Who was the First Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York (official title) is the title given to the leader of the executive branch of the local government of New York City. The office of the mayor is responsible for a number of important services in the city such as: public property, police and fire, many public agencies and city services. It is also responsible for enforcing local and state laws within the city. The mayor is elected every four years. Each mayor serves a four year term and may hold office for a maximum of three consecutive terms. The mayor of New York City is one of the most important jobs in the country, but when the office was formed in the 17th century the mayor had very limited power. Let’s find out who was the first mayor of New York City.
Who was the first Mayor of the City of New York?
In 1664 Richard Nicolls led an expedition to capture New Netherlands from the Dutch. He succeeded and became the first English colonial governor of New Netherlands (which became New York province). In 1665 he created the position of mayor of New York and he appointed Thomas Willett, who was part of the expedition to capture New Netherlands, to the position. He served in the position for a year (this was the standard term until 1680 when 2 years became the norm) and was reappointed to the position in 1667.
The position of mayor was appointed for 156 years, but in 1821 the Common Council was given the responsibility to choose the mayor. In 1834 an amendment to the state constitution allowed for direct election of the mayor of New York City. Cornelius Lawrence became the first popularly elected Mayor of New York City the same year.
Did you know?
The salary for the Mayor of New York City is $225,000. In 2002 when Michael Bloomberg was elected to the job he declined the salary and instead is paid $1 each year! Bloomberg is one of the richest men in the United States and is thought to be worth approximately $25 billion!
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