City of Greater New York

Last updated

The municipalities of modern-day New York City just before consolidation, excluding villages. New York County: .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} City of New York Kings County: City of Brooklyn Queens County: Long Island City Town of Elmhurst Town of Flushing Town of Jamaica Town of Hempstead (part) Richmond County: Town of Castleton Town of Middletown Town of Southfield Town of Westfield Town of Northfield New York City 1897.png
The municipalities of modern-day New York City just before consolidation, excluding villages.
New York County:
  City of New York
Kings County:
  City of Brooklyn
Queens County:
  Town of Elmhurst
  Town of Flushing
  Town of Jamaica
  Town of Hempstead (part)
Richmond County:
  Town of Castleton
  Town of Middletown
  Town of Southfield
  Town of Westfield
  Town of Northfield

The City of Greater New York was the term used by many politicians and scholars for the expanded City of New York created on January 1, 1898, by consolidating the existing City of New York with Brooklyn, western Queens County, and Staten Island. [1] [2] The section of the Bronx west of the Bronx River had been annexed to the City and County of New York in 1874 and was known as the Annexed District. [3] [4] The section of the Bronx east of the Bronx River had been annexed to the City and County of New York in 1895.

Contents

In the years leading up to consolidation, the City of Brooklyn had expanded by annexing all of the other towns and cities in Kings County. Only the western part of Queens County was part of the consolidation plan. [5] In 1899, its three eastern towns separated to form the new Nassau County. [6]

Background

New York City had been founded in the 1620s by the Dutch as New Amsterdam at the southern tip of the island of Manhattan. The English conquered the territory and established the original twelve counties of the Province of New York in 1683; one of these was the City and County of New York. A 1691 law defined New York City to be the entirety of Manhattan, while Manning's Island (now Roosevelt Island), the Barn Islands (now Randalls and Wards Islands), and the Oyster Islands (now Liberty Island, Ellis Island and Black Tom) were New York County. [7] Towns had been established in the rest of the province by 1691, and were reincorporated after the American Revolution in 1788. [8]

Brooklyn had been chartered by the Dutch in 1646; the Town of Brooklyn was one of the towns incorporated by 1691 [7] and reestablished in 1788. [9] It was located within Kings County, [7] another county established by the English in 1683. It was incorporated as a village in 1814 and as a city in 1834. Originally comprising what is now Downtown Brooklyn, it annexed its surroundings through the 19th century and grew to encompass all of Kings County in 1895. By the 1890 United States Census it had become the fourth-largest city in the United States.

Since the late 1820s, there had been some discussion of a unified city. In 1857, the New York State Legislature resolved that the region surrounding New York City should become one body, to improve harbor facilities and link the systems of trade. [10] They attempted to do so by government vote, but distrust of large projects killed the plans. [11]

Consolidation

The consolidation movement was the work of local, city, and state politicians, most prominently Andrew Haswell Green, the president of the "Greater New-York Commission" [12] and "The Father of Greater New York". [13] Green was a member of the Board of Commissioners of Central Park, which provided him a platform to push his views. [14]

"Up With the Flag! (of Brooklyn)", an 1895 anti-consolidation song UpWithTheFlag.jpg
"Up With the Flag! (of Brooklyn)", an 1895 anti-consolidation song

The next challenge to the independence of the boroughs was a self-promoted and government-appointed commission. The commission led the “Vote for Greater New York" movement. [12] Some opponents derided the effort as "Andy Green's hobby," but eventually they were proven wrong. [15] The center of the plan was the consolidation of the twin cities of New York and Brooklyn, whose fire departments had been merged into a Metropolitan Fire District in 1865. [16] The addition of Long Island City and various rural areas anticipated future development of those areas. With Republicans historically more powerful in Brooklyn and Democrats elsewhere, partisan politics played a role: each major political party hoped to dominate the consolidated city.

"Selfish Objections to a Good Match", Puck, 1893 Selfish objections to a good match.jpg
"Selfish Objections to a Good Match", Puck, 1893

The plan required a referendum in all affected areas, though the organizers of the referendum clearly had a bias towards the consolidation. They even released a full page advertisement in The New York Times before the vote took place, urging them to vote "For Consolidation". [12] An argument for consolidation was that the unconsolidated city would soon be surpassed by Chicago as the most populous city in the United States. [5]

Opposition, concentrated in Brooklyn and other outlying districts, focused on loss of local control and fears of ethnic and racial minorities. Independence-minded Brooklynites did not want their regional identity to be overtaken by New York. [17] Some newspapers such as the Brooklyn Daily Eagle argued that consolidation would destroy the mostly homogeneous, Protestant character of the city. [3] Opposing newspapers were accused of seeking to retain the revenues of official advertising, while opposing politicians were accused of graft. Concerns over how Brooklyn's water supply would be maintained and how future financial backing would be possible were legitimate. [18] Considerations of finance and water supply prevailed, and the people of Brooklyn voted by a narrow margin to consolidate. [19] [20] [21]

A satanic Thomas C. Platt presides over the marriage of Richard Croker to "Greater New York". Victor Gillam. The Modern House That Jack Built (1898).jpg
A satanic Thomas C. Platt presides over the marriage of Richard Croker to "Greater New York".

The term City of Greater New York was never a legal or official designation; both the original charter of 1898 and the newer one of 1938 use the name of City of New York. [3] It is used today only to refer to the time period when the consolidation took place. [22]

Each consolidated county remained a county in relation to the state, but also became a borough within the city. The Bronx reunited to form a fifth borough that shared New York County with Manhattan. A separate Bronx County was established in 1914, making the present New York County co-extensive with the Borough (but not the island) of Manhattan.

Consolidation referendum results

On December 14, 1894, the State Board of Canvassers released the official tally of the referendums, along with other races. The options listed on the ballot were "For Consolidation" and "Against Consolidation". The New York Times reported the results: [23]

New York County Results
ChoiceVotes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svg Yes96,93861.78
No59,95938.22
Valid votes156,89794.23
Invalid or blank votes9,6085.77
Total votes166,505100.00
Kings County Results
ChoiceVotes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svg Yes64,74450.11
No64,46749.89
Valid votes129,21199.80
Invalid or blank votes2550.20
Total votes129,466100.00
Queens County Results
ChoiceVotes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svg Yes7,71261.93
No4,74138.07
Valid votes12,453100
Invalid or blank votes00
Total votes12,453100.00
Richmond County Results
ChoiceVotes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svg Yes5,53178.61
No1,50521.39
Valid votes7,03699.99
Invalid or blank votes50.01
Total votes7,041100.00
City of Mount Vernon Results
ChoiceVotes %
Light brown x.svg No1,60364.74
Yes87335.26
Valid votes2,476100
Invalid or blank votes00
Total votes2,476100.00
Town of East Chester Results
ChoiceVotes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svg Yes37458.99
No26041.01
Valid votes634100
Invalid or blank votes00
Total votes634100.00
Town of Westchester Results
ChoiceVotes %
Light brown x.svg No62150.04
Yes62049.96
Valid votes1,241100
Invalid or blank votes00
Total votes1,241100.00
Town of Pelham Results
ChoiceVotes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svg Yes25162.13
No15337.87
Valid votes404100
Invalid or blank votes00
Total votes404100.00

Subsequent history

Since the enlarged city contained the majority of the state of New York's population, and the enlargement increased the city's already enormous power within the state, the state legislature established certain oversight powers within the city. For example, some issues of taxation and changes in governmental procedures require state approval or granting of specific home rule powers.

Conversely, the State Constitution was amended to provide that no city could elect the majority of the State Assembly, a provision later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1964 as violating the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. [24] The New York City Board of Estimate, created in the consolidation charter with equal votes for each borough, was struck down on similar grounds in 1989.

Attempted Staten Island secession

Staten Island is geographically the most distant of the five boroughs, linked to the other four only by a single bridge, the Staten Island Ferry, and one NYC Ferry route. In 1993, it held a non-binding referendum on the issue of seceding from New York City to become an independent city and county. [25] Many Staten Island politicians, including Senator John J. Marchi and Assemblyman Eric N. Vitaliano supported the movement. [26] [27] Vote Yes, Inc. was formed as a nonpartisan, grass-roots organization in January 1990. Its initial purpose was to secure a "yes" vote for the November 1990 referendum on Staten Island secession. [28] Ultimately, 65% of Staten Island residents voted to secede, through the approval of a new city charter making Staten Island an independent city, but implementation was blocked in the State Assembly. [29] [30] The Staten Island secession movement was defused by the election of Rudy Giuliani as New York City mayor, who fulfilled two of the borough's biggest demands: making the Staten Island Ferry free in 1997 [31] and closing the Fresh Kills Landfill in 2001. [32]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staten Island</span> Borough in New York City

Staten Island is the southernmost borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southern tip of the U.S. state of New York. The borough is separated from the adjacent state of New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and from the rest of New York by New York Bay. With a population of 495,747 in the 2020 Census, Staten Island is the least populated New York City borough but the third largest in land area at 58.5 sq mi (152 km2); it is also the least densely populated and most suburban borough in the city.

In United States local government, a consolidated city-county is formed when one or more cities and their surrounding county merge into one unified jurisdiction. As such it is a type of unitary authority that has the governmental powers of both a municipal corporation and a county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Partition and secession in New York</span> Hypothetical division of the state

There are and have been several movements regarding secession from the U.S. state of New York. Only one of them – the state of Vermont – succeeded. Among the unsuccessful ones, the most prominent included the proposed state of Long Island, consisting of everything on the island outside New York City; a state called Niagara, the western counties of New York state; the northern counties of New York state called Upstate New York; making the city of New York a state; a proposal for a new Peconic County on eastern Long Island; and for the borough of Staten Island to secede from New York City.

The borough president are the chief executives of the five boroughs of New York City. For most of the city's history, the office exercised significant executive powers within each borough, and the five borough presidents also sat on the New York City Board of Estimate. Since 1990, the borough presidents have been stripped of a majority of their powers in the government of New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John J. Marchi</span> American politician (1921–2009)

John Joseph Marchi was an American attorney and jurist who represented Staten Island in the New York State Senate for 50 years. Marchi, a Republican, retired on December 31, 2006, from the seat that he had held since January 1, 1957. He was the Republican nominee for Mayor of New York City in 1969 and 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boroughs of New York City</span> Administrative divisions of New York City

The Boroughs of New York City are the five major governmental districts that compose New York City. The boroughs are the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Each borough is coextensive with a respective county of the State of New York: The Bronx is Bronx County, Brooklyn is Kings County, Manhattan is New York County, Queens is Queens County, and Staten Island is Richmond County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neighborhoods in New York City</span>

The neighborhoods in New York City are located within the five boroughs of the City of New York. Their names and borders are not officially defined, and they change from time to time.

The West Bronx is a region in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The region lies west of the Bronx River and roughly corresponds to the western half of the borough.

The towns and cities of Downstate New York were created by the U.S. state of New York as municipalities in order to give residents more direct say over local government. Present-day Westchester, Bronx, New York, Richmond, Kings, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties were part of York Shire from 1664-August 1673 and again from February 1674 until 1683 at which point the Province of New York was divided into counties. From August 1673 to February 1674 New York was under Dutch control and English political units were suspended, then restored under English rule. York Shire was divided into three divisions called ridings, the East, West, and North ridings. In 1683 the colony of New York eliminated shires and ridings in favor of counties, the East Riding becoming Suffolk County, West Riding the counties of Richmond and Kings, while the North Riding became the counties of Westchester, New York, and Queens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">121st New York State Legislature</span> New York state legislative session

The 121st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to July 16, 1898, during the second year of Frank S. Black's governorship, in Albany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">122nd New York State Legislature</span> New York state legislative session

The 122nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4 to April 28, 1899, during the first year of Theodore Roosevelt's governorship, in Albany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">123rd New York State Legislature</span> New York state legislative session

The 123rd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to April 6, 1900, during the second year of Theodore Roosevelt's governorship, in Albany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">124th New York State Legislature</span> New York state legislative session

The 124th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to April 23, 1901, during the first year of Benjamin B. Odell Jr.'s governorship, in Albany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">125th New York State Legislature</span> New York state legislative session

The 125th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 1 to March 27, 1902, during the second year of Benjamin B. Odell Jr.'s governorship, in Albany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">126th New York State Legislature</span> New York state legislative session

The 126th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7 to April 23, 1903, during the third year of Benjamin B. Odell Jr.'s governorship, in Albany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">127th New York State Legislature</span> New York state legislative session

The 127th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6 to April 15, 1904, during the fourth year of Benjamin B. Odell Jr.'s governorship, in Albany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">128th New York State Legislature</span> New York state legislative session

The 128th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4 to July 20, 1905, during the first year of Frank W. Higgins's governorship, in Albany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">129th New York State Legislature</span> New York state legislative session

The 129th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to May 3, 1906, during the second year of Frank W. Higgins's governorship, in Albany.

References

  1. ↑ "Of Interest To Politicians" . The New York Times . September 13, 1894. p. 9. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Greater New-York In Doubt; The City Vote Is For It And Brooklyn Is Uncertain" . The New York Times. November 8, 1894. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Jackson, Kenneth T. (1995). Encyclopedia of the City of New York. New Haven & New York: Yale University Press. ISBN   0300182570.
  4. ↑ "The East City Line Fixed" . The New York Times. February 12, 1899. p. 15. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  5. 1 2 "New-York's Place In Danger; Consolidation Defeated, She Must Yield To Chicago" . The New York Times. November 4, 1894. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  6. ↑ Geoffrey Mohan (Staff Writer) (2007). "Nassau's Difficult Birth; Eastern factions of Queens win the fight to separate after six decades of wrangling". Newsday. Archived from the original on October 16, 2008. Retrieved April 19, 2013. North Hempstead, Oyster Bay and the rest of Hempstead were excluded from the vote.
  7. 1 2 3 "An Act to divide the Province and Dependencies, into Shires and Counties, Pass'd the 1st of October, 1691". Laws of New-York, From The Year 1691, to 1751, inclusive . New York: James Parker. 1752. p. 7. Retrieved March 18, 2020– via HeinOnline.
  8. ↑ "AN ACT for dividing the counties of this State into towns, Passed the 7th of March, 1788". Laws of the State of New York passed at the sessions of the legislature held in the years 1785, 1786, 1787 and 1788, inclusive, being the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh sessions. Albany, New York: Weed Parsons and Company. 1886. pp. 748–762.
  9. ↑ "Kings County: Brooklyn". Laws of the State of New York passed at the sessions of the legislature held in the years 1785, 1786, 1787 and 1788, inclusive, being the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh sessions. Albany, New York: Weed Parsons and Company. 1886. p. 749.
  10. ↑ Kessner, Capital City, p.319
  11. ↑ Kessner, Capital City p.60
  12. 1 2 3 "Vote For Greater New-York; Commissioners Offer Arguments For A Mighty City" . October 16, 1894. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  13. ↑ Haberman, Clyde (May 14, 2004). "NYC; A.H. Green? You could sit on It" . New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  14. ↑ Kessner, Capital City, pp.62-67
  15. ↑ Kessner, Capital City, p.63
  16. ↑ "History of Fire Service". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  17. ↑ Sokol, Samantha (January 1, 2014). "On This Day in NYC History, January 1st, 1898: New York City Became the 5 Boroughs". Untapped New York. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  18. ↑ Kroessler, Jeffrey A. (2011). "Brooklyn's Thirst, Long Island's Water: Consolidation, Local Control, and the Aquifer". Long Island History Journal. 22 (1). ISSN   0898-7084.
  19. ↑ Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace, Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 (The History of New York City)
  20. ↑ "Vote for Greater New York" . The New York Times. October 16, 1894. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  21. ↑ "Official Announcement of the Results of the Election" (PDF). The New York Times. December 15, 1894. Retrieved December 28, 2007. The area included a radius of twenty miles, with the city hall in New York as a center to circumscribe it
  22. ↑ Kessner, Thomas (2004). Capital City: New York City and the Men Behind America's Rise to Dominance 1860-1900. New York City: Simon & Schuster. pp. 60, ibid. ISBN   978-0743257534.
  23. ↑ "The State Vote Canvassed" (PDF). New York Times. December 15, 1894. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  24. ↑ Court, Supreme. "WMCA, INC. Et Al. V. Lomenzo, Secretary of State of New York, Et Al" (PDF). Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  25. ↑ Article about Staten Island Secession Archived September 27, 2006, at the Wayback Machine at the City Journal web site
  26. ↑ "Collection: PM-01: Senator John J. Marchi Papers | College of Staten Island ArchivesSpace". archivesspace.library.csi.cuny.edu. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Collection: PM-03: Assemblyman Eric N. Vitaliano Papers | College of Staten Island ArchivesSpace". archivesspace.library.csi.cuny.edu. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Collection: SIM-03: Staten Island: Vote Yes, Inc. Collection | College of Staten Island ArchivesSpace". archivesspace.library.csi.cuny.edu. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  29. ↑ McFadden, Robert D. (March 5, 1994). "'Home Rule' Factor May Block S.I. Secession" . The New York Times . Retrieved October 20, 2009.
  30. ↑ Kashiwagi, Sydney (November 8, 2019). "Forgotten borough no more: Borelli moves forward with plan to revive Island secession from New York City". silive. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  31. ↑ Sontag, Deborah (July 5, 1997). "On the Staten Island Ferry, Illusory 'Free Ride' Is Reality" . The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Fresh Kills". New York City Department of City Planning. 2009. Archived from the original on November 24, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2009.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.