New research reveals New York City’s mayoral count is one off, potentially rewriting history
On January 1, Zohran Mamdani is set to be sworn in as New York City’s mayor, marking an anticipated milestone in the city’s political landscape. However, a historian’s recent findings suggest that the official count of mayors may be incorrect, potentially altering over five centuries of historical records.
Historian Paul Hortenstine’s research reveals that Mamdani is actually the 112th mayor, a designation that contradicts the long-held belief that he will be the 111th. Hortenstine traces this miscount back to the year 1674, when Mayor Matthias Nicolls served a second, nonconsecutive term that has been overlooked in official records. This oversight has significant implications, as it means that every mayor who has served since Nicolls is incorrectly numbered by one. For instance, famed mayor Fiorello La Guardia, often referred to as the 99th mayor, would actually hold the position of the 100th, while current Mayor Eric Adams, who often calls himself “110,” should actually be referred to as 111.
Hortenstine, who resides in Washington D.C. and has a background in public policy and history, insists that this error warrants correction. He stumbled upon documents mentioning Nicolls’ second term while examining historical connections between early New York City mayors and slavery. A series of archives, including records from Edmund Andros, the colonial governor of New York, reference Nicolls, leading Hortenstine to realize that the official list of mayors had failed to acknowledge this critical detail.
Nicolls’ first term in 1672 is documented in municipal archives, specifically in “The Renascence of City Hall,” which notes an early population of just 2,500 inhabitants. According to historical precedent, nonconsecutive terms are counted separately, which casts further doubt on the existing mayoral numbering.
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During his investigation, Hortenstine found additional documents corroborating the existence of Nicolls’ second term. Marybeth Ihle, a spokesperson for the New York Historical Society, confirmed that a preliminary search of their archives has identified multiple references to Nicolls’ tenure from 1674 to 1675 in historical works based on primary sources.
Interestingly, Hortenstine discovered that he is not alone in highlighting this oversight. In 1989, Peter R. Christoph discussed the misnumbering of mayors in the “Record of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society,” pointing out the error and noting its origins in an 1841 manual. Christoph had recognized that even Edward I. Koch, widely accepted as the 105th mayor, was actually the 106th, alongside all his successors being miscounted in succession.
Ken Cobb, assistant commissioner of the city’s Department of Records, stated that he was unaware of any ongoing efforts to rectify the miscount. The department publishes an annual guide, the Green Book, listing every mayor since 1665, yet Nicolls’ second term is conspicuously absent. Cobb remarked that while he could not locate any reference to this term, he did not dispute Hortenstine’s claims.
There is historical precedent for correcting the official mayoral record; Charles Lodwick, who served from 1694 to 1695, was added as the 21st mayor in 1937, resulting in subsequent mayors being renumbered.
Nicolls, born in England around 1630, was a lawyer who held various governmental roles under British rule and was also known to have been a slaveowner. As the Adams administration concludes its term with numerous policy decisions, questions arise whether it will acknowledge Nicolls’ complete place in mayoral history.
Randy Mastro, the first deputy mayor, expressed unfamiliarity with the topic but suggested that this issue might be better left for historians and the incoming administration to address. Meanwhile, attempts to reach a spokesperson for Mamdani for comments went unanswered.
