Brooklyn) consolidated into the present Greater New York City on January 1, 1898.

More information No., Name ...
No. Name Starting year of office Ending year of office
1 Abram D. Ditmars (1st term) 1870 1872
2 Henry S. DeBevoise (1st term) 1872 1873 Sept.
(-) George H. Hunter (acting) 1873 Sept. 1874 April
2 Henry S. DeBevoise (1st term resumed) 1874 April 1875
3 Abram D. Ditmars (2nd term) 1875
(-) John Quinn (acting) 1876
4 Henry S. DeBevoise (2nd term) 1876 1883
5 George Petry 1883 1886
6 Patrick J. Gleason (1st term) 1887 1889
Patrick J. Gleason (2nd term) 1890 1892
7 Horatio S. Sanford 1893 1895
8 Patrick J. Gleason (3rd term) 1895 1897
Sources: James Bradley for The Encyclopedia of New York City (1st edition), edited by Kenneth T. Jackson (Yale University Press and The New York Historical Society, New Haven, Connecticut, 1995, ISBN 0-300-05536-6); (p. 690, 3rd Column, under "Long Island City");
James Nevlus, Long Island City's Forgotten History (Curbed New York, November 16, 2018) https://ny.curbed.com/2018/11/16/18097555/amazon-hq2-long-island-city-nyc-history
Close

See also

References

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