New York City Board of Aldermen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Board of Aldermen of the City of New York
The seal of New York City depicted in 1915
Type
Type	Upper house (1824–1875) Lower house (1898–1901) Unicameral (1875–1897, 1902–1937)
History
Established	1824
Disbanded	1937
Leadership
President	William F. Brunner
Meeting place
New York City Hall

The New York City Board of Aldermen was an important group of lawmakers in New York City. Think of them like a city council. For many years, they helped make rules and decisions for the city.

From 1824 to 1875, the Board of Aldermen was the "upper house" of the city's main lawmaking group, called the Common Council. This meant there was also a "lower house" that worked alongside them. Later, from 1898 to 1901, they became the "lower house" of a new group called the Municipal Assembly.

For most of its history, from 1875 to 1897 and again from 1902 to 1937, the Board of Aldermen was the only lawmaking group for New York City. This is called a "unicameral" system. In 1938, a new plan for the city government came into effect. The Board of Aldermen was then replaced by the New York City Council, which is still around today.

How the Board of Aldermen Started (1824-1875)

People serving in the city's government were called "aldermen" even before 1824. They worked in a group called the Common Council. In 1824, the New York State Legislature decided to change things. They split the Common Council into two separate parts: the Board of Aldermen and the Board of Assistants. This made the city's government "bicameral," meaning it had two houses.

New York City was divided into different areas called wards. Each ward elected one person to the Board of Aldermen. They also elected two people to the Board of Assistants. Aldermen served for two years, with half of them elected each year. Assistants were elected every year. Both boards had to agree on new rules, and they could even stop each other's decisions.

The Mayor was usually in charge of the Board of Aldermen's meetings. If the Mayor wasn't there, another official called the City Recorder would take over. They could only vote if there was a tie. The Board of Assistant Aldermen was seen as the "lower branch" of this two-part system.

Changes After Corruption Issues

In 1872, the state legislature tried to get rid of the two-house system. This was because of problems with corruption, especially involving a powerful politician named Boss Tweed. At that time, 15 aldermen were elected from the whole city, and one assistant alderman was elected from each Assembly district.

A new plan was suggested to have 45 members in the Board of Aldermen. They would be elected from different Senate districts. The Board would choose its own President. The Mayor would still be able to stop new rules, but the Board could overrule him with a two-thirds vote. However, the Governor at the time, John T. Hoffman, stopped this plan. He felt New York City was too important for such a new and untested system.

Becoming a Single House (1875)

Finally, a law was passed in 1873 that officially ended the Board of Assistant Aldermen. This change happened on January 4, 1875. From then on, the Common Council became "unicameral," meaning it had only one house: the Board of Aldermen.

Not everyone agreed with this change. Some people thought having two boards was better. They believed the Board of Assistant Aldermen helped represent local neighborhoods and kept the main Board of Aldermen in check. Even after the law passed, some former members of the Board of Assistant Aldermen tried to meet. They argued that the 1873 law was against the rules. However, the Mayor, William H. Wickham, refused to let them meet and did not recognize them as a real group.

The Board as a Single Council (1875-1897)

After 1875, the Board of Aldermen had 27 members. They were elected every year. Six members were elected from the whole city, and 21 were elected from different Senate districts (three from each district). Voters could choose up to two aldermen in their district and up to four from the city-wide group. The Board members themselves would choose their President.

A Brief Return to Two Houses (1898-1901)

In 1898, New York City grew much larger. It added many surrounding areas and became the "Greater New York" we know today. With this big change, a new city charter was created. This new charter brought back a two-house legislature, called the "Municipal Assembly."

Again, this idea of having two houses was debated. Even The New York Times newspaper pointed out that having two houses had led to corruption in the past. Under this new system, one house was called the Council. It had members elected from special districts. The other house was the Board of Aldermen. Its members were elected from Assembly districts.

The President of the Council was chosen directly by the citizens of the city. The President of the Board of Aldermen was chosen by the members of the Board itself. People compared this two-house system to the state legislature. The Brooklyn Eagle newspaper even said the Council was like "the State Senate ... a superior body."

Ending the Two-House System Again

However, having two houses didn't last long. A new charter was passed in 1901. This new plan got rid of the Council. It also made the President of the Board of Aldermen directly elected by the city's citizens. This new charter started in January 1902. This meant the city's lawmaking body became unicameral again, with just one house.

Back to One House (1902-1937)

The new unicameral Board of Aldermen had several types of members. There were aldermen elected from special districts, one per district. The President of the Board of Aldermen was elected by the entire city. Also, the Borough presidents (leaders of the city's boroughs like Manhattan or Brooklyn) were part of the Board.

At first, there were 73 districts, but later this number was reduced to 65. The President served a four-year term, while aldermen served two-year terms. Leaders of city departments could attend Board meetings. They could be asked questions and join in discussions, but they were not allowed to vote.

A New Plan for the City

In the 1930s, plans were made for a brand new city charter. This new charter would replace the Board of Aldermen with a smaller group called the New York City Council. This new Council would have members elected from each borough using a system called proportional representation. One big reason for this change was that the Board of Aldermen often had a very large number of members from one political party.

The Board of Aldermen met for the very last time on December 21, 1937.