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The Mayor of New York City is the chief executive of the government of New York City, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of New York. The current Mayor of New York City, the 109th in the sequence of regular mayors, is Bill de Blasio, a Democrat.
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During the Dutch colonial period from 1624 to 1664, New Amsterdam was governed by the Director of New Netherland. The office of Mayor of New York was established in 1665 and were appointed by colonial governors until 1777. The year prior, New York was run by Richard Nicolls, the British military governor of the Province of New York. Thomas Willett was the first person to be specifically appointed mayor.
In 1777, during the American Revolution, a Council of Appointment was formed by New York State. 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.
Before 1898, the city included little beyond the island of Manhattan. The 1898 consolidation created the city as it is today with five boroughs: Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.
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 4-year terms). The shortest terms in office since 1834 have been those of acting mayors: Thomas Coman (five weeks from Monday, November 30, 1868, to Monday, January 4, 1869) and Samuel B. H. Vance (one month from November 30 to December 31, 1874), in addition to the purely nominal single day that William T. Collins served in 1925.
Every mayor so far, has been white, with the solitary exception of David Dinkins (1990-1993), the city's first and only African American mayor. New York has not had a Hispanic or Latino mayor, with the possible exception of John Purroy Mitchel (1914-1917), who was of Spanish descent and whose grandfather was born in Venezuela. New York's mayors have been religiously diverse; the city has had Protestant, Jewish, and Catholic mayors. No woman has ever served as mayor of New York City.
Colonial mayors
Before 1680, mayors served one-year terms. As of 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.]
Note
- Peter Delanoy was the first and only directly-elected mayor of New York until 1834. Appointed mayors resumed in the wake of Leisler's Rebellion.
† died in office
Pre-consolidation mayors
After 1820, the mayor was appointed by the city's Common Council. Under the Charter of 1834, mayors were elected annually. After 1849, they served two-year terms.
Notes
- John T. Hoffman resigned after his election as Governor of New York state but before the end of his mayoral term. Thomas Coman, President of the Board of Aldermen, completed Hoffman's term as acting mayor until his elected successor, A. Oakey Hall, took office.
- 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.
- 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
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. See New York City mayoral elections#Terms and term limits (since 1834).
The party of the mayor reflects party registration, as opposed to the party lines run under during the general election.
Notes
- Seth Low previously served as Mayor of the City of Brooklyn from 1882 to 1885.
- William Jay Gaynor died September 10, 1913. Ardolph L. Kline, the unelected President of the Board of Aldermen, succeeded as acting mayor upon William 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 city-wide 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).
- James J. "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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Michael R. Bloomberg was a Democrat before running for mayor.
† died in office