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 she 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).
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.)
| No.[2] | style-"width:60%" | 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 | |
Note
† died in office
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.
| Portrait | Mayor | Term start | Term end | Terms | class=unsortable | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Duane | data-sort-value="1784" | January 1, 1784 | 1789 | 5 | bgcolor= | None | |||||
| Richard Varick | 1789 | 1801 | 11 | bgcolor= | Federalist | ||||||
| Edward Livingston | 1801 | 1803 | 2 | bgcolor= | Democratic-Republican | ||||||
| DeWitt Clinton (1st term) | 1803 | 1807 | 4 | bgcolor= | Democratic-Republican | ||||||
| Marinus Willett | 1807 | 1808 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic-Republican[4] | ||||||
| DeWitt Clinton (2nd term) | 1808 | 1810 | 2 | bgcolor= | Democratic-Republican | ||||||
| Jacob Radcliff (1st term) | 1810 | 1811 | 1 | bgcolor= | Federalist | ||||||
| DeWitt Clinton (3rd term) | 1811 | 1815 | 4 | bgcolor= | Democratic-Republican | ||||||
| John Ferguson | 1815 | 1815 | bgcolor= | Democratic-Republican | |||||||
| Jacob Radcliff (2nd term) | data-sort-value="1815" | February 13, 1815 | 1818 | 3 | bgcolor= | Federalist | |||||
| Cadwallader D. Colden | 1818 | 1821 | 3 | bgcolor= | Federalist | ||||||
| Stephen Allen | 1821 | 1824 | 3 | bgcolor= | Federalist | ||||||
| William Paulding Jr. (1st term) | 1825 | 1826 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic-Republican | ||||||
| Philip Hone | 1826 | 1827 | 1 | bgcolor= | National Republican | ||||||
| William Paulding Jr. (2nd term) | 1827 | 1829 | 2 | bgcolor= | Democratic-Republican | ||||||
| Walter Bowne | 1829 | 1832 | 3 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| Gideon Lee | 1833 | 1834 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| Cornelius Lawrence | 1834 | 1837 | 3 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| Aaron Clark | 1837 | 1839 | 2 | bgcolor= | Whig | ||||||
| Isaac L. Varian | 1839 | 1841 | 2 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| Robert H. Morris | 1841 | 1844 | 3 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| James Harper | 1844 | 1845 | 1 | bgcolor= | American Republican | ||||||
| William F. Havemeyer (1st term) | 1845 | 1846 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| Andrew H. Mickle | 1846 | 1847 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| William V. Brady | 1847 | 1848 | 1 | bgcolor= | Whig | ||||||
| William F. Havemeyer (2nd term) | 1848 | 1849 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| Caleb S. Woodhull | 1849 | 1851 | 1 | bgcolor= | Whig | ||||||
| Ambrose Kingsland | 1851 | 1853 | 1 | bgcolor= | Whig | ||||||
| Jacob A. Westervelt | 1853 | 1855 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| Fernando Wood (1st term) | 1855 | 1858 | 2 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| Daniel F. Tiemann | 1858 | 1860 | 1 | bgcolor= | Independent Party[5] [6] [7] | ||||||
| Fernando Wood (2nd term) | 1860 | 1862 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| George Opdyke | 1862 | 1864 | 1 | bgcolor= | Republican | ||||||
| Charles G. Gunther | 1864 | 1866 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| John T. Hoffman1 | 1866 | data-sort-value="1868" | November 30, 1868 | less than 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic | |||||
| Acting | Thomas Coman 1 | data-sort-value="1868" | November 30, 1868 | January 4, 1869 | 5 weeks | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||
| Abraham Oakey Hall 2 | data-sort-value="1869" | January 4, 1869 | data-sort-value="1872" | December 31, 1872 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||
| William F. Havemeyer 3(3rd term) † | data-sort-value="1873" | January 1, 1873 | data-sort-value="1874" | November 30, 1874 | less than 1 | bgcolor= | Republican | ||||
| Acting | Samuel B. H. Vance 3 | data-sort-value="1874" | November 30, 1874 | data-sort-value="1874" | December 31, 1874 | 1 month | bgcolor= | Republican | |||
| William H. Wickham | data-sort-value="1875" | January 1, 1875 | data-sort-value="1876" | December 31, 1876 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic (Reform) | ||||
| Smith Ely Jr. | 1877 | 1878 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| Edward Cooper | 1879 | 1880 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic (Reform) | ||||||
| William R. Grace (1st term) | 1881 | 1882 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic (Reform) | ||||||
| Franklin Edson | 1883 | 1884 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| William R. Grace (2nd term) | 1885 | 1886 | 2 | bgcolor= | None | ||||||
| Abram Hewitt | 1887 | 1888 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| Hugh J. Grant | 1889 | 1892 | 2 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| Thomas F. Gilroy | 1893 | 1894 | 1 | bgcolor= | Democratic | ||||||
| William L. Strong 4 | data-sort-value="1895" | January 1, 1895 | data-sort-value="1897" | December 31, 1897 | 1 (3 years) | bgcolor= | Republican |
Notes
† died in office
See also: New York City mayoral elections. 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.
| Portrait | Name | Term in office | Length of service | Party affiliation | Previous office | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91 | 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 | Seth Low 2 (1850–1916; aged 66) | January 1, 1902 – December 31, 1903 | 2 years | Republican | 11th President of Columbia University (1890–1901) | |||
| 93 | 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 | 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 | align=left | Ardolph L. Kline (1858–1930; aged 72) | September 10, 1913 – December 31, 1913 | 113 days | Republican | President of the Board of Aldermen | ||
| 95 | 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 | John F. Hylan 4,[11] (1868–1936; aged 67) | January 1, 1918 – December 31, 1925 | 8 years | Democratic | County Judge in Brooklyn[12] | |||
| Acting4 | align=center | William T. Collins (1886-1961; aged 75) | December 31, 1925 | 1 day | Democratic | President of the Board of Aldermen | ||
| 97 | 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 | align=center | 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 | John P. O'Brien (1873–1951; aged 78) | January 1, 1933 – December 31, 1933 | 1 year | Democratic | Surrogate of New York County[13] | |||
| 99 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | Ed Koch (1924–2013; aged 88) | January 1, 1978 – December 31, 1989 | 12 years | Democratic | U.S. Representative for New York (1969–1977) | |||
| 106 | David Dinkins (1927–2020; aged 93) | January 1, 1990 – December 31, 1993 | 4 years | Democratic | 23rd Borough President of Manhattan (1986–1989) | |||
| 107 | Rudy Giuliani (born 1944; age) | January 1, 1994 – December 31, 2001 | 8 years | Republican | United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1983–1989) | |||
| 108 | Michael Bloomberg (born 1942; age) | January 1, 2002 – December 31, 2013 | 12 years | Republican 9 | CEO of Bloomberg L.P. (1981–2001) | |||
| None | ||||||||
| 109 | Bill de Blasio (born 1961; age) | January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2021 | 8 years | Democratic | 3rd New York City Public Advocate (2010–2013) | |||
| 110 | Eric Adams (born 1960; age) | January 1, 2022 – Incumbent | Democratic | 18th Borough President of Brooklyn (2014–2022) | ||||
Notes
† died in office
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.) [19] 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). Legal challenges to the Council's action were rejected by Federal courts in January and April 2009.[20] However, in 2010, yet another referendum, reverting the limit to two terms, passed overwhelmingly.[21]
| Year | Term | Term limit | Years | Mayor(s) affected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1834 | 1 year | (no limit) | (unlimited) | all from Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence to Caleb S. Woodhull | |
| 1849 | 2 years | (no limit) | (unlimited) | all from Ambrose Kingsland to William L. Strong 1 | |
| 1897 | 4 years | Robert A. Van Wyck | |||
| 1901 | 2 years | (no limit) | (unlimited) | Seth Low and George B. McClellan Jr.2 | |
| 1905 | 4 years | (no limit) | (unlimited) | all from George B. McClellan Jr.2 to David Dinkins 3 | |
| 1993 | 4 years | Rudolph Giuliani 4 | |||
| 2008 | 4 years | Michael Bloomberg only 4, 5 | |||
| 2010 | 4 years | Bill de Blasio and his successors 6 | |||
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.]
| Dec. 1868 (special) | A. Oakey Hall (D) | |||||
| Nov. 1874 (regular) | William H. Wickham (D) | |||||
| Nov. 1913 (regular) | John P. Mitchel (Fusion) | |||||
| Nov. 1925 (regular) | Jimmy Walker (D) | |||||
| Nov. 1932 (special) | John P. O'Brien (D) | |||||
| 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)
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.
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.
| No. | style-"width:25%" | 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,); (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 | ||||