Wards of New York City
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
New York City was divided into wards 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 in 1898, what is now New York City comprised multiple municipalities that had different histories with wards.
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 of Lower Manhattan, while the Out Ward covered the rest of Manhattan.[1] The wards were authorized to elect one alderman and one councilman each.[2] 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.[3] The Montgomerie Charter of 1731 added a "Montgomerie Ward" to the north of the West Ward. The wards became numbered in 1791.[4]
In 1824 wards elected one member of the Board of Aldermen and two members of the Board of Assistants each, with aldermen elected for staggered two-year terms and assistants elected for one-year terms.[5] By 1872 this was no longer the case; instead 15 aldermen were elected at-large and assistants were elected from each Assembly district.[6]
What is now the West Bronx was annexed by New York City from Westchester County in 1874. It comprised the 23rd and 24th wards of the city;[7] when the East Bronx was annexed in 1895 it was also incorporated into those wards.[8]
