New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

was divided into

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

s between 1683 and 1938. These were used for the election of various municipal offices, and would later be used to construct the boundaries of larger electoral districts. Prior to the formation of the so-called

City of Greater New York 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 Is ...

in 1898, what is now New York City comprised multiple municipalities that had different histories with wards.

Manhattan and the Bronx

Six wards were established for New York City, which at the time comprised Manhattan and minor outlying islands, on December 8, 1683. Of these, five of the wards were located in what is now the

Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

, while the Out Ward covered the rest of Manhattan. The wards were authorized to elect one alderman and one councilman each. The Dongan Charter of 1686 confirmed these wards, and granted them the ability to elect one alderman, one assistant, and one constable each; the Out Ward was divided into divisions which each elected one constable. The Montgomerie Charter of 1731 added a "Montgomerie Ward" to the north of the West Ward. The wards became numbered in 1791. In 1824 wards elected one member of the

Board of Aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

and two members of the Board of Assistants each, with aldermen elected for staggered two-year terms and assistants elected for one-year terms. By 1872 this was no longer the case; instead 15 aldermen were elected at-large and assistants were elected from each Assembly district. What is now the

West Bronx 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 West Bronx is more densely populated than the East Bronx, and is clo ...

was annexed by New York City from

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

in 1874. It comprised the 23rd and 24th wards of the city; when the

East Bronx The East Bronx is the part of the New York City borough of the Bronx which lies east of the Bronx River; this roughly corresponds to the eastern half of the borough. Neighborhoods include: Baychester, Castle Hill, City Island, Co-op Cit ...

was annexed in 1895 it was also incorporated into those wards.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn was incorporated as a city in 1837 and divided into nine wards. By 1889 there were 26 wards, which were further used to construct Congressional and Assembly districts. By 1898 Brooklyn contained 32 wards.

Post-consolidation

Upon consolidation in 1898, a new charter was enacted which introduced a bicameral Municipal Assembly with an upper Council and a lower Board of Aldermen. The wards of Brooklyn were used to determine its districts to elect members of the Council; other methods were used in the other boroughs. Assembly districts were generally used to elect members of the Board of Aldermen. Wards were used in Richmond (now

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

) as of 1903, each ward corresponding to a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

in the borough that existed prior to consolidation. Ward politics declined in the early 20th century, and wards were abolished in 1938.

References

Works cited

* * * *{{cite book , last1=Stone , first1=William L. , title=History of New York City from the discovery to the present day , date=1872 , publisher=Virtue and Yorston , location=New York , url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433058765946&view=2up&seq=148 , accessdate=3 April 2020 , via=HathiTrust , ref={{harvid, Stone Politics of New York City