The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government model, the performance of city agencies' land use decisions, and legislating on a variety of other issues.

Minority Leader David Carr was elected to lead the five Republican council members on January 28, 2025, however the vote was disputed due to a quorum not being present.

A double asterisk (**) next to the election year means the member took office after certification to fill the remainder of an unexpired term.

[5] The salary raise came with new ethics guidelines and restrictions; most outside income is prohibited, and members no longer receive additional compensation for serving on committees.

The New York City Administrative Code is the codification of the laws promulgated by the council and is composed of 29 titles.

On February 2, 1653, the town of New Amsterdam, founded on the southern tip of Manhattan Island in 1625, was incorporated as a city under a charter issued by the Dutch West India Company.

Proportional representation was abolished in 1947, largely from pressure from Democrats, who played on fears of Communist council members being elected (two already had).

[14] It was replaced by a system of electing one Council Member from each New York State Senate district within the city.

In June 1983, however, a federal court ruled that the 10 at-large seats violated the United States Constitution's one-person, one-vote mandate.

The council was then granted full power over the municipal budget, as well as authority over zoning, land use and franchises.

As the presiding officer, the Public Advocate was an ex officio member of all committees in the council, and in that capacity had the right to introduce and co-sponsor legislation.

[19] A two-term limit was imposed on city council members and citywide elected officials in a 1993 referendum.

[24] However, according to The New York Times, incumbent members of the city council who were elected prior to the 2010 referendum "will still be allowed to run for a third term.