[2] The Bishop's seat is the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan, where the diocesan offices are also located.

[5] Initially, since James II was a Roman Catholic, little was done to promote the Church of England in New York, but in 1683 the New York Charter of Liberties and Privileges was adopted, guaranteeing religious tolerance and liberty,[6] and, after the Glorious Revolution, the English monarchy actively promoted the growth of the Church of England in the province.

[9] After the Revolution, the Church was disestablished and a number of prominent clergymen were imprisoned, including Samuel Seabury, rector of St. Peter’s in the Bronx, who later became the first Bishop of Connecticut.

[10] Having thus established his revolutionary credentials, Provoost was chosen as the first chaplain of the United States Senate in 1789, when the government was based in New York.

Immediately following his inauguration as the first President of the United States, George Washington, together with members of Congress, proceeded to St. Paul's Chapel, where Provoost led a service of prayer for the new government.

In the 1830s and 1840s the Oxford Movement caused controversies and divisions within the diocese, as it did elsewhere within the Episcopal Church and the broader Anglican communion.

A graduate of the General Theological Seminary, Carey had been greatly influenced by the Tracts for the Times, and as his ordination approached, he was opposed by a number of clergy and laity.

[11][12] Benjamin Onderdonk and other presbyters conducted an examination of Carey, which ultimately found him fit for ordination, and he was thus ordained in 1843.

The dispute did not end, however, and a number of letters were published accusing Carey and ultimately Onderdonk of being overly sympathetic to Roman Catholicism.

[16] Whether or not this was the result of the dispute over the issues raised by the Carey affair was hotly debated at the time, in a series of tracts and published letters of the parties involved.

[15] After Onderdonk's suspension, the episcopacy was vacant for seven years until Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright I was called as Provisional Bishop in 1852.

During Bishop Mark Sisk's tenure, Japanese- and Spanish-speaking congregations were established, and, as of 2022, worship services were offered in the diocese in at least 10 languages, including Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Igbo.