Historic Miscount: New Research Suggests New York’s Incoming Mayor Is Actually the 112th
A newly uncovered archival error challenges centuries-old records of NYC mayoral numbering, reshaping the city’s political lineage.
A fascinating historical debate has emerged just as New York City prepares to inaugurate its new mayor. Although Zahran Mamdani is widely expected to be sworn in as the city’s 111th mayor, new research challenges this long-standing designation, revealing a deeper numerical error in the city’s historical records dating back centuries. This discovery suggests that Mamdani may actually be the 112th person to hold the office, prompting a reassessment of New York’s foundational political history.
On January 1, all eyes will turn to the swearing-in ceremony of Zahran Mamdani. Yet, a meticulously researched claim by historian Paul Hortenstein may redefine the sequence of New York City’s mayors.
Historic Omission Alters the Numbering of NYC Mayors
Hortenstein’s extensive study points to a major omission in the official mayoral count—an error that dates back to 1674. According to his findings, Mayor Matthias Nicolls served a second, non-consecutive term that remains unrecognized in the city’s official historical documentation.
The implications of this historical miscount are far-reaching, creating a ripple effect through the entire list of New York City mayors. If Nicolls’s second term was indeed omitted, then every subsequent mayor has been numbered incorrectly by one.
This means that iconic figures such as Fiorello La Guardia, traditionally known as Mayor No. 99, would in fact be the 100th mayor. Similarly, current mayor Eric Adams, who often refers to himself as the “110th mayor,” would correctly be the 111th. Such a correction would reshape the entire historical understanding of the city’s leadership lineage.
Historical Evidence Reveals Long-Overlooked Mayoral Miscount
Hortenstein, a writer specializing in public policy and history, uncovered this discrepancy while researching the early mayors’ ties to the institution of slavery. During his examination of archival documents related to Edmund Andros, the colonial governor of New York, he came across references to Nicolls’s unrecorded second term—particularly noting service in 1675. When compared with the city’s official list, the omission became strikingly clear.
Further confirmation came from multiple sources. The New-York Historical Society, for instance, conducted a preliminary search through its archives and found three separate references to Nicolls serving between 1674 and 1675 in the renowned text Iconography of Manhattan Island, a major historical compilation based on primary sources. This strengthened the case for revisiting the official record.
Interestingly, Hortenstein found that he was not the first to identify this historical irregularity. In 1989, Peter R. Christoph documented the same oversight in an article published in the Record of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. Christoph famously opened with the provocative line:“Edward I. Koch is the 105th mayor of New York… but they are wrong: he is the 106th.”
He traced the mistake back to an 1841 New York City directory, noting its continued repetition in later government publications.
Resistance to Revising NYC’s Official Mayoral Count
Despite these compelling historical arguments, Ken Cobb, Assistant Commissioner of the NYC Department of Records, stated that there are currently no initiatives to investigate or correct the potential mistake. He clarified the department’s role:“We are the keepers of records, not the makers of records.”
While he did not dispute Hortenstein’s research, the city’s official reference document—the Green Book—still omits Nicolls’s second term.
There is, however, precedent for such corrections. In 1937, Charles Lodwik, who served from 1694 to 1695, was officially added as the 21st mayor, prompting a full renumbering of all subsequent mayors. This shows that revising the official list is not unprecedented.
Matthias Nicolls himself, born in England in 1630, was a lawyer and government official under British rule in New York—and like many high-ranking colonial figures of his era, he was also a slave owner.
When asked about the possibility of recognizing Nicolls’s full term history, Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro said he had no prior knowledge of the missing term. He suggested that the matter would be best handled by historians—and, for the first time, by the incoming city administration. The stance of the new administration remains unknown, leaving the issue open for continued debate.
