New York City Council | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Speaker | |
Deputy Speaker | |
Majority Leader | |
Minority Leader | |
Majority Whip | |
Minority Whip | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 51 |
 | |
Political groups | Majority (45) Democratic (45) Minority (5) Republican (5) Vacant: Vacant (1) |
| Committees | Seestanding committees |
| Salary | $148,500 (2024) |
| Elections | |
| First-past-the-post (general elections) Ranked-choice voting (primary and special elections) | |
Last election | November 7, 2023 |
Next election | November 4, 2025 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| New York City Hall | |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
TheNew York City Council is thelawmakingbody ofNew York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the fiveboroughs.
The council serves as a check against themayor in amayor-council government model, the performance of city agencies'land use decisions, and legislating on a variety of other issues. It also has sole responsibility for approving the citybudget. Members elected are limited to two consecutive four-year terms in office but may run again after a four-year respite.
The head of the city council is called thespeaker. The current speaker isAdrienne Adams, a Democrat from the 28th district in Queens. The speaker sets the agenda and presides at city council meetings, and all proposed legislation is submitted through the Speaker's Office. Majority LeaderAmanda Farías leads the chamber's Democratic majority. Minority LeaderDavid Carr was elected to lead the five Republican council members on January 28, 2025, however the vote was disputed due to a quorum not being present.[1]
As of 2025, the council has 35 standing committees and 4 subcommittees, with oversight of various functions of the city government. Each council member sits on at least three standing, select or subcommittees (listed below).[2] The standing committees meet at least once per month. The speaker of the council, the majority leader, and the minority leader are allex officio members of every committee.
Council members are elected every four years. The exception is two consecutive two-year terms every twenty years to allow for redistricting after eachnational census (starting in 2001 and 2003 for the2000 census and again in 2021 and 2023 for the2020 census).[3]
An asterisk (*) next to the election year denotes aspecial election. A double asterisk (**) next to the election year means the member took office after certification to fill the remainder of an unexpired term.
| Borough | Population (2017 est)[4] | Total | Democratic | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn | 2,648,771 | 15 | 14 | 1 |
| Queens | 2,358,582 | 14 | 12 | 2 |
| Manhattan | 1,664,727 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| The Bronx | 1,471,160 | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| Staten Island | 479,458 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 8,008,278 | 51 | 45 | 6 |
Council Members currently receive $148,500 a year in base salary, which the council increased from $112,500 in early 2016.[5] The salary raise came with new ethics guidelines and restrictions; most outside income is prohibited, and members no longer receive additional compensation for serving on committees.[6]
TheNew York City Charter is the fundamental law of the government of New York City including the council. TheNew York City Administrative Code is thecodification of the laws promulgated by the council and is composed of 29 titles.[7][8] The regulations promulgated by city agencies pursuant to law are contained in theRules of the City of New York in 71 titles.[9]
A local law has a status equivalent with a law enacted by the legislature (subject to certain exceptions and restrictions), and is superior to the older forms of municipal legislation such as ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations.[10] Each local government must designate a newspaper of notice to publish or describe its laws.[11] The secretary of state is responsible for publishing local laws as a supplement to theLaws of New York (the "session laws" of the state), but they have not done so in recent years.[11] TheNew York City Charter, theNew York City Administrative Code, and theRules of the City of New York are published online by the New York Legal Publishing Corp. under contract with theNew York City Law Department.[12]
The history of the New York City Council can be traced to Dutch Colonial times when New York City was known asNew Amsterdam. On February 2, 1653, the town of New Amsterdam, founded on the southern tip of Manhattan Island in 1625, was incorporated as a city under a charter issued by theDutch West India Company. A Council of Legislators sat as the local lawmaking body and as a court of inferior jurisdiction. During the 18th and 19th centuries the local legislature was called theCommon Council and then theBoard of Aldermen. In 1898 the amalgamation charter of theCity of Greater New York renamed and revamped the council and added aNew York City Board of Estimate with certain administrative and financial powers. After a number of changes through the ensuing years, the present Council was born in 1938 under a new charter which instituted the council as the sole legislative body and the New York City Board of Estimate as the chief administrative body. Certain functions of the council, however, remained subject to the approval of the board.
In 1938, a system ofproportional representation known assingle transferable vote was adopted; a fixedquota of 75,000 votes was set, so that the size of the council fluctuated with voter turnout.[13] The term was extended to four years in 1945 to coincide with the term of the mayor. Proportional representation was abolished in 1947, largely from pressure from Democrats, who played on fears ofCommunist council members being elected (two already had).[14] It was replaced by a system of electing one Council Member from eachNew York State Senate district within the city. The Charter also provided for the election of two Council Members-at-large from each of the five boroughs. In June 1983, however, a federal court ruled that the 10 at-large seats violated the United States Constitution'sone-person, one-vote mandate.[15]
In 1989, theSupreme Court ruled that the Board of Estimate also violated the one-person, one-vote mandate. In response, the new Charter abolished the Board of Estimate and provided for the redrawing of the council district lines to increase minority representation on the council. It also increased the number of Council Members from 35 to 51. The council was then granted full power over the municipal budget, as well as authority over zoning, land use and franchises. In 1993 the New York City Council voted to rename the position of president of the city council to thePublic Advocate. As the presiding officer, the Public Advocate was anex officio member of all committees in the council, and in that capacity had the right to introduce and co-sponsor legislation.[16] However the city charter revision of 2002 transferred the duties of presiding officer from the Public Advocate to the Council Speaker; the Public Advocate remains a non-voting member of the council.[17]
In 2022, the composition of first female majority City Council[18] included the first Muslim woman, the first South Asian members, and the first openly gay Black woman.[19]
A two-term limit was imposed on city council members and citywide elected officials in a 1993 referendum. The movement to introduce term limits was led byRonald Lauder, the heir to theEstée Lauder fortune. In 1996, voters turned down a council proposal to extend term limits. Lauder spent $4 million on the two referendums.
However, in 2008, under pressure from MayorMichael Bloomberg (who, like many Council members, was facing the end of his two-term limit at that time), the council voted 29–22 to extend the limit to three terms; the council also defeated (by a vote of 22–28, with one abstention) a proposal to submit the issue to public referendum.[20]
Legal challenges to the extension of term limits failed in federal court. The original decision by JudgeCharles Sifton of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Long Island, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island) was upheld by a three-judge panel of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Vermont, Connecticut and New York), and a proposal in theNew York State Legislature to override the extension was not passed.[21][22][23]
Voters voted to reinstate the two-term limit law in another referendum in 2010.[24] However, according toThe New York Times, incumbent members of the city council who were elected prior to the 2010 referendum "will still be allowed to run for a third term. People in office before 2010 were eligible for three terms."[25]
Through several changes in title and duties, this person has been, together with theMayor andCity Comptroller, one of the three municipal officers directly elected by all of the city's voters, and also the person who—when the elected mayor resigns, dies, or otherwise loses the ability to serve—becomes acting mayor until the nextspecial or regular election.[26]
Until 1989, these three officers, together with the fiveborough presidents, constituted the New York City Board of Estimate. Political campaigns have traditionally tried to balance their candidates for these three offices to appeal as wide a range of the city's political, geographical, social, ethnic and religious constituencies as possible (and, when possible, to both genders).
| Name | Start and end dates as presiding officer | Party | Reason for end of term |
|---|---|---|---|
| As president of the city council | |||
| Randolph Guggenheimer[27] | January 1, 1898[28][29] – December 31, 1901 | Democratic | Did not seek re-election[30] |
| As president of the board of aldermen | |||
| Charles V. Fornes[31] | January 1, 1902[32] – December 31, 1903 | Fusion (first term) | Elected to two two-year terms[31] |
| January 1, 1904 – December 27, 1905 | Democratic (second term) | Did not seek re-election | |
| Patrick F. McGowan[33] | December 27, 1905[34] – December 31, 1909 | Democratic | Did not seek re-election, appointed to severalBoard of Education committees[35] |
| John Purroy Mitchel[36]b, c | January 1, 1910[37] – June 7, 1913[38] | Fusion | Resigned to becomeCollector of the Port of New York |
| Ardolph L. Kline[39]a, d | June 9, 1913[40] – December 31, 1913 | Republican | Re-elected to aldermanic seat but did not seek re-election as aldermanic president[41] |
| George McAneny[42] | January 1, 1914[43] – February 1, 1916[44] | Fusion, Democratic | Resigned to join the management ofThe New York Times[45] |
| Frank L. Dowling[46] | February 1, 1916[44][47] – December 31, 1917 | Democratic | BecameManhattan Borough President[48] |
| Alfred E. Smith[49] | January 1, 1918[50] – December 31, 1918 | Democratic | BecameGovernor of New York[51] |
| Robert L. Moran[52] | January 1, 1919[51] – December 31, 1919 | Democratic | Lost re-election to La Guardia[53] |
| Fiorello H. La Guardia[54]b, c | January 1, 1920[55] – December 31, 1921 | Republican | Unsuccessful run for mayor, lost in the primary[56] |
| Murray Hulbert[57] | January 2, 1922[58] – January 8, 1925[59] | Democratic | Ousted by court decision after accepting honorary position on the Finger Lakes Park Commission[59] |
| William T. Collins[60] | January 8, 1925[59] – December 30, 1925[61] | Democratic | Became acting mayor for one day, then became New York County Clerk[61] |
| Joseph V. McKee[62]a, c | January 1, 1926[63] – May 15, 1933[64] | Democratic | Resigned to become president of the Title Guarantee and Trust Company[64] |
| Dennis J. Mahon[65] (acting) | May 16, 1933[66] – December 31, 1933[67] | Democratic | Lost re-election to Republican-Fusion candidateMorton Baum[68] |
| Bernard S. Deutsch[69] | January 1, 1934[70] – November 21, 1935[69] | Republican, Fusion, Law Preservation[71] | Died while in office[69] |
| Timothy J. Sullivan[72] | November 22, 1935[69] – December 31, 1936 | Democratic | Re-elected to aldermanic seat but did not seek re-election as aldermanic president |
| William F. Brunner[73] | January 1, 1937[74] – December 31, 1937 | Democratic | Unsuccessful run forQueens Borough President[75] |
| As president of the city council | |||
| Newbold Morris[76]c | December 31, 1937[77] – January 1, 1946 | Republican | Unsuccessful run for mayor, lost in general election toWilliam F. O'Dwyer[78] |
| Vincent Impellitteri[79]a, b | January 1, 1946[80] – August 31, 1950 | Democratic | Became Mayor upon O'Dwyer's resignation |
| Joseph T. Sharkey[81] (acting) | September 2, 1950[82] – November 14, 1951 | Democratic | Acting president until Election Day results were certified[83] |
| Rudolph Halley[84]c | November 14, 1951[83] – December 31, 1953 | Liberal, Fusion, Independent Citizens | Unsuccessful run for mayor, lost in general election toRobert F. Wagner Jr.[85] |
| Abe Stark[86] | January 1, 1954[87] – December 31, 1961 | Democratic | BecameBrooklyn Borough President[88] |
| Paul R. Screvane[89] | January 1, 1962[90] – December 31, 1965 | Democratic, Liberal, Brotherhood[91] | Unsuccessful run for mayor, lost in the primary toAbraham D. Beame[92] |
| Frank D. O'Connor[93] | January 1, 1966[94] – January 3, 1969[95] | Democratic | Resigned to become aNew York Supreme Court justice |
| Francis X. Smith | January 8, 1969[96] – December 31, 1969 | Democratic | Ran for re-election, lost to Garelik[97] |
| Sanford Garelik[98] | January 1, 1970[99] – December 31, 1973 | Republican, Liberal | Ran for re-election as a Democrat, lost in primary to O'Dwyer[100][101] |
| Paul O'Dwyer[102] | January 1, 1974[103] – December 31, 1977 | Democratic | Ran for re-election, won Democratic primary,[104] then lost the run-off to Bellamy[105] |
| Carol Bellamyc | January 1, 1978[106] – December 31, 1985 | Democratic | Unsuccessful run for mayor, lost toEdward I. Koch[107] |
| Andrew Stein | January 1, 1986[108] – December 31, 1993 | Democratic, Liberal | Ran for mayor and then Public Advocate, dropped out of both races[109] |
| As Public Advocate | |||
| Mark Greenc | January 2, 1994[110] – December 31, 2001 | Democratic | Ran for mayor, lost general election toMichael Bloomberg[111] |
| Betsy Gotbaum | January 1, 2002[112] – December 31, 2009 | Democratic | Did not seek re-election[113] |
| Bill de Blasio | January 1, 2010[114] – December 31, 2013 | Democratic | Did not seek re-election, elected Mayor[115] |
| Letitia James | January 1, 2014[116] – December 31, 2018 | Democratic | Resigned to take office asAttorney General of New York[117] |
| Corey Johnson (acting) | January 1, 2019[118] – March 18, 2019 | Democratic | Did not contest special election |
| Jumaane Williams | March 19, 2019[119] – Present | Democratic | Incumbent |
| As Speaker of the city council | |||
| Peter Vallone Sr. | January 8, 1992[120] – December 31, 2001 | Democratic | Term limits[121] |
| Gifford Miller | January 9, 2002[122] – December 31, 2005 | Democratic | Term limits,[123] ran for mayor and lost in the primary[124] |
| Christine Quinn | January 4, 2006[125] – December 31, 2013 | Democratic | Term limits, ran for mayor and lost in the primary[126] |
| Melissa Mark-Viverito | January 8, 2014[127] – December 31, 2017 | Democratic | Term limits |
| Corey Johnson | January 3, 2018 – December 31, 2021 | Democratic | Term limits, ran for Comptroller and lost in the primary |
| Adrienne Adams | January 5, 2022 – Present | Democratic | Incumbent |
a.Became acting mayor upon the death or resignation of the elected mayor.
b. Later wonelection as mayor.
c. Unsuccessfulcandidate for mayor in a subsequent general election.
d. Not elected by citywide popular vote (Ardolph Kline had been elected deputy president by his fellow aldermen, and then succeeded as president upon Mitchel's resignation).
The most important laws of the City of New York are now available on the web. The Law Department contracted with New York Legal Publishing Corp. for a site where you can browse and search the New York City Charter, the New York City Administrative Code, and the Rules of the City of New York.
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