Mayor of New York City

Mayor of the City of New York
Seal of the City of New York
Standard of the mayor of New York City
Incumbent Eric Adams since January 1, 2022
Government of New York City
Style	His Honor; Mr. Mayor (informal)
Residence	Gracie Mansion
Seat	New York City Hall
Term length	Four years, renewable once consecutively
Constituting instrument	New York City Charter
Inaugural holder	Thomas Willett
Formation	June 12, 1665; 359 years ago (1665-06-12)
Succession	New York City Public Advocate, then New York City Comptroller
Unofficial names	Hizzoner
Deputy	First Deputy Mayor of New York City
Salary	$258,750
Website	www.nyc.gov/mayor

The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.

The budget, overseen by New York City Mayor's Office of Management and Budget, is the largest municipal budget in the United States, totaling $100.7 billion in fiscal year 2021.^[1] The city employs 325,000 people, spends about $21 billion to educate more than 1.1 million students (the largest public school system in the United States), and levies $27 billion in taxes. It receives $14 billion from the state and federal governments.

The mayor's office is located in New York City Hall; it has jurisdiction over all five boroughs of New York City: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Staten Island and Queens. The mayor appoints numerous officials, including deputy mayors and the commissioners who head city agencies and departments. The mayor's regulations are compiled in title 43 of the New York City Rules. According to current law, the mayor is limited to two consecutive four-year terms in office but may run again after a four-year break. The limit on consecutive terms was changed from two to three on October 23, 2008, when the New York City Council voted 29–22 in favor of passing the term limit extension into law.^[2] However, in 2010, a referendum reverting the limit to two terms passed overwhelmingly.^[3] The position of mayor of New York has been branded as the "second toughest job" in the United States of America, behind only the U.S. president.^[4][5][6]

The current mayor is Eric Adams, who was elected on November 2, 2021, and took office shortly after midnight on January 1, 2022.

In 1665, Governor Richard Nicolls appointed Thomas Willett as the first mayor of New York. For 156 years, the mayor was appointed and had limited power. Between 1783 and 1821 the mayor was appointed by the Council of Appointment in which the state's governor had the loudest voice. In 1821 the Common Council, which included elected members, gained the authority to choose the mayor. An amendment to the New York State Constitution in 1834 provided for the direct popular election of the mayor. Cornelius W. Lawrence, a Democrat, was elected that year.

Gracie Mansion has been the official residence of the mayor since Fiorello La Guardia's administration in 1942. Its main floor is open to the public and serves as a small museum.

The mayor is entitled to a salary of $258,750 a year.^[7] Michael Bloomberg, mayor of the city from 2002 to 2013 and one of the richest people in the world,^[8] declined the salary and instead was paid $1 yearly.

In 2000, direct control of the city's public school system was transferred to the mayor's office. Thereafter, in 2003, the reorganization established the New York City Department of Education.

Tammany Hall, which evolved from an organization of craftsmen into a Democratic political machine, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789. It became the main local political machine of the Democratic Party and played a major role in controlling New York City and New York State politics. The organization gained control of Democratic Party nominations in the state and city in 1861, and played a major role in New York City politics into the 1960s and was a dominant player from the mayoral victory of Fernando Wood in 1854 through the era of Robert Wagner (1954–1965). Its last political leader was an African American man named J. Raymond Jones.

The mayor of New York City may appoint several deputy mayors to help oversee major offices within the executive branch of the city government. The powers and duties, and even the number of deputy mayors, are not defined by the City Charter.

The post was created by Fiorello La Guardia (who appointed Grover Whalen as deputy mayor) to handle ceremonial events that the mayor was too busy to attend. Since then, deputy mayors have been appointed with their areas of responsibility defined by the appointing mayor. There are currently five deputy mayors, all of whom report directly to the mayor. The majority of agency commissioners and department heads report to one of the deputy mayors, giving the role a great deal of power within a mayoral administration.

Deputy mayors do not have any right to succeed to the mayoralty in the case of vacancy or incapacity of the mayor.

• Maria Torres-Springer, First Deputy Mayor

Advises the mayor on citywide administrative, operational, and policy matters.

• Vacant, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development

Oversees and coordinates the operations of the Economic Development Corporation, the Department of City Planning, Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Department of Small Business Services, Department of Cultural Affairs, New York City Housing Development Corporation, and related agencies.

• Anne Williams-Isom, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services

Oversees and coordinates the operations of the Human Resources Administration, Department of Homeless Services, the Administration for Children's Services, New York City Health and Hospitals, and related agencies.

• Meera Joshi, Deputy Mayor for Operations

Oversees and coordinates the operations of the Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Sanitation, Department of Transportation, Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Design and Construction, School Construction Authority, Department of Buildings, Taxi and Limousine Commission, and related agencies.

• Chauncey Parker, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety

Oversees and coordinates the operations of the Fire Department, Department of Correction, Department of Probation, New York City Emergency Management, Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, and related agencies.

• Ana Almanzar, Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives^[9][10]
• Fabien Levy, Deputy Mayor for Communications^[11][12]

Under Eric Adams

• Lorraine Grillo 2022 First Deputy Mayor
• Philip Banks III 2022–2024 Public Safety
• Sheena Wright 2023–2024 First Deputy Mayor

• Emma Wolfe 2020–2021 Chief of Staff/Government Operations
• Dean Fuleihan 2018–2021 First Deputy Mayor
• Anthony Shorris 2014–2017 First Deputy Mayor
• Vicki Been 2019–2021 Housing and Economic Development
• Alicia Glen 2014–2019 Housing and Economic Development
• Herminia Palacio 2016–2019 Health and Human Services
• Lilliam Barrios-Paoli 2014–2016 Health and Human Services

• Patricia Harris 2001–2013
• Stephen Goldsmith 2010–2011
• Daniel L. Doctoroff 2002–2008
• Robert K. Steel 2010–2013
• Dennis M. Walcott
• Howard Wolfson

• Joe Lhota—under Rudy Giuliani
• Kenneth Lipper—under Ed Koch
• William Lynch 1990–1992—under David Dinkins
• Randy Daniels 1992 under David Dinkins
• Barry F. Sullivan 1992–1994—under David Dinkins
• Basil Paterson 1978—under Ed Koch
• Herman Badillo 1977–1979—under Ed Koch
• Osborn Elliott 1976-1977 Abraham Beame
• Robert W. Sweet 1966–1969—under John Lindsay
• Charles Henry Tenney 1962-1965 Robert F. Wagner Jr

"The mayor has the power to appoint and remove the commissioners of more than 40 city agencies and members of City boards and commissions."^[13] These include:

• New York City Police Commissioner
• New York City Fire Commissioner
• New York City Criminal Court judges
• New York City Marshals
• New York City Schools Chancellor (as of 2002)
• New York City Mayor's Office of Management and Budget
• Commissioner of Health of the City of New York

The mayor of New York City is an ex-officio board member of the following organizations:^[13]

According to the New York City Charter, the governor of New York has the power to remove the mayor from office in response to allegations of misconduct, but the governor must hear the mayor's defense of the allegations before doing so.^[14][15] The governor can suspend the mayor for 30 days while considering the allegations. In 2024, it was reported that Governor Kathy Hochul was considering whether to use that process against Eric Adams after his indictment on federal corruption charges. Prior to 2024, the last New York governor to consider exercising this power was in 1932, when Franklin D. Roosevelt considered removing Jimmy Walker as mayor, who was accused of taking bribes from city contractors; however, Walker resigned before Roosevelt could remove him.^[15]

The charter also provides a separate process for the mayor's removal without the involvement of the governor: a five-member "Inability Committee" is formed composed of the city's corporation counsel (head of the New York City Law Department), the speaker of the New York City Council, a deputy mayor (the mayor gets to choose which one), the New York City comptroller, and the longest-serving borough president; by a four-fifths vote, the committee can refer allegations of misconduct or incapacity to the City Council, who can then by a two-thirds vote permanently remove the mayor from office, or temporarily suspend the mayor.^[14] This process has never been used.^[16]

In the event the mayor dies, resigns or is removed from office, the order of succession is the public advocate of the City of New York, then the comptroller of the City of New York.^[17] The successor becomes interim mayor pending a special election.

The New York City mayoralty has become known as the "second toughest job in America."^[18] It has been observed that politicians are rarely elected to any higher office after serving as mayor of New York City; the last mayor who later achieved higher office was John T. Hoffman, who became governor of New York in 1869. Former mayor Ed Koch said that the post was jinxed due to divine intervention, whereas Michael Bloomberg has called the supposed curse "a statistical fluke."^[19]

Local tabloid newspapers often refer to the mayor as "Hizzoner", a corruption of the honorific style His Honor.

Spin City, a 1990s TV sitcom, starred Michael J. Fox as a deputy mayor of New York under Barry Bostwick's fictional Mayor Randall Winston.

Several mayors have appeared in television and movies, as well as on Broadway, most notably in The Will Rogers Follies. In the 1980s and 1990s, mayors Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani appeared on Saturday Night Live on several occasions, sometimes mocking themselves in sketches. Giuliani and Mayor Michael Bloomberg have both appeared, as themselves in their mayoral capacities, on episodes of Law & Order. Giuliani also appeared as himself in an episode of Seinfeld, titled "The Non-Fat Yogurt". Giuliani has made cameos in films such as The Out-of-Towners and Anger Management. Bloomberg has appeared on 30 Rock, Gossip Girl, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Horace and Pete.^[20][21]

• Arnold, R. Douglas, and Nicholas Carnes. "Holding mayors accountable: New York's executives from Koch to Bloomberg." American Journal of Political Science 56.4 (2012): 949-963 online.

• Fine, Elizabeth, and James Caras. "Twenty-Five Years of the Council-Mayor Governance of New York City: A History of the Council’s Powers, the Separation of Powers, and Issues for Future Resolution" New York Law School Review (2013) 58#1 pp. 119-136 online

• Fuchs, Ester R. Mayors and money: Fiscal policy in New York and Chicago (University of Chicago Press, 1992) online.
• Hoffman, David C., Tiffany Lewis, and Don Waisanen. "The language of political genres: inaugural and state speeches of New York City Mayors and US Presidents." Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association 2017.1 (2021): 9+ online.
• Holli, Melvin G., and Peter d'A. Jones, eds. Biographical Dictionary of American Mayors 1820-1980 (Greenwood, 1981) Short scholarly biographies of all NYC mayors 1820-1980; see list p. 410.
• Jackson, Kenneth T., ed. The encyclopedia of New York City (2nd ed. Yale University Press, 2010). online
• McNickle, Chris. To be mayor of New York: Ethnic politics in the city (Columbia University Press, 1993) online; covers 1881-1989.

• McNickle, Chris. Bloomberg: A Billionaire's Ambition (Simon and Schuster, 2017), scholarly study of mayoralty. 2002–2013 online.
• Reitano, Joanne. The Restless City: A short history of New York from colonial times to the present (Routledge, 2010).

• Rogers, David. Mayoral control of the New York City schools (Springer, 2009). online

• Weikart, Lynne A. Follow the Money: Who Controls New York City Mayors? (SUNY Press, 2009).

• Official website
• Mayor in the Rules of the City of New York