[1] By the end of the 19th century, the city was flying an unofficial flag featuring its seal in blue on a white field.

An aide to then-mayor Abe Beame suggested that 1624 would be a more accurate date, as that was when the city was actually chartered as a legal Dutch entity.

[4] Section 2-103 of the New York City Administrative Code ("Official city flag") establishes the design as follows: A flag combining the colors orange, white and blue arranged in perpendicular bars of equal dimensions (the blue being nearest to the flagstaff) with the standard design of the seal of the city in blue upon the middle, or white bar, omitting the legend Sigillum Civitatis Novi Eboraci, which colors shall be the same as those of the flag of the United Netherlands in use in the year sixteen hundred twenty-five.

The committee's report stated that "the order of arrangement follows the practice found in the French, Belgian and other tri-colors, of placing the darkest bar next to the staff.

[12] In 2017, NYCFC added the tricolor city flag to its jersey, substituting its own "NYC" monogram in place of the seal.

[14] The office of the mayor of New York City has its own official variant, to which is added an arc of five five-pointed stars (representing each of the five boroughs) in blue above the seal.

Staten Island borough lawmakers pushed to have their flag officially recognized by the state in the 1990s and early 2000s but were unsuccessful.

The shield of the family arms shows the face of the sun with rays displayed rising from the sea, signifying peace, liberty, and commerce.

The text underneath the shield is also the motto of the borough, and reads "ne cede malis", which is a Latin phrase meaning "Yield not to evil".

[16] The Bronx flag was first adopted in March 1912, by then-Borough President Cyrus C. Miller, and recognized by the city on June 29, 1915.

Within the seal is an image of the Goddess of Justice set on a background of light blue, and bearing fasces, a traditional emblem of unity.

During the City of Greater New York consolidation process of the 1890s, "Miss Brooklyn" from the flag became a popular figure, allegorized as being courted by Father Knickerbocker.

[citation needed] The flag of Queens contains three horizontal bands, with the top and bottom being sky blue, and the middle white.

[19] The Queens flag was adopted on June 3, 1913, and first displayed four days later at a celebration marking the beginning of construction on the borough's dual rapid transit system.

It featured a navy blue background with an orange seal in the center, containing two waterfowl and the text "Richmond Borough 1663 1898 New York".

The next flag consisted of elements designed for a contest held in 1971 by Staten Island's Borough President Robert T. Connor.

Set in earth tones, each features an allegoric female figure representing the city standing on the island's shore and looking out onto the Narrows, where Henry Hudson's ship The Half Moon is at anchor.

The canton features a St. Florian's cross with the city seal in the center, surrounded by a hook, ladder, fire hydrant and the letters "F.D.N.Y.".

It features sixteen blue and white stripes, the same number of major facilities administered by the department at that time.

On an orange canton sits the Seal of the City of New York in gold, surrounded by five stars for the five boroughs and the year "1895", when the department was created.

The words "SHERIFF'S OFFICE" and "CITY OF NEW YORK" are set in gold horizontal text above and below the seal, respectively.