As New York City prepares for the inauguration of Zohran Mamdani on January 1, a historical discrepancy has been brought to light. According to research findings shared by the Gothamist, the incoming mayor will not be the 111th as previously thought, but rather the 112th to lead the city. This revelation is based on historical documents that show a clerical oversight spanning back to the 17th century.
An overlooked second term served by Mayor Matthias Nicolls, who presided over the Mayor's Court in 1674, is at the heart of the miscount. Until now, his consecutive tenure had been missing from the official tally, "That's sort of the mic drop of historical research," Michael Lorenzini, a researcher at the Department of Records told the Gothamist. His findings have been corroborated by other historians, including Paul Hortenstine, who, suggested that Mamdani's team could use this as an opportunity "to think about what story they want to tell about New York City."
Historical records, such as the "Mayor's Court Minute Book," indicate that mayors with nonconsecutive terms are counted twice, yet Nicolls' second term slipped through the cracks until now. "It's been pointed out, at least going back to 1935, that Nicolls had the second term and somehow nobody really paid attention," Lorenzini explained. Similarly, in the SSB Crack News interview, Hortenstine stumbled upon the evidence of the mayoral miscount while researching early mayors' ties to slavery.
Both sources agree that this error has carried through to modern day, with figures such as Fiorello La Guardia and Eric Adams also being misnumbered. Adams, who often refers to himself as "110", should be considered the 111th mayor instead. Thus far, it is not clear whether the current administration under Mayor Adams will address this discrepancy before leaving office, with First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro suggesting that it may be a concern better suited to the incoming administration or historians.
