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First 100 Years
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Robert Van Wyck
91st Mayor, 18981901
[1847-1918]
The first Mayor of Greater
New York
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| A
graduate of Columbia University Law School and chief judge
of the city court, Van Wyck rose through the ranks of Tammany
Hall to become the first mayor of Greater New York after
consolidation. In 1897, he fought a bitter campaign against
political reformer and one time Brooklyn Mayor Seth Low.
Although Van Wyck failed to deliver a single formal speech
during the campaign a result of his deep disdain
for public speaking he prevailed over Citizens Union
candidate Low by a margin of 80,000 votes. The election
signaled the reemergence of Tammany Hall, still tarnished
from the scandals of "Boss Tweed."
Despite the historical significance
of the occasion, Van Wyck's inauguration ceremony was
hardly an elaborate affair. The mayors of Manhattan, Brooklyn,
and Long Island City, stripped of their positions by consolidation,
joined Van Wyck on the podium. As a crowd of spectators
3,000 strong anxiously awaited his remarks outside City
Hall, the new mayor uttered just two sentences. Manhattan
Mayor William Strong offered his congratulations, to which
Van Wyck replied: "Mr. Mayor, the people have chosen me
to be mayor. I shall say whatever I have to say to them."
Van Wyck's tenure as mayor was
beset by administrative failures and political scandals,
including charges he participated in an Ice Trust scam
that artificially inflated the price of fresh milk. In
1899, the state legislature conducted an investigation
into corruption in New York City, and concluded Van Wyck
was a "dictator" who had "abdicated" his powers to the
Tammany Hall bosses. Although then Governor Theodore Roosevelt
was petitioned to remove him from office, Van Wyck was
able to serve out the remainder of his term. On the inauguration
day of his successor, Van Wyck reportedly left City Hall
out the back and walked among the crowd outside, unrecognized.
Perhaps his greatest accomplishment
as mayor was the awarding of the city's first subway contract,
valued at $35,000,000. After leaving office, Van Wyck
amassed a small fortune as an attorney and moved to Paris
with his wife, where he died on November 13, 1918. Upon
his death, The New York Times remarked: "Van Wyck became
involved in probably more scandals than any mayor in the
city's history."
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Seth Low
92nd Mayor, 19021903
[1850-1916]
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| Van
Wyck's unremarkable tenure as the first mayor of Greater
New York rejuvenated the reform movement and paved the way
for Seth Low. A graduate and president of Columbia University,
former Mayor of Brooklyn and life-long activist in progressive
politics, Low was the first mayor to be elected on a fusion
ticket with the backing of the Republican and Citizens Union
parties. He delivered a brief speech upon taking the oath
of office, vowing to "consecrate myself to the welfare of
the people." In stark contrast to his predecessor, Low's
administration was perceived as honest and competent. He
is credited with introducing civil service and a merit system
for hiring city employees, lowering taxes while streamlining
government services, improving the school system, and greatly
reducing graft in the police department. After his defeat
in 1903, Low remained active in politics and labor issues,
mediating many strikes. He believed in recognition for unions
and the right of collective bargaining, although he favored
arbitration over strikes. Low died on September 17, 1916
at his upstate New York home. Among his honorary pallbearers
were J.P. Morgan and Samuel Gompers. |
George Brinton
McClellan
93rd Mayor, 19041909
[1865-1940]
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| The
son of a famous Civil War general who ran unsuccessfully
for President against Abraham Lincoln, George McClellan
had a distinguished career in politics and academia. McClellan
was a graduate of Princeton University, a journalist, an
attorney, a congressman by twenty-seven, and by thirty,
president of the New York City Board of Aldermen [the precursor
to the City Council]. He ran on the Tammany Hall ticket
and defeated Seth Low in 1903, at the age of thirty-seven.
Despite his affiliation with Tammany Hall, McClellan demonstrated
a fiery independence that only gained momentum in his second
term. He defeated newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst
to win reelection, but it was a bitter sweet victory, for
McClellan was subjected to scathing attacks by Hearst's
newspapers for the duration of his time in office. He broke
with Tammany Hall in his second term, cracked down on vice
and gambling, and terminated many of the beneficiaries of
Tammany's patronage machine. Although he acknowledged it
was political suicide, McClellan later told a reporter:
"There comes a time in every man's life when he must choose
one course or another. I chose I had to keep my self
respect." With a fondness for great public works
he spent his first day in office sampling the yet-to-be
opened subway system McClellan oversaw the construction
of the Queensboro and Manhattan bridges, the Municipal Building,
and the Catskill water system. After leaving office, McClellan
became a lecturer and a celebrated professor of Economic
History at Princeton University, served in World War I,
achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel, traveled extensively
abroad, and wrote many books on Italian history. He died
on November 30, 1940 and was buried in Arlington National
Cemetery. |
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William Jay Gaynor
94th Mayor, 19101913
[1848-1913]
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| A one
time member of the Christian Brothers order, William Jay
Gaynor would disappoint Tammany Hall when they nominated
him for mayor in 1909. Although Gaynor abandoned the Christian
order in 1869, later becoming a crusading reporter and Brooklyn
attorney, he retained his righteous temperament. Elected
to the New York Supreme Court in 1893, and appointed to
the Appellate Division, Second Department in 1905, Gaynor's
rulings were often cited around the country. His reputation
as an honest reformer helped win him election as mayor in
1909.
On January 1, 1910, he walked
to City Hall from his home in Brooklyn it was the
first time he had ever visited the seat of city government
and addressed the 1,500 people gathered to greet
him:"I enter upon this office with the intention of doing
the very best I can for the City of New York. That will
have to suffice; I can do no more." Gaynor's marriage
with Tammany Hall was short-lived; soon after taking office,
he filled high level government posts with experts and
city employees were chosen from civil service lists in
the order they appeared, effectively curbing patronage
and nepotism. As mayor, he railed against efforts to thwart
the further development of the New York City subway system.
A strong willed but compassionate mayor, Gaynor once remarked,
"The world does not grow better by force or by the policeman's
club." Early in his first term, Gaynor was shot in the
throat by a discharged city employee, the only New York
City mayor to suffer an assassination attempt. Although
he quickly recovered, the bullet remained lodged in his
throat for the next three years. During his term as mayor,
Gaynor was widely considered a strong candidate for Governor
or President. Tammany Hall refused to nominate him for
reelection to a second term, but after accepting the nomination
from an independent group of voters, he set sail for Europe.
Six days later, on September 10, 1913, Gaynor died suddenly
from the lingering effects of the shooting.
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John Purroy Mitchel
95th Mayor, 19141917
[1879-1918]
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| At
thirty-five years old, John Purroy Mitchel was the youngest
person ever to be elected Mayor of New York City, a distinction
that earned him the nickname, "Boy Mayor." A graduate of
Columbia University and New York Law School, Mitchel held
numerous government posts after being admitted to the bar.
While city Commissioner of Accounts, Mitchel uncovered a
protection racket in the Police Department and conducted
investigations that forced the ouster of two borough presidents,
and prompted another to flee the continent. Elected President
of the Board of Alderman in 1909, Mitchel is credited with
drafting the city's first comprehensive budget, with a full
accounting of all of the city's resources. In 1913, he dealt
a crushing blow to Tammany Hall, winning the mayoral election
on a fusion ticket by a large plurality. His inauguration
speech was unique in that he did not make bold pledges to
reinvent government. Instead, he placed a three month moratorium
on any public pronouncements by anyone in his administration:
"We will develop our program slowly. It will not be necessary
for us to go to the people of the city every day and tell
them what we propose to do. It will be better for us to
wait a little while and then to go to them and tell them
what we are doing or have done."
Mitchel's waste-cutting measures
and accounting practices earned the city national acclaim.
He brought into the administration competent professionals
and devised a zoning plan to govern city development
the first such plan in the nation. He also standardized
salary and work requirements for city employees. Despite
Mitchel's notable accomplishments, he was not reelected.
In 1918, he enlisted in the Army Air Service to be trained
as a pilot in World War I. His life was cut short while
on final training in Louisiana, when his plane plummeted
500 feet to the ground on July 6, 1918. A few days shy
of his 39th birthday, Mitchel was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery
in the Bronx.
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John F. Hylan
96th Mayor, 19181925
[1869-1936]
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| Truly
a self-made man, Hylan grew up a poor farm boy with limited
education who, at 19, came to New York City with $4.50 in
his pocket. He performed various odd jobs, including operating
a steam locomotive for the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad, and
he secured a patent for a bicycle whistle. He graduated
from New York Law School in 1897 and became active in politics.
Hylan successfully engineered a constitutional amendment
in the state legislature to create two new Brooklyn judgeships
and a job for himself. In 1917, Hylan ran for mayor
on the Tammany Hall ticket, overwhelmingly defeating John
Purroy Mitchel. He delivered a simple speech during his
inauguration, an affair devoted to dispensing patronage
evenly between his Brooklyn supporters and Tammany Hall.
On his first day in office, Hylan charged his appointees
"to make the world yearn for Democracy" by following his
"Rules for City Employees." He declared: "[City workers]
must not roll in city automobiles with cigars in their mouths...[or]
be conspicuous at baseball games when they should be in
their offices." Dubbed "Honest John" by his supporters,
Hylan never strayed far from the will of Tammany Hall. He
devoted much of his term to transit issues and was reelected
based on his opposition to a state plan that would have
increased the five cent subway fare. He also was a strong
advocate for New York City home rule. Hylan ran for a third
term, but lost the primary to James Walker and ran again
in 1932, only to withdraw his candidacy. He died of a heart
attack at his home in Forest Hills on January 12, 1936. |
James "Jimmy"
Walker
97th Mayor, 19261932
[1881 - 1946]
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| An
aspiring actor and talented musician, Jimmy Walker masterfully
combined theatrics with politics to become one of the city's
most colorful mayors. He composed many sentimental ballads,
including, "Will You Love Me in December As You Do In May."
He quickly rose through the ranks of Tammany Hall, entering
the Assembly in 1910 and serving in the state Senate from
1923 to 1925. Succeeding John Hylan as mayor in 1926, Walker
faithfully served the interests of Tammany Hall through
political appointments and the awarding of contracts. At
his inauguration, Walker hoped "the people of this city
would not look upon their public servants as antagonistic,
but...as their servants and friends." His penchant for frequenting
nightclubs and enjoying the company of celebrities, including
actress Betty Compton, earned him the nicknames "Beau James"
and the "Night Mayor."
In the first two years of his
administration, Walker indulged himself with several vacations
overseas, spending 143 days out of office, and was fond
of saying, "I refuse to live by the clock." Despite rumors
of widespread corruption, New Yorkers largely overlooked
Walker's transgressions, electing him handily to a second
term over Fiorello LaGuardia. But with the outbreak of
the Depression, Walker's neglect of essential city services
became more readily apparent. In 1931, the state legislature
initiated an investigation that uncovered rampant corruption
in New York City government. In 1932, Walker was charged
with accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in money
from individuals with business ties to the city. Called
before then Governor Franklin Roosevelt to answer the
charges, Walker resigned from office in the middle of
the hearings, on September 1, 1932, and moved to Europe.
During Walker's administration,
the Department of Sanitation was created and construction
began on the Triborough Bridge, the West Side Highway,
and the Queens Midtown Tunnel. Walker returned to New
York City in 1935. His one time political nemesis, Fiorello
LaGuardia, appointed him municipal arbiter to the garment
industry in 1940. He died on November 18, 1946.
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John P.O'Brien
98th Mayor, 1933
[1873 - 1951]
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| With
the city still reeling from the scandal that swept Jimmy
Walker out of office, John O'Brien was elected to fill the
remainder of Walker's term. He received his B.A. from Holy
Cross College and his masters and law degree from Georgetown
University. O'Brien served as City Corporation Counsel and
as a New York Surrogate Court judge. Tammany Hall nominated
him for mayor in 1932 and he beat the Republican candidate
by more than half a million votes. Held in the Hall of Records,
at 31 Chambers Street in Manhattan, O'Brien's inauguration
was devoid of the pageantry that had greeted many of his
predecessors. His inauguration speech did not outline a
vision for the city, but rather, reflected on the work of
the court and the legal profession in general. He told his
colleagues, "I know it will be the bar of New York that
will understand the situation, be able to survey it critically,
but, at the same time, fairly and justly." Although O'Brien
is credited with expanding the city's ability to collect
taxes, restoring order to the city's finances, and trimming
the budget, he served just one year in office and was not
reelected to a second term. O'Brien returned to his legal
work and served three times as a delegate to the Democratic
National Convention. He died on September 22, 1951, and
was buried, as was his predecessor, Jimmy Walker, in the
Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Westchester County. |
Fiorello Henry
LaGuardia
99th Mayor, 19341945
[1882-1947]
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| The
son of immigrants of Italian and Jewish ancestry, Fiorello
LaGuardia, or "Little Flower," is widely regarded as one
of the best mayors in New York City history, whose tenure
redefined the office. LaGuardia had a long distinguished
career in public service, beginning when he was 17 in the
U.S. Consulate Service in Europe, where he became fluent
in Yiddish, German, French and Italian. Upon graduating
New York University Law School in 1910, LaGuardia practiced
law and was appointed Deputy Attorney General. LaGuardia
was elected to Congress in 1916 on a Republican ticket,
interrupting his term to serve as a decorated pilot on the
Italian front in World War I (his plane was named the Congressional
Limited). He was elected President of the Board of Alderman
in 1919 and returned to Congress in 1923, winning reelection
repeatedly. After losing the mayoral election to Jimmy Walker
in 1929, he successfully ran for mayor again in 1933 on
a fusion ticket against Tammany Hall.
LaGuardia shunned the traditional
inauguration day ceremony, instead making numerous appearances,
at each one vowing to "clean house and clean it thoroughly."
On his first day in office, he delivered a radio address
to the nation, declaring: "New York City was restored
to the people this morning at one minute after midnight.
It is my duty from now on to guard and protect and guide
the complete, peaceful and undisturbed enjoyment of that
possession."
For the next twelve years, the
5 foot 2, sometimes belligerent chief executive dominated
life in New York City. He fulfilled many of his pledges,
ferreting out corruption in city government and bringing
in talented professionals. LaGuardia earned a reputation
for placing the city's interests ahead of political considerations.
Although technically a Republican, he worked closely with
the New Deal administration of President Franklin Roosevelt
to secure funding for large public works projects. The
federal subsidies enabled New York City to create a transportation
network the envy of the world, and to build parks, low-income
housing, bridges, schools, and hospitals. He achieved
the unification of the city's rapid transit system, a
goal that had long eluded his predecessors, and reformed
the structure of city government by pushing for a new
City Charter. He presided over construction of New York
City's first municipal airport on Flushing Bay, later
appropriately named LaGuardia Airport.
LaGuardia's psychological effect
on New York City was equally profound, restoring faith
in city government by demanding excellence from civil
servants. He was perceived as ubiquitous, always first
to appear at a fire or natural disaster; he sometimes
dropped in at city agencies unannounced, periodically
conducted the municipal orchestra, spoke weekly over the
radio, and once used that medium to read the comics to
New Yorkers during a citywide newspaper strike.
In 1945, the first three-term
New York City mayor decided not to seek a fourth term,
perhaps hoping to enter national politics. After leaving
office, he hosted a weekly radio show and was appointed
Director General of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation
Commission. LaGuardia succumbed to pancreatic cancer on
September 21, 1947 at his home in Riverdale, Bronx.
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William O'Dwyer
100th Mayor, 19461950
[1890 - 1964]
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| Born
and raised in Bohola, Ireland, O'Dwyer moved to the United
States in 1910 after abandoning his studies for the priesthood.
He worked as a laborer, then as a New York City policeman.
He studied law at night at Fordham University Law School,
receiving his degree in 1923. O'Dwyer built up a successful
law practice and served as a Kings County Court judge. He
won election as the Kings County District Attorney in 1939
and his prosecution of the organized crime syndicate, Murder,
Inc., made him a national celebrity as a tough crime fighter.
After losing the election to LaGuardia in 1941, O'Dwyer
enlisted in the Army, achieving the rank of brigadier general.
In 1946, O'Dwyer received the nomination of the Tammany
Democrats and easily won the mayoral election. At his inauguration,
O'Dwyer celebrated to the song, "It's a Great Day for the
Irish," and addressed the 700 people gathered in Council
Chambers at City Hall: "It is our high purpose to devote
our whole time, our whole energy to do good work..."
O'Dwyer established the Office
of City Construction Coordinator, appointing Robert Moses
to the post, worked to have the permanent home of the
United Nations located in Manhattan, presided over the
first billion dollar New York City budget, created a traffic
department and raised the subway fare from five cents
to ten. Shortly after his reelection, O'Dwyer was confronted
with a police scandal uncovered, ironically, by the Kings
County District Attorney. With his health steadily failing,
he resigned on September 1, 1950 and President Harry Truman
appointed him as Ambassador to Mexico. He returned to
New York City in 1951 to answer questions concerning his
association with organized crime figures. The accusations
followed him for the rest of his life. O'Dwyer resigned
as Ambassador on December 6, 1952, but remained in Mexico
until 1960. He died in New York City on November 24, 1964
and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
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Vincent Richard
Impellitteri
101st Mayor, 19501953
[1900 - 1987]
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| The
son of Italian immigrants, Impellitteri emigrated from Sicily,
Italy to the United States in 1901, when he was just an
infant. He grew up in Connecticut and entered the Navy after
finishing high school. Upon moving to New York, Impellitteri
attended Fordham Law School, where he received his law degree
in 1924. He served as Assistant New York District Attorney
from 1929 to 1938. In 1945, Mayor O'Dwyer picked Impellitteri
to run for Council President on the Tammany Hall slate.
When O'Dwyer resigned five years later, Impellitteri served
as acting mayor. Tammany Hall refused to nominate him for
the special election in November, 1950, and Impellitteri
successfully ran as an independent under the banner of the
"Experience Party." Impellitteri's inauguration, held on
November 14, 1950, was swift and simple, absent a band or
a platform. Outside City Hall, he pledged to "do my level
best to justify the confidence you have reposed in me."
Impellitteri's one term as Mayor
saw the initiation and completion of many public works
projects engineered by Robert Moses, including the construction
of 88 miles of highway and numerous housing projects
between 1945 and 1954, 1,082 public housing buildings
were constructed. Impellitteri is also credited with working
to rein in budget costs, raising the bus and subway fare
to fifteen cents and increasing the sales tax. Impellitteri
ran for reelection in 1953, but was defeated by then Manhattan
Borough President Robert Wagner, who later appointed him
to a judgeship. Impellitteri retired from the bench in
1965 and succumbed to Parkinson's disease on January 29,
1987 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
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Robert Ferdinand Wagner
102nd Mayor, 19541965
[1910 - 1991]
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| The
son of a famous U.S. Senator who was a chief architect of
Social Security, Robert Wagner Jr. graduated from Yale University
in 1933 and received his law degree from Yale Law School
in 1937. Fresh out of law school, Wagner, a lifelong Democrat,
was elected to the Assembly, where he served three terms.
He enlisted in the Army during World War II, achieving the
rank of lieutenant colonel. Upon returning to New York City,
Wagner served in different capacities under Mayor O'Dwyer,
until he successfully ran for Manhattan Borough President
in 1949. In 1953, Wagner ran in the Democratic primary for
mayor with the backing of Tammany Hall. He beat Vincent
Impellitteri by a large margin and went on to win the general
election. At his inauguration, Wagner pledged to create
a "government dedicated to the best interest of all people"
and extolled the virtue of public service as "among the
most noble challenges and among the greatest responsibilities."
During Wagner's twelve years as
mayor, several large scale projects were initiated or
completed, such as the construction of the Van Wyck Expressway,
the Grand Central Parkway, the Long Island Expressway,
the Verrazano-Narrows and Throgs Neck Bridges, Shea Stadium,
and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. During Wagner's
tenure the city also hosted the 1964-65 World's Fair.
Wagner is credited with making gains in slum clearance
and the creation of public housing. He reduced corruption
in city government and expanded the police force. He appointed
talented professionals to serve in his administration
and greatly increased the number of minorities in civil
service. Twice reelected, Wagner decided not to seek a
fourth term in 1965, instead returning to private practice.
He was appointed ambassador to Spain from 1968 to 1969,
resigning to run unsuccessfully in the mayoral primary.
In 1976, President Jimmy Carter named him US representative
to the Vatican. He practiced law in New York City and
also served on the City Charter Revision Commission in
the 1980's. In 1989, New York University named its graduate
school of public service in his honor. Wagner died of
heart failure at his Manhattan home on February 12, 1991.
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John Vliet Lindsay
103rd Mayor, 196673
[1921 - 2000]
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Statement
of Mayor Giuliani on the Passing of Former Mayor John
Lindsay
Perhaps
no New York City mayor had a more trying first day in
office then did John Lindsay. A veteran of World War II,
in which he served as a naval officer and achieved the
rank of lieutenant, Lindsay graduated Yale Law School
in 1948. After a decade in private practice in a New York
law firm, Lindsay went to work for the Justice Department
in 1955, serving as a liaison to the White House and arguing
cases before the Supreme Court. Lindsay, a liberal Republican,
returned to New York City and won election to Congress
in Manhattan's heavily Democratic 17th District. He was
elected to four terms in the House of Representatives,
from 1958 to 1964, before running successfully for mayor
in 1965. On his first day in office, Lindsay was greeted
with a crippling transit strike that brought the entire
city to a near standstill it proved to be just
the first of many bitter strikes he would contend with
during his tenure as mayor. The transit strike denied
Lindsay of sleep for 26 of his first 28 hours as mayor
and forced the cancellation of a five borough inaugural
tour. Before a crowd of 2,500, Lindsay addressed New York
City's mounting social problems, and the consequences
of not solving them: "If we fail, the implications of
our defeat will be assessed throughout the nation, to
be proclaimed by the cynics as proof that great cities
are no longer governable."
Upon taking office, Lindsay vowed
to open up the "lines of communication between the people
and their government." While civil unrest erupted in other
major cities during the turbulent late sixties, Lindsay
helped maintain calm in New York City by taking walking
tours of the city's urban ghettos. He established the
Urban Action Taskforce and Neighborhood City Halls to
field complaints about municipal services innovations
also credited with easing tensions in poor areas. Lindsay
consolidated overlapping city agencies into super-agencies,
eliminating waste and redundancy, and greatly increased
government spending. He decentralized the school system
and created community school districts. He won reelection
in 1969 on the Liberal Party line after losing the Republican
primary. In 1971, he switched affiliation to the Democratic
Party. In 1972, he entered the presidential primaries
in Florida and Wisconsin, losing both. After serving out
his second term, Lindsay returned to private life in 1973,
working at his law practice, authoring books, and serving
as a television commentator.
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Abraham David Beame
104th Mayor, 19741977
[1906 - 2001]
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| Born
in London in 1906, Beame came to the United States a year
later. A graduate of City College, where he received his
degree in accounting in 1928, Beame opened up an accounting
firm in Manhattan, taught in New York City public schools,
and held many posts in city government, including Assistant
Budget Director under Mayor O'Dwyer, Budget Director under
Mayor Impellitteri, and City Comptroller in 1962. After
an unsuccessful mayoral bid in 1965, Beame ran successfully
as the Democratic candidate for Comptroller in 1969. He
ran again for mayor on the Democratic ticket in 1973, winning
by almost 700,000 votes.
On December 31, 1973, Beame took
the oath of office in a private ceremony at his home on
Beach 131 Street in Belle Harbor, Queens coincidentally,
on the same Queens street Mayor William O'Dwyer took the
oath three decades before. The first Jewish mayor of New
York City, Beame told the 1,500 people gathered at the
steps of City Hall the following day: "I hope to be a
matchmaker in the years of my administration, wedding
our people to their city, encouraging them to identify
with this great metropolis that is their home." With New
York City on the verge of bankruptcy, Beame was forced
to bring about massive cuts in the city's capital budget
and to reduce the municipal payroll by 65,000. It was
during Beame's term that President Gerald Ford refused
to provide federal aid to New York City, prompting the
now famous New York Daily News headline: "Ford to New
York: Drop Dead." However, Beame helped secure annual
federal loans of $2.3 billion, starting in 1976, which
helped stave off bankruptcy. Despite financial difficulties,
New York City still managed to host a spectacular bicentennial
celebration and the Democratic National Convention in
1976 two events that demonstrated to the country,
New York City was down but not out. Beame was defeated
in the Democratic primary in 1977 by Edward I. Koch.
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Edward Irving
Koch
105th Mayor, 19781989
[1924 - ]
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| Edward
I. Koch was elected the 105th Mayor of New York City in
1977. Born in the Bronx of Polish Jewish ancestry, Koch's
family moved to Newark, New Jersey during the Depression
and later moved to Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn when he was a
teenager. He left City College when he was drafted into
the Army, where he became a decorated combat infantryman,
achieving the rank of sergeant. He received his law degree
from New York University Law School in 1948. As an active
member of a Manhattan reform club, the Greenwich Village
Independent Democrats, Koch ran successfully for district
leader in 1963 against Carmine DeSapio. Koch was reelected
in 1965 and elected to the City Council the following year.
In 1968, he was elected to the House of Representatives
in a district that hadn't sent a Democrat to Congress since
1934. He was reelected four times, earning a reputation
as a competent legislator and a champion of many social
causes. In 1977, he sought the Democratic nomination for
mayor among a crowded field of candidates. Koch won the
primary and went on to defeat Liberal Party candidate Mario
Cuomo in the general election. Described in the infancy
of his mayoralty as a shy and retiring man, Koch used his
inauguration to send New Yorkers a message of redemption:
"These have been hard times. We have been drawn across the
knife-edge of poverty. We have been shaken by troubles that
would have destroyed any other city. But we are not any
other city. We are the city of New York and New York in
adversity towers above any other city in the world."
With New York City's treasury
near empty, Koch restored the city's credit in his first
term through a series of budget cutting measures, enabling
the city to enter the bond market within a few years and
raise capital funds. As the city's fiscal prognosis began
to brighten, so too did the mood of New Yorkers. The characterization
of Koch as low key was soon revised after he took office,
with his ebullient personality, and his trademark greeting,
"How 'm I Doin'." Under Koch, the city's annual budget
doubled to $26 billion and approximately $19 billion was
spent on capital projects in the 1980's.
Koch, who vowed to be the first
four term mayor, sought reelection in 1989. However, he
was confronted with a series of government corruption
scandals. He also faced heated criticism for his combative
dealings with other public officials and the press. He
lost the Democratic primary to then Manhattan Borough
President David Dinkins.
He has remained extremely active
and popular since leaving office, practicing law in New
York City, lecturing, authoring books, serving as a newspaper
columnist, hosting his own radio show, and more recently,
serving as a television judge on the popular show, "The
People's Court."
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David Norman Dinkins
106th Mayor, 19901993
[1927 - ]
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January 1, 1990, David N. Dinkins was sworn in as the first
African American mayor in New York City history. Born in
Trenton, New Jersey on October 10, 1927, Dinkins graduated
magna cum laude from Howard University with a degree in
mathematics and later received his law degree from Brooklyn
Law School. He served in the Marines in Korea and later
married Joyce Burrows, the daughter of Harlem Assemblyman
Daniel Burrows. He briefly practiced law in New York City
and began his steady ascent in politics. He served as a
district leader, was elected a Harlem state Assemblyman
in 1966, served as President of the Board of Elections from
1972-73, and City Clerk from 1975-85, before winning election
as Manhattan Borough President in 1985. In 1989, he ran
for mayor, defeating Mayor Edward I. Koch to win the Democratic
nomination. Dinkins went on to defeat Rudolph W. Giuliani
by 47,000 votes, the narrowest electoral margin in New York
City history.
Dinkins' inauguration speech was
punctuated with references to oppression, human rights,
and the need for equality. He vowed to be "mayor of all
the people of New York," and declared: "We are all foot
soldiers on the march to freedom."
Dinkins helped fulfill his prediction
that the "bells of freedom will ring in South Africa"
by being a national voice in favor of anti-apartheid sanctions.
He fought to have the city divest itself of $500 million
worth of pension fund stock invested in companies that
do business in South Africa and secured passage of a bill
that allowed the city to rate banks on their opposition
to apartheid. Among his other accomplishments were creating
the office of Special Commissioner of Investigations for
schools, creating a system of after hour youth centers
called Beacon Schools, and working to create an all civilian
police complaint review board.
Known for his reserved public
demeanor, Dinkins was sharply criticized for his handling
of racial strife in Crown Heights, a boycott of Korean
Grocers in Brooklyn and civil unrest in Washington Heights.
Dinkins faced a $1.8 billion budget deficit when he entered
office which grew to $2.2 billion by the time he left
office. The economy remained sluggish throughout his term,
preventing the enactment of much of his agenda. He ran
for reelection in 1993, but was defeated by Rudolph W.
Giuliani. Dinkins still remains active in New York City
politics, hosts a weekly radio show, and teaches public
affairs at Columbia University.
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Rudolph
William Giuliani
107th Mayor, 19942001
[1944 ]
Go to Mayor Giuliani Archives
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January 1, 1994, Rudolph W. Giuliani became the 107th Mayor
of the City of New York; four years later, the city he inherited
has undergone an unprecedented transformation. The early
1990's were a difficult period for urban centers across
America, where the ravages of drugs and violence were most
acutely felt and left the greatest number of casualties.
Nowhere was this more the case than in New York City. While
cynics declared the city ungovernable, New Yorkers yearned
for change.
Rudolph Giuliani was born in Brooklyn,
New York in 1944, the son of working class Italian immigrants.
He attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, Manhattan
College in the Bronx, and New York University Law School,
graduating magna cum laude. In 1970, Giuliani joined the
office of U.S. Attorney and was later named Chief of the
Narcotics Unit before becoming Executive US Attorney.
He was named Associate Deputy Attorney General in 1975,
and after spending three years in private practice, was
named Associate Attorney General in 1981. Giuliani was
appointed United States Attorney for the Southern District
of New York in 1983, earning national acclaim for his
prosecution of organized crime figures, drug kingpins,
and white collar criminals. In 1989, Giuliani ran for
mayor and was defeated by David Dinkins.
Giuliani ran again for mayor in
1993, this time as the candidate of the Republican, Liberal,
and IndependentFusion parties. His message of fiscal
responsibility and attention to quality of life concerns
resonated with New Yorkers, who elected him over incumbent
David Dinkins. Giuliani used the occasion of his inauguration
to stake out an ambitious agenda for change, and to reach
out to New Yorkers by touring the five boroughs. He called
upon New Yorkers to "look anew" at their city: "Dream
with me of a city that can be better than the way it is
now. Believe with me that our problems can be reduced,
not magically resolved. Plan with me to make the realistic
changes that will actually make people's lives better
than they are right now, and work hard with me to apply
these plans to improve our city."
Between 1990 and 1993, the murder
rate in the city averaged 2,000 a year, 340,000 jobs disappeared
or moved elsewhere, and taxes were increased $1.5 billion.
Upon taking office, Giuliani set out to reverse New York
City's downward spiral and improve the overall quality
of life.
To reduce crime, he implemented
a "zero tolerance" approach, placing an emphasis on enforcing
laws against nuisance crimes as well as serious offenses.
Since 1993, the city has experienced an unprecedented
44 percent drop in overall crime and a 61 percent drop
in murder, making New York the safest large city in America.
To stimulate the city's stagnated
economy, Giuliani reduced the tax burden by eliminating
the Commercial Rent Tax in most areas of the city, reducing
the Hotel Occupancy Tax, and eliminating the Unincorporated
Business Tax. As a result of these targeted tax cuts,
the hotel and tourism industries are thriving, 180,000
private sector jobs have been created, and a national
financial magazine named New York City the most improved
American city in which to do business. Giuliani also cracked
down on organized crime to lift the illegal tax the mob
had exacted on certain New York City industries for generations.
As a result, the Fulton Fish Market, the carting industry,
and the city's main convention center have been liberated
from organized crime, saving businesses and consumers
hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
Faced with a $2.2 billion budget
gap upon taking office, Giuliani lowered projected spending
by $7.8 billion through a series of cost cutting measures
and productivity improvements. He reduced the city's payroll
by over 20,000 jobs without layoffs. He kept the rate
of spending below the rate of inflation for the first
time in New York City history and created a $500 million
reserve fund.
In 1993, 1.1 million New Yorkers
were receiving welfare. To bring an end to a philosophy
that encouraged dependency on public assistance, Giuliani
implemented the largest workfare program in the nation.
Since his welfare reforms were enacted in March of 1995,
340,000 people have been moved off the rolls, saving $650
million annually in city, state and federal funds. To
date, 175,000 people have completed the Work Experience
Program, which provides welfare recipients with training
to find permanent employment.
Giuliani is also credited with
introducing a new level of accountability and higher standards
of performance into the school system. Working with Board
of Education Chancellor Rudolph Crew, school based budgeting
has been enacted, providing for an accurate account of
Board of Education spending. New programs aimed at providing
computers, arts education, and tutoring, have also been
implemented. Reading and math scores are now on the rise.
Giuliani is also negotiating to have the Police Department
assume responsibility for creating a safe environment
in New York City's public schools.
Giuliani's sweeping reforms and
hands-on style of leadership have prompted many comparisons
to Fiorello LaGuardia [in fact, one of Giuliani's first
official acts as chief executive was to move LaGuardia's
desk back into the Mayor's Office]. Pledging to wage a
comprehensive assault on drug abuse, and vowing to sustain
and improve upon the successes of his first term, Giuliani
ran for reelection to a second term in 1997. With the
support of an unprecedented coalition of city leaders
that transcended political, religious and ethnic affiliations,
Giuliani defeated Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger
making him only the second Republican reelected
as mayor since Fiorello LaGuardia.
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