Administrative divisions of New York (state)

Whether a municipality is defined as a borough, city, town, or village is determined not by population or land area, but rather on the form of government selected by the residents and approved by the New York State Legislature.

[2][3][4] Each type of local government is granted specific home rule powers by the New York State Constitution.

New York also has various corporate entities that provide local services and have their own administrative structures (governments), such as school and fire districts.

[9][10] Counties and incorporated municipal governments (also known as "general purpose units of local government"; i.e., cities, towns and villages) in the State of New York have been granted broad home rule powers enabling them to provide services to their residents and to regulate the quality of life within their jurisdictions.

Articles VIII (titled "Local Finances") and IX (titled "Local Government", but commonly referred to as the "Home Rule" article) of the state constitution establish the rights and responsibilities of the municipal governments.

[5] The New York State Constitution provides for democratically elected legislative bodies for counties, cities, towns and villages.

These legislative bodies are granted the power to enact local laws as needed in order to provide services to their citizens and fulfill their various obligations.

The charter counties are Albany, Broome, Chautauqua, Chemung, Dutchess, Erie, Herkimer, Monroe, Nassau, Oneida, Onondaga, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Schenectady, Suffolk, Tompkins, Ulster, and Westchester.

[22] The city today consists of the entire area of five counties (named New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx, and Richmond).

New York City was divided into wards at various times in its history between 1683 and 1938, although they were gradually replaced by Assembly and Senate districts starting in the mid-19th century; the New York City Council is currently elected from special districts, which are allowed to cross borough lines.

[32] The supervisor presides over the board, voting on all matters but not possessing veto or tie-breaking power.

The United States Census Bureau will, with consideration from the town, designate a census-designated place (CDP) that may use the name of one or more hamlets, though boundaries may differ from what is used by the ZIP code, local fire department, etc.

The largest town by area is Brookhaven (Suffolk County), which covers 531.5 sq mi (1,377 km2), but more than half of that is water.

Cooperstown, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame, is a village, Jamestown and Middletown are cities, and Levittown is an unincorporated hamlet.

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) puts hamlet names on rectangular green signs with white lettering at roadside locations of its choosing.

Based on the ZIP Code, the United States Postal Service (USPS) identifies the correct location for mail delivery.

[citation needed] As of the 2000[update] census, 9.9% of the state's population was living in one of the 556 villages in New York.

[citation needed] Administrative duties of the mayor include enforcing laws and supervising employees.

The villages that retain their charters are Alexander, Carthage, Catskill, Cooperstown, Deposit, Fredonia, Ilion, Mohawk, Ossining, Owego, Port Chester, and Waterford.

Additionally, the proposed village can be no more than 5 square miles (13 km2) in area unless its boundaries are to be coterminous with a school, fire, improvement or other district, or the entire town.

[58] The process of incorporation begins with a petition by either 20% of residents or owners of 50% of assessed real property.

If deemed legally sufficient, incorporation is then voted upon by the qualified voters living in the proposed village only.

The borough presidents once wielded considerable power as members of the New York City Board of Estimate, but the position is now largely ceremonial and advisory.

Special districts often cross the lines of towns, villages, and hamlets, and occasionally cities or counties.

The exceptions are the five cities whose populations exceed 125,000 (Buffalo, New York, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers), in which education is part of the municipal budget.

Its board of education must consist of five, seven, or nine members and length of service must be three, four, or five years, each decided upon by the voters in the district.

This allows them to make potentially risky capital and infrastructure investments without putting so much of the credit of New York on the line.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority manages public transportation in the New York Metropolitan Area (this includes the New York subway and public bus systems, as well as Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road, and the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority).

They often form cooperative associations with other library districts for shared services, purchasing and cross-library lending.

The NY State legislature defines these projects and duties as: Initiating and coordinating research and surveys for the purpose of gathering data on the lake, related shorelands, and the drainage basin; Planning lake rehabilitation projects; Adopting by resolution rules for carrying out their duties and plans for lake rehabilitation projects; Contacting and attempting to secure the cooperation of officials of units of general purpose government in the area for the purpose of enacting ordinances deemed necessary by the board of supervisors as furthering the objectives of the district; Carrying out lake protection and rehabilitation projects and obtaining any necessary permits therefor; and Maintaining liaison with those officials of state government and local government involved in lake protection and rehabilitation.