On Jan. 1, Zohran Mamdani is expected to be sworn in as New York City’s 111th mayor.
But a historian says he’s made a discovery that could rewrite five centuries of history: The number is wrong. Mamdani, according to Paul Hortenstine’s research, is actually the 112th mayor. He says the error dates back to 1674, when Mayor Matthias Nicolls served a second, nonconsecutive term that isn’t reflected in the official record. Another historian and a historical group affirmed the findings.
The miscount has a domino effect. Nicolls’ absence means the number of every subsequent mayor is off by one. Fiorella La Guardia wasn’t the 99th mayor; he was the 100th. Mayor Eric Adams, who frequently declares “I’m 110,” is actually 111.
Hortenstine, a public policy and history writer who lives in Washington D.C., said a correction is warranted.
“I would hope that the city takes the history of mayors very seriously,” he said.
Hortenstine said he came across historical documents referring to Nicolls’ second term while researching the ties between early New York City mayors and slavery. An archive of papers of Edmund Andros, the colonial governor of New York, included a reference to Nicolls.
Mayor Adams frequently referred to himself as “110.” But he might actually have been 111.
Michael Appleton / Mayoral Photography Office
“This was in 1675. So then, when I later looked through the official list of the city, I noticed that they had missed this term,” Hortenstine said.
Nicolls’ first one-year term in 1672 is reflected in a book of mayors at the municipal archives, “The Renascence of City Hall,” which notes “there were 2,500 inhabitants at this time.”
As is the case with U.S. presidents, nonconsecutive terms for mayor are counted twice.
Hortenstine said he found other documents, including materials at the New York Historical, also referencing Nicolls’ second term.
Marybeth Ihle, a spokesperson for the New York Historical, said a preliminary search of the museum’s archives found three references to Nicolls’ 1674-1675 mayoralty in “The Iconography of Manhattan Island,” a history of New York based on primary sources.
As he dug deeper, Hortenstine realized he wasn’t the first person to stumble across the apparent mistake.
In 1989, Peter R. Christoph wrote about the oversight in the “Record of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.”
“Edward I. Koch is the 105th Mayor of New York,” his essay began. “The City Of New York Official Directory says so. So does The New York Times. But they are wrong: He is the 106th. Not only is he misnumbered, but so is everyone else after Mayor No. 7. It is a mind-boggling thought: 99 mayors misnumbered — most of them gone to the grave, secure in the knowledge of their place in history, but all of them numerically out of whack. How could such a thing happen?”
A book in the municipal archives showing mayors of New York City.
Elizabeth Kim / Gothamist
He noted in a footnote that the error appeared in an 1841 Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York and that it was repeated in later government documents. Christoph, who worked for the New York State Library, died in 2019.
Ken Cobb, the assistant commissioner of the city’s Department of Records, said he knew of no effort to investigate the mistake. The Department of Citywide Administrative Services publishes an annual guide to municipal government, known as the Green Book, that lists every mayor going back to 1665. Nicolls’ second term is nowhere to be found in the city’s official directory.
The Green Book containing the official directory of New York City government and its history.
Elizabeth Kim / Gothamist
During a recent visit to the municipal archives, Cobb could not find any mention of Nicolls’ second term. But he did not dispute Hortenstine’s findings.
“We’re the keepers of the records. We’re not the creators of the records,” Cobb said. “It’s a good question. Who noticed this discrepancy? Apparently, this historian did.”
There is a precedent for a correction to the official list of mayors. In 1937, Charles Lodwick, who served from 1694-1695, was inserted as the 21st mayor.
“Everyone jumped up a number and that’s been the way ever since,” Cobb said.
Historical records show Nicolls was born in England in 1630. He was a lawyer and served in various government positions in New York under British rule. His family owned parts of Long Island. Like other prominent officials at the time, he was a slaveowner.
So will the Adams administration, which has made a flurry of last-minute policy decisions, recognize Nicolls’ full place in mayoral history?
Randy Mastro, the first deputy mayor, said he had never heard of the missing mayor.
“I think we will leave this issue for historians and — for a change — the next administration,” Mastro said.
A Mamdani spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
