New York’s government is more centralized than other American cities, as evidenced by the responsibilities of the government. In New York, the central government is responsible for public education, prisons, libraries, public safety, recreation facilities, sanitation, water supply, and social security.
According to collegesanduniversitiesinusa, the city’s budget is the largest of any city in the United States at $50 billion. This budget is spent on education (31%), social services (20%), public safety (13%) and pensions (10%). The city employs approximately 250,000 people.
Representatives of the Democratic party hold most of the public functions in the city. Of the registered voters in the city, 66% are Democrat. Between 1924 and 2016, no Republican in New York managed to win a majority in the presidential or state election.
The Manhattan Municipal Building is home to many government agencies and is one of the largest government buildings in the world
Executive branch
The executive branch of the City of New York is made up of the Mayor, the Public Advocate, the Comptroller, and the five borough presidents.
The mayor is responsible for all city services, police and fire services, enforcement of all city laws, control of public property, and most public institutions. The mayor is directly elected for a four-year term and can be re-elected once. Deputy Mayors are appointed by the mayor, who assist in important matters such as education, economics and health care. However, they have no right to succeed the mayor if he can no longer perform his duties.
Michael Bloomberg was mayor of New York from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2013, succeeding Rudy Giuliani. Bloomberg was known as a Democrat, but switched parties shortly before the election and ran as a Republican to avoid the crowded Democrat primaries. Bloomberg won the election with about half the vote and was re-elected in 2005 with 59% of the vote. Bloomberg has been independent since 2007. Bloomberg, a former businessman, took over education from the state as mayor and pursued an aggressive health care policy, including introducing a smoking ban in the hospitality industry. During his second term, he made school reform, poverty alleviation and strict gun control spearheads of his policy. Bloomberg was succeeded on January 1, 2014 by Democrat Bill de Blasio, after the latter won the 2013 mayoral election with over 73% of the vote. De Blasio was reelected to a new term of office in the 2017 mayoral elections with more than 66% of the vote, which runs until 2021. On January 1, 2022,Eric Adams the new mayor of New York.
The Public Advocate is directly elected and is responsible for improving the relationship between citizens and government. He investigates complaints about city institutions, mediates between city institutions and citizens, acts as an ombudsman and advises the mayor on community relations.
The Comptroller manages the finances and is also directly elected by the citizens. In addition to managing the city’s pension fund, the Comptroller advises the mayor and city council on every financial area.
The residents of the boroughs elect a Borough President by direct election. They advise the mayor on borough-related matters.
New York City Hall is the seat of the city government
Legislature
The New York City City Council (City Council) is the legislature. The bills are passed by majority and are then sent to the mayor, who can confirm them by signing them. If the mayor vetoes the proposal, the council has 30 days to obtain a two-thirds majority to allow the proposal to come into effect. The municipal council is a unicameral body and consists of 51 councillors. They are elected by districts that each have approximately 157,000 people. Councilors are generally elected for four years, except in years when there is a censustakes place in years divisible by twenty. Then the districts are re-determined and two consecutive terms of two years are required.
Judiciary
The judiciary in New York is made up of civil, criminal, and family courts. These courts are present in all boroughs and have jurisdiction for the entire city. The civil court hears all civil cases with claims up to $25,000. The criminal court handles minor criminal cases. The family court hears cases involving children and families. Serious crimes and major civil cases are heard by the New York State Supreme Court. Unlike the rest of New York State, New York City has no typical County Courts(regional courts). Instead, the courts have jurisdiction in the five regions corresponding to the five boroughs.
Official seal and flag
Seal of the City of New York
The New York City Seal dating from 1686 bears the inscription SIGILLVM CIVITATIS NOVI EBORACI, which simply means “the Seal of the City of New York”. Eboracum was the Roman name of the present-day city of York, the titular seat of James II as Duke of York. The two figures represent the equality between the Native Americans and the settlers. The four windmill blades recall the Dutch history of the city as New Amsterdam. The beavers and the flour barrels refer to the city’s earliest trade goods.After the American Revolutionthe American eagle has been added above the seal. The year “1625”, which is mentioned at the bottom of the seal, is the year in which the city was founded.
New York City Flag
The New York flag was adopted in 1915. The flag has blue, white, and orange bands; these colors refer to the Dutch flag that flew over the city during Dutch times. The official seal can be seen in blue in the center of the flag.
city twinning
Since 2006, New York City has had a special city twinning program called New York City Global Partners. Since the rollout of this program, New York has an extensive network of sister cities around the world.
