History Of New York City (1978–present)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
has seen a cycle of modest boom and a bust in the 1980s, a major boom in the 1990s, and mixed prospects since then. This period has seen severe racial tension, a dramatic spike and fall of crime rates, and a major influx of immigrants growing the city's population past the eight million mark. The
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
on the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...
in 2001 had a lasting impact on the city that continues to reverberate to the present.


Koch and Dinkins (1978–1993)

Compared to the 1970s, the 1980s were a time of restrained optimism in New York. The boom on
Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
was fueling the speculative real estate market, and unemployment numbers dropped noticeably. Koch successfully balanced the city's budget ahead of schedule, allowing the city to re-enter the bond market and raise cash, effectively ending the city's financial crisis by 1981. However, the city's reputation for crime and disorder was still very much a part of New Yorkers' daily lives. Mayor
Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989. Koch was a lifelong Democrat who ...
repeatedly warned that filth, crime, and racial tensions were weakening the city. He put a high priority on rebuilding neighborhoods and infrastructure. One result was that gentrification brought new businesses to decrepit neighborhoods and converted low-end rental housing to co-ops and condos that attracted young upscale professionals and business people. Koch's energetic efforts brought enormous attention from the media, but critics condemned his attacks on his opponents as "crazy," "wackos," and "radicals" and alleged he was racially divisive. For years enormous attention followed the criminal trials resulted when a woman known as the
Central Park Jogger The Central Park jogger case (sometimes termed the Central Park Five case) was a criminal case concerning the assault and rape of Trisha Meili, a woman who was running in Central Park in Manhattan, New York, on April 19, 1989. Crime in New York ...
was badly beaten and raped. The illegal drug trade flourished, causing the murder rate to soar, and dividing the city into areas ruled by different drug lords. It became known as the
crack epidemic The crack epidemic was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the United States throughout the entirety of the 1980s and the early 1990s. This resulted in several social consequences, such as increasing crime and violence in Americ ...
. The
New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
fell victim to a crime epidemic that saw more crimes being committed on the subway each year than in any other subway system around the world.
Homelessness Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
became a serious problem during the 1980s, specifically in the last two of
Edward Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989. Koch was a lifelong Democrat who ...
's three terms as mayor (1978–1990). The city outlawed
discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...
against gay and lesbian people in such matters as employment and housing in 1986. In 1989, Koch was defeated by
David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. Dinkins was among the more than 20,000 Montford Point Marine Associa ...
in the Democratic Party primary in his bid for a fourth term, and then Dinkins narrowly defeated Republican
Rudolph Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General fr ...
in the general election to become the city's first-ever black mayor. Crime began a 15-year decline in 1990 during Dinkins's administration, but a combination of continued racial strife (such as that in the Crown Heights Riot in 1991), and an extremely weak economy (in January 1993 the city's
unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...
rate reached 13.4 percent, the highest level of joblessness seen there since the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
) caused Dinkins' popularity to seriously decline (including a threat by residents of
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...
to
secede Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal is the c ...
from the city, where in a 1993 referendum, 65% voted to secede, but implementation was blocked in the
State Assembly State Assembly is the name given to various legislatures, especially lower houses or full legislatures in states in federal systems of government. Channel Islands States Assembly is the name of the legislature of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Baili ...
). On February 26, 1993, a truck bomb
detonated Detonation () is a type of combustion involving a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations propagate supersonically through shock waves with ...
in a basement garage of
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...
Tower One. The urea nitrate
hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...
gas enhanced device was intended to knock the North Tower (Tower One) into the South Tower ( Tower Two), bringing both towers down and killing tens of thousands of people. It failed to do so, but did kill six people and injured more than a thousand. Mayor Dinkins faced considerable opposition from members of the police force, which escalated into a 1992
police riot A police riot is a riot carried out by the police; more specifically, it is a riot that police are responsible for instigating, escalating or sustaining as a violent confrontation. Police riots are often characterized by widespread police bruta ...
, at which his political rival
Rudolph Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General fr ...
addressed the crowd. In late 1993, David Dinkins was defeated by Giuliani in his bid for reelection.


Giuliani (1994–2001)

The city rebounded in the mid- and late 1990s due to the steady expansion of the national economy and the
Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange a ...
boom that took place concomitantly, as well as the precipitous drop in crime, although stubbornly high unemployment remained a local problem. Mayor
Rudolph Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General fr ...
, a former federal prosecutor, is credited by many for revitalizing
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
and making the city more "liveable" by cracking down on crime. Changes in the worldwide economy during this time proved to be especially favorable to New York because of its highly developed transportation and communications infrastructure, as well as its massive population base. Over the course of the decade, the city's image transformed from being one of a bygone, decaying metropolis to one of the world's preeminent "
global cities A global city (also known as a power city, world city, alpha city, or world center) is a city that serves as a primary node in the global economic network. The concept originates from geography and urban studies, based on the thesis that glo ...
." As for sports, 1994 saw a great chapter in the city's sports history, with the
New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...
finally winning their first Stanley Cup since 1940 and the
New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...
making it to the
NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...
, where they lost in seven games to the
Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...
, at the same time. The Knicks made it to the NBA Finals again in , where they lost in five games to the
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
. The
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
began a dynasty led by manager (and New Yorker)
Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre Jr. (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball Senior management, executive and former player, Manager (baseball), manager, and television color commentator. He has served as a special assistant to the Commiss ...
winning the World Series in , , , and .


September 11, 2001

On September 11, 2001, Islamic terrorist hijackers linked to the
jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...
ist organization
Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...
piloted two hijacked
passenger A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...
airliners An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest o ...
into each of the twin 110 story
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...
towers. The airplanes, designated for transcontinental flights and therefore fully loaded with jet fuel, were hijacked mid-flight and intentionally crashed into the towers in the early morning hours of September 11. The crashes caused massive structural damage during impact, ripping gaping holes into the towers, and ignited raging fires, that caused both weakened towers to collapse in less than two hours. Together with a simultaneous attack on
the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...
in
Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
, and a failed plane hijacking that resulted in a plane crash in
Shanksville, Pennsylvania Shanksville is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. It has a population of 199 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census. It is part of the Somerset, Pennsylvania Micropolitan Statistical ...
, 2,977 victims died in the attacks. The 9/11 attacks led to a temporary exodus of business from
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
to places such as
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
,
Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous
, and
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, as well as elsewhere, along with the need to reposition the broadcasting antennas of several television channels. About 430,000 job-months and $2.8 billion in wages were lost in the three months after the attacks. The economic effects were mainly on the economy's export sectors. The city's GDP was estimated to have declined by $27.3 billion for the last three months of 2001 and all of 2002. The U.S. government provided $11.2 billion in immediate assistance to the
government of New York City The government of New York City, headquartered at New York City Hall in Lower Manhattan, is organized under the New York City Charter and provides for a mayor-council system. The mayor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for the ...
in September 2001, and $10.5 billion in early 2002 for economic development and infrastructure needs. Hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic debris containing more than 2,500 contaminants, including known carcinogens, were spread across Lower Manhattan due to the collapse of the Twin Towers. Exposure to the toxins in the debris is alleged to have contributed to fatal or debilitating illnesses among people who were at ground zero. The Bush administration ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue reassuring statements regarding air quality in the aftermath of the attacks, citing national security, but the EPA did not determine that air quality had returned to pre-September 11 levels until June 2002. Many other closings, evacuations, and cancellations followed the attack, either out of fear of further attacks or respect for the tragedy. Cleanup of the
World Trade Center site The World Trade Center site, often referred to as " Ground Zero" or "the Pile" immediately after the September 11 attacks, is a 14.6-acre (5.9 ha) area in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The site is bounded by Vesey Street to the north ...
was completed by the end of May 2002.


November 2001 plane crash

On November 12, 2001,
American Airlines Flight 587 American Airlines Flight 587 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, to Las Américas International Airport, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. On November 12, 2001, t ...
crashed into the
Belle Harbor Belle Harbor is a small residential neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, located on the western half of the Rockaway Peninsula, the southernmost area of the borough. Belle Harbor commonly refers to the area from Beach 126th to B ...
neighborhood of
Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
shortly after takeoff from
John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport is a major international airport serving New York City and its metropolitan area. JFK Airport is located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, bordering Jamaica Bay. It is ...
, killing all 260 people on board and five others on the ground. It was the second-deadliest aviation incident involving an
Airbus A300 The Airbus A300 is Airbus' first production aircraft and the world's first Twinjet, twin-engine, double-aisle Wide-body aircraft, (wide-body) airliner. It was developed by ''Airbus Industrie GIE'', now merged into Airbus SE, and manufactured f ...
, after
Iran Air Flight 655 Iran Air Flight 655 was an international scheduled passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai via Bandar Abbas that was shot down on 3July 1988 by two surface-to-air missiles fired by , a United States Navy warship. The missiles hit the Iran Air ...
, and the second-deadliest aviation incident to occur on U.S. soil, after
American Airlines Flight 191 American Airlines Flight 191 was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago to Los Angeles International Airport. On the afternoon of May 25, 1979, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 operating th ...
. In terms of single-airplane crash incidents that were ruled accidental and not criminal, as of March 2014, no incident since then has surpassed that death toll, though before 2001 there had been deadlier incidents of this type. Although initially feared to be another act of terrorism, the crash was eventually found to have been caused by pilot error.


Bloomberg (2002–2013)

Billionaire media baron
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...
, a Republican, was elected mayor in 2001, and reelected in 2005 and 2009. He used a statistical, results-based approach to city management, appointing city commissioners based on their expertise and granting them wide autonomy in their decision-making. Breaking with 190 years of tradition, he implemented what ''New York Times'' political reporter Adam Nagourney called a "bullpen" open office plan, similar to a
Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
trading floor, in which dozens of aides and managerial staff are seated together in a large chamber. The design is intended to promote accountability and accessibility. Over the next ten years, a wave of public- and private-sector building projects reshaped large sections of the city, and a residential construction boom has resulted in permits being issued for over 25,000 new residential units every year. While the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
ultimately went to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, New York was among the finalists and the campaign resulted in a plan to replace
Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium ( ), typically shortened to Shea Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City.new stadium, as well as an extension of the 7 subway service. New York City was affected by the 2003 North America blackout on August 14, 2003, at 4:11 PM, leaving the city without electricity for over a day. Unlike in the
New York City blackout of 1977 The New York City blackout of 1977 was an electricity blackout that affected most of New York City on July 13–14, 1977. The only unaffected neighborhoods in the city were in southern Queens (including neighborhoods of the Rockaways), which ...
, there was no major looting. However, during the blackout,
Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...
's emergency generators failed several times, leaving the emergency services number
9-1-1 911, sometimes written , is an emergency telephone number for Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Maldives, Palau, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, Sint Maarten, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as ...
out of service for several periods of about a quarter-hour each. New York City's 311 information hotline received over 175,000 calls from concerned residents during the weekend.
Amateur radio operator An amateur radio operator is someone who uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other amateur operators on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators ...
s attached to New York City
ARES Ares (; , ''Árēs'' ) is the List of Greek deities, Greek god of war god, war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for ...
provided a backup communications link to emergency shelters and hospitals. Amateur radio
repeater In telecommunications, a repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal and retransmits it. Repeaters are used to extend transmissions so that the signal can cover longer distances or be received on the other side of an obstruction. Some ...
s were supplied with emergency power and remained functional. Many major U.S. networks (
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
,
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
,
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
, and
FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
) and some cable TV networks (such as
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
,
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
, and
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
) were unable to broadcast because of the lack of electricity in the New York City area, but back-up stations in
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
and flagship transmitters there made it possible for prime-time television to be broadcast. (
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
chose instead to cover the news from
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
during the blackout).
Hurricane Irene Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth tropical cyclone naming, named storm, first hurricane, and first major ...
brought a destructive
storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...
to New York City on the evening of August 24–25, 2011. In
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, the
Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
flooded in the
Meatpacking District The Meatpacking District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan that runs from West 14th Street south to Gansevoort Street, and from the Hudson River east to Hudson Street. The Meatpacking Business Improvement District alo ...
.
Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
and
Freeport Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Freeport, name of several space stations in the video game ''Freelancer'' (2003) * Freeport, a fictional town in the video game ''SiN'' (1998) * ''Freeport: The Cit ...
, both of which experienced serious flooding, were among the worst-hit towns on Long Island, and many roads were left impassable. The workers at
Ground Zero A hypocenter or hypocentre (), also called ground zero or surface zero, is the point on the Earth's surface directly below a nuclear explosion, meteor air burst, or other mid-air explosion. In seismology, the hypocenter of an earthquake is its p ...
in Lower Manhattan worked to make the World Trade Center site hurricane-proof, and escaped major damage, just missing the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The winds knocked down many trees and power lines, leaving almost 350,000 homes and businesses without power in
Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Austria * Nassau (Groß Sankt Florian), incorporated village of Groß Sankt Florian Bahamas *Nassau, The Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upp ...
and
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
counties.
Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late ...
brought another destructive storm surge to New York City on the evening of October 29, 2012, flooding numerous streets, tunnels and subway lines in Lower Manhattan and other areas of the city and cutting off electricity in many parts of the city and its suburbs. City public schools closed for four days.
CUNY The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...
and
NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institutio ...
canceled all classes and campus activities for October 30. The
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
was closed for trading for two days, the first weather closure of the exchange since 1985. It was also the first two-day weather closure since the Great
Blizzard of 1888 The Great Blizzard of 1888, also known as the Great Blizzard of '88 or the Great White Hurricane (March 11–14, 1888), was one of the most severe recorded blizzards in American history. The storm paralyzed the East Coast from Chesapeake Bay ...
. The
East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...
overflowed its banks, flooding large sections of
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
.
Battery Park The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan#Manhattan Island, Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. The park is bounded by Battery Place on the north, with Bowling ...
had a water surge of 13.88 ft. Seven subway tunnels under the East River were flooded. The
Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a New York state public benefit corporations, public benefit corporation in New York (state), New York State responsible for public transportation in the New York metropolitan area, New York Ci ...
said that the destruction caused by the storm was the worst disaster in the 108-year history of the New York City subway system. Sea water flooded the Ground Zero construction site. Over 10 billion gallons of raw and partially treated sewage were released by the storm, 94% of which went into waters in and around New York and New Jersey. In addition, a four-story Chelsea building's facade crumbled and collapsed, leaving the interior on full display; however, no one was hurt by the falling masonry.


De Blasio (2014–2021)

Bloomberg was term-limited; after his third term, he could not run again in 2013.
Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...
won the subsequent mayoral election, and was sworn into the mayor's office on January 1, 2014, by former President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
. In 2017, a transit crisis was declared after years of deferred maintenance on the city's subways, buses, and railroads.
Congestion pricing Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of public goods that are subject to congestion through excess demand, such as through higher peak charges for use of bus services, electricity, metros, railways, tel ...
was proposed as a result of the crisis. A subway "action plan" and a "genius challenge" were also announced as possible solutions. On October 31, 2017, a man drove a pickup truck into the
Hudson River Park Hudson River Park is a waterfront park on the North River (Hudson River) that extends from 59th Street south to Battery Park in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The park, a component of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, stretches and ...
's bike path in
Tribeca Tribeca ( ), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Str ...
between
Houston Street Houston Street ( ) is a major east–west thoroughfare in Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. It runs the full width of the island of Manhattan, from FDR Drive along the East River in the east to the West Side Highway along the Hudson ...
and
Chambers Street Chambers Street may refer to: Streets * Chambers Street, Edinburgh, Scotland * Chambers Street (Manhattan), New York City, U.S. * Chamber Street, once known as Chambers Street, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England New York City Subway station ...
, killing at least eight people and injuring at least 15. Most of those who were hit were bike riders.


COVID-19 pandemic

The city was in a state of lockdown between March 22 and June 8, 2020, amidst the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. By April 2020, New York City was experiencing the most deaths of any locality in the coronavirus pandemic in New York State, which itself had the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases of any state in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
; at the time, one-third of total known U.S. cases were in New York City. By May, New York governor
Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...
had announced a four-phase reopening plan for regions in New York state, including New York City. Phase 1 of reopening in New York City began on June 8. The region reached its last phase of reopening six weeks later, on July 20. Between the city's first recorded case and the Phase 4 reopening, New York City had recorded more than 218,000 COVID-19 cases, including 18,787 deaths directly attributed to the disease. COVID-19 cases and transmission decreased significantly between June and September 2020. However, by the beginning of October 2020, twenty ZIP Codes were identified as cluster areas, which contained 26% of all positive cases in the state at the time. In response, the governor's office announced what they called "direct enforcement" of COVID-19 related restrictions in high-risk neighborhoods. During the pandemic, a federal judge blocked Mayor
Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...
from enforcing restrictions on religious organizations to 25% of attendance capacity when other establishments operated at 50% of capacity. A federal lawsuit alleging religious discrimination began in June by Catholic priests and Jewish congregants against Governor
Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...
and Mayor de Blasio. Mayor Bill de Blasio apologized to the Orthodox Jewish community for his handling of the shutdown.


Adams (2022–present)

On 2 November 2021, Democratic candidate
Eric Adams Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and former police officer who has served as the 110th mayor of New York City since 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York City P ...
won the New York City mayoral
election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
. Incumbent Mayor Bill de Blasio was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election. On 1 January 2022, Eric Adams was sworn in as mayor of New York City. As of October 2023, more than 130,600 migrants had arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022. The migrant crisis in New York City was called a humanitarian crisis by Mayor Eric Adams. Many of the migrants have been
Venezuelans Venezuelans ( Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connections exist and are the source ...
who had crossed the southern border from Mexico, continuing their trip to New York City, partly with the help of officials in Texas. As of October 2023, more than 65,400 migrants were staying in NYC homeless shelters.


See also

* American urban history * Timeline of New York City, 1950s–1970s * 1977 New York City mayoral election *
1981 New York City mayoral election The New York City mayoral election of 1981 occurred on Tuesday, November 3, 1981, with Democratic incumbent Mayor Ed Koch being re-elected to a second term by a landslide margin. Koch won both the Democratic and Republican nominations and a ...
*
1985 New York City mayoral election The New York City mayoral election of 1985 occurred on Tuesday, November 5, 1985, with Democratic Party (United States), Democratic incumbent Mayor of New York City, Mayor Ed Koch being re-elected to a third term by a landslide margin. Koch r ...
*
1989 New York City mayoral election The 1989 New York City mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 7. Incumbent Mayor Ed Koch, who had served since 1978, ran for an unprecedented fourth term in office but was defeated in the Democratic Party primary by Manhattan Borou ...
*
1993 New York City mayoral election The 1993 New York City mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 2. Incumbent Mayor David Dinkins ran for re-election to a second term, but lost in a rematch with Republican Rudy Giuliani. This was the first time since 1965 that Republi ...
*
1997 New York City mayoral election The New York City mayoral election of 1997 occurred on Tuesday November 4, 1997, with incumbent Republican mayor Rudy Giuliani soundly defeating Democratic Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger and several third-party candidates. This ...
*
2001 New York City mayoral election The New York City mayoral election of 2001 was held on November 6, 2001. Incumbent Republican mayor Rudy Giuliani could not run again due to term limits. As Democrats outnumbered Republicans by a five-to-one margin in the city, it was widely ...
*
2005 New York City mayoral election The 2005 New York City mayoral election occurred on Tuesday, November 8, 2005, with incumbent Republican Party (United States), Republican List of mayors of New York City, mayor Michael Bloomberg soundly defeating former The Bronx, Bronx Gov ...
*
2009 New York City mayoral election The 2009 election for Mayor of New York City took place on Tuesday, November 3. The incumbent Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, an independent who left the Republican Party in 2008, won re-election on the Republican and Independence Party/Jobs & Edu ...
*
2013 New York City mayoral election The 2013 New York City mayoral election occurred on November 5, 2013, along with elections for Comptroller, Public Advocate, Borough President, and members of the New York City Council. The incumbent mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg ...
*
2017 New York City mayoral election An election for Mayor of New York City was held on November 7, 2017. Incumbent Democrat Bill de Blasio won re-election to a second term with 66.2% of the vote against Republican Nicole Malliotakis. Background Bill de Blasio was elected ma ...
*
2021 New York City mayoral election The 2021 New York City mayoral election was held on November 2, 2021. Incumbent Mayor Bill de Blasio was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election. On June 22, 2021, the primary elections for the Democratic Party (United States), ...


References


Further reading

* Berman, Marshall and Brian Berger, eds. ''New York Calling: From Blackout to Bloomberg'' (2007). Recent social change in all five boroughs. * Berg, Bruce F. ''New York City Politics: Governing Gotham'' (2007)
excerpt
* Brash, Julian. ''Bloomberg's New York: Class and Governance in the Luxury City'' (2011), A geographical approach * Burns, Ric, and James Sanders. ''New York: An Illustrated History'' (2003), large-scale book version of Burns PBS documentary, New York: A Documentary Film an eight part, 17½ hour documentary film directed by
Ric Burns Ric Burns (Eric Burns, born 1955) is an American documentary filmmaker and writer. He has written, directed and produced historical documentaries since the 1990s, beginning with his collaboration on the celebrated PBS series '' The Civil War'' (1 ...
for
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
. It originally aired in 1999 with additional episodes airing in 2001 and 2003. * Carroll, Tamar W. "Social protest photography and public history: 'Whose streets? Our streets!': New York City, 1980–2000." ''Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences'' 57.1 (2021): 34-59. * David, Greg. ''Modern New York: The Life and Economics of a City'' (2012) * Greenberg, Miriam. ''Branding New York: How a city in crisis was sold to the world'' (Routledge, 2009) * Jackson, Kenneth T., ed. ''The Encyclopedia of New York City'' (Yale University Press, 1995) 1350 pages; articles by experts; 2nd expanded edition 2010, 1585pp
online and can be downloaded
* * Miyares, Ines M. "Changing Latinization of New York City." in ''Hispanic Spaces, Latino Places'' (U of Texas Press, 2021) pp. 145-166. * Plunz, Richard. ''A history of housing in New York City'' (Columbia UP, 2018). * Purnick, Joyce. ''Mike Bloomberg: Money, Power, Politics'' (2009) * Rich, Wilbur C. ''David Dinkins and New York City Politics: Race, Images, and the Media'' (SUNY Press, 2012) * Siegel, Fred. ''The Prince of the City: Giuliani, New York, and the Genius of American Life'' (2005) * Soffer, Jonathan. ''Ed Koch and the Rebuilding of New York City'' (2010) * Sorkin, Michael, and Sharon Zukin, eds. ''After the World Trade Center: Rethinking New York City''. Routledge, 2013. * Spear, Michael. "The struggle to build a progressive urban politics: Frank Barbaro's 1981 New York City mayoral campaign." ''New York History'' (2010): 45–69
in JSTOR
* Taylor, Clarence. ''Fight the power: African Americans and the long history of police brutality in New York City'' (NYU Press, 2021). * Williams, Mason B. "How the Rockefeller Laws Hit the Streets: Drug Policing and the Politics of State Competence in New York City, 1973–1989." ''Modern American History'' 4.1 (2021): 67-90
online


Guide books

* * Otis, Ginger Adams. ''New York City'' (Lonely planet, 2010)


Primary sources

* Dinkins, David N.; Knobler, Peter (2013). '' A Mayor's Life: Governing New York's Gorgeous Mosaic''. PublicAffairs, {{DEFAULTSORT:History Of New York City (1978-Present) *08