Reporting on New York City: New York City Government
How to New York
The How to New York articles from news site THE CITY are helpful guides to how New York City works, including navigating city and state laws and bureaucracies. Covered topics include:
Overview
The New York City government is led by the Mayor and the 51-member New York City Council. Learn more in About New York City Government.
The New York City Charter is the legal basis for the operation of the city, defining the authority of each official or body, including community boards, and the relationships among them. The Administrative Laws of the City of New York are the codified laws enacted by the Mayor and City Council. The Rules of the City of New York are the rules and regulations of the city's government agencies. Browse and search these documents in the Laws of the City of New York online.
To get started learning about local government:
- The City Record Online
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The City Record is the city's official journal. This database, updated daily, of public notices includes public hearings and meetings, public auctions solicitations and awards, and official rules proposed and adopted by city agencies. Tip: Sign up for notifications by email. - FY2025 Adopted Budget
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The city's current (Fiscal Year 2025) budget. (See Understanding New York City's Budget: A Guide from the Independent Budget Office for help understanding the budget.) - Mayor's Management Report (MMR)
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The city's annual performance report, the MMR is mandated by the City Charter and shows how each City agency and related projects are doing. - New York City Council Legislation
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Search proposed and adopted City Council legislation, from 1994-present. - NYC Agencies
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Browse a list of all NYC agencies, alphabetically or by area of work. - NYC Boundaries Map
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An interactive map created by Beta NYC to easily view all of the administrative boundaries within the city. Use it to quickly find the districts for elected offices, police, sanitation, schools, and more. - NYC Community Boards
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Part of the city's governance, these 59 local bodies represent each community district. The unsalaried members of each CB advise on local land use and social welfare issues. Tip: Find their annual Community Needs Statements linked on NYC Community District Profiles. - NYC Open Data
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Free public data (311, housing violations, film permits, taxis, and much more!) published by New York City agencies and other partners. Tip: Always check the creation date, update frequency, agency responsible, and data dictionary to understand each dataset.
Additional helpful links:
- Checkbook NYC
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A dashboard from the NYC Comptroller that tracks the City’s day-to-day spending. - Government Publications Portal (GPP)
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Searchable online repository of official New York City government publications since 2006. - NYC Government Social Media ArchiveA searchable archive of social media content created by City agencies, beginning in 2011. Social media posts are considered government records retained by the Municipal Library.
- NYC Lobbyist Search
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Provides detailed information about lobbyists registered in the City of New York and their clients. Maintained by the Office of the City Clerk.
New York City's official Organizational Chart (click to enlarge).
