It is located at One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza in Turtle Bay, Manhattan, near the headquarters of the United Nations.

The consulate general's district includes the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The consulate general offers various consular services like passport applications, citizenship matters, and name registration, alongside providing assistance to Swedes in emergencies.

Additionally, it facilitates information sharing about Sweden, and promotes exchanges between Swedish and American organizations.

The consulate here, established as a result of the Chancellery and Collegium of Commerce's request on October 14, 1799, originally covered the states of New York and Connecticut.

Still, according to the decision of King in Council on March 13, 1822, they received two Spanish piasters for each issued certificate.

[1] By royal decree on May 25, 1850, the consulate general encompassed the entire union, excluding California.

Simultaneously, it was stipulated that a separate consulate should be established in New York City, covering the same states as a district, with an office budget of 500 Riksdaler banco.

[1] According to a royal decree on August 28, 1908, the consulate was again salaried (salary of 24,000 kronor plus 6,000 kronor in office expenses) and includes a district consisting of the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas, as well as the District of Columbia.

Prime Minister Stefan Löfven announced in November 2014 that Sweden would re-open a general consulate in New York City,[4] then no earlier than fall of 2015.

The consulate general organizes and supports activities to promote Swedish culture and interests in the northeastern the United States.

[8] The district of the consulate general, at least from 1969 to 1975, included, in addition to the city of New York City, the states of New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Florida (except the Florida panhandle), and the District of Columbia, as well as Puerto Rico and Saint Thomas.

[9] The states of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, as well as the Florida panhandle belonged to the Consulate General of Sweden, Houston until 1975.

[14] In 1993, the Swedish Consulate General in Chicago closed, so the following year the Consulate General in New York City took over the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.

[16] As of October 31, 2023, the consulate general's district includes the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Well-known Swedish designers such as Carl Malmsten, Josef Frank, Carl-Axel Acking and Ingegerd Torhamn are represented in the interior.