Complete Archive

This collection consists of an incomplete collection of materials produced by the Office of the Mayor of New York City between 1826 and 1897.

This series was discovered in the Fire Department’s Forensic Unit office in the mid-1980s. It consists of 763 black and white photographs, the bulk in the form of negatives on glass and film supports as well as prints and glass lantern slides. Most of the images are of Fire Department activities and personnel.

The collection is comprised of photographic negatives, prints and documents chronicling the Department’s history, programs and events from 1961 through 1989.

On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was shot and killed as he was about to address a rally of the Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights. This collection contains the New York District Attorney’s investigation files into his assassination, trial transcripts, and records related to appeals following the conviction of three men who were charged with murder.

On March 23, 1896, during the 119th session of the New York State Legislature, the “Liquor Tax Law,” was passed, establishing a new taxation policy for the trafficking of intoxicating liquors. Liquor licenses set to expire after the law went into effect on April 30, 1896 were eligible for a refund upon surrendering the license.

The Office of the Borough President was created in 1898 to compensate the formerly independent communities in the four counties of New York, Kings, Queens and Richmond for the loss of governmental power to the consolidated Greater City of New York. They operated as "local mayors," with substantial control over construction and maintenance of streets, sidewalks, highways, sewers and public buildings. The Manhattan photographs document construction of the West Side (Express) elevated highway, East River Drive, Riverside Drive extension in Upper Manhattan, Sixth Avenue extension, removal of the elevated trains, street-widenings and sidewalk improvements. These large-format photographs provide detailed street scenes showing shopfronts, pedestrians, automobiles, private homes, billboards, gas stations, etc. Approximately 16,000 negatives and silver-gelatin prints, mostly taken by Savastano Studio.

This scrapbook documents births, deaths, and marriages at sea from 1901-1948. Included are letters and documents from ship captains, shipping companies, consulates, and other government agencies, certifying events of births, marriages, and deaths.

Ardolph L. Kline served as Acting Mayor for the City of New York after the unexpected death of Mayor William J. Gaynor in September 1913.

Mayor David N. Dinkins served as mayor from 1990 through 1993. This collection consists of a selection of materials produced by his mayoral administration.

The series consists of photographs of day-to-day activities and appointments the mayor undertook. A number of photographers were assigned to Mayor Koch and took photos of his during his time as Mayor of New York City.

Fiorello H. La Guardia was the 99th Mayor of New York City for three terms from 1934 to 1945.

George B. McClellan, Jr. was the 93rd Mayor of New York City, serving from 1904-1909. This collection contains the material generated by the daily workings of the Office of the Mayor during his administration.

Mayor John V. Lindsay was the 103rd mayor of New York City from 1966-1973.

Mayor Robert F. Wagner (1954-1965), served as the 102nd Mayor of the City of New York. This collection consists of a selection of materials produced by his mayoral administration.

The photograph collection covers the years 1994 – 2001.

Seth Low served as the Mayor of New York from 1902-1903. This collection consists of a selection of materials produced by his mayoral administration.

William Jay Gaynor served as the 94th Mayor of the City of New York from 1910 to 1913. This collection contains the material generated by the daily workings of the Office of the Mayor during his mayoral administration.

William O’Dwyer was the 100th Mayor of New York City from 1946-1950. This collection consists of a selection of materials produced by his mayoral administration.

Murder, Inc. was a profit-making enterprise, with the main sources of income being gambling, loansharking, and racketeering. The Murder, Inc. papers (inclusive dates: 1929-1966, bulk dates: 1940-1951) include case files relating to the investigation and prosecution of the Murder, Inc. crime ring by the Kings County District Attorney's office, District Attorney's subject files for cases investigated as part of Murder, Inc. but which, for unknown reasons, never came to trial, and index card collections, which include, but are not limited to a substantial number of telephone wiretap transcriptions, and they also provide references to testimony and criminal affiliations for an enormous number of persons associated in some way with the Murder, Inc. investigation.

The collection contains the municipal records of the government of New Amsterdam during the seventeenth century, as well as manuscript translations made of the documents made during the nineteenth century. The materials include ordinances, court minutes, contracts, minutes of the orphan court, administrative minutes, records of the notary public, and manuscript translations.

In 1943, Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia created the Mayor's Committee on Unity by Executive Order in response to citywide concerns about race relations following riots in Harlem. The records of the Commission that evolved from the initial executive order, and its successor, the New York City Commission on Human Rights, date from circa 1935-1987. The collection consists of administrative, institutional, and executive records which include correspondence, subject files, organizational records, and meeting materials and minutes.