Player Handout 6 - Greater New York City

Unification
The measure to unite the five boroughs into one city was approved by the residents of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, the Bronx and Manhattan in a citywide referendum in 1895. In May 1897 the Governor of New York signed a bill unifying the boroughs into one city, Greater New York City. That unification took place at midnight January 1, 1898. While outsiders may already consider the city to be one city, many of the residents continue to think of themselves as citizens of Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, etc.

General facts about Greater New York City

When the five boroughs were consolidated to form Greater New York, horses, trolleys, elevated railroads and ferries were still the preferred methods of travel; chop suey was developing a following in New York City, but was still unknown to residents of China; malaria was a big health threat on Staten Island; and New York had just become the last American city to open public high schools.

Prior to 1898, the Bronx was often derisively referred to as the Annexed District. Queens was factories in the west and sprawling farms in the east. Brooklyn, called the City of Churches, was the third largest city in the country prior to consolidation and was still struggling to come to terms with its new status as a "borough." Staten Island was largely uncharted territory, with a population of 68,000 people. And Manhattan was a hub of commercial activity and had long
surpassed Philadelphia as the great American City.

• In 1898, the population of New York City was over 3 million people.
• After consolidation, New York became the second largest city in the world behind London
• The tallest building in the city was 23 stories.
• Almost 50 percent of all the immigrants in the city were from Germany and Ireland
• A cab ride in Manhattan cost 50 cents for the first mile, and 25 cents each additional half mile or portion thereof
• City employees worked ten hours a day
• At the time of consolidation, New York City had a bicameral legislature called the Municipal Assembly, consisting of the Board of Alderman and the City Council.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT: He had been a state legislator, a candidate for mayor, a rancher in the Dakotas and a member of the U.S. Civil Service Commission before he became police commissioner in 1895. He resigned to become assistant secretary of the Navy and then organized the Rough Riders for service in the Spanish-American War.

Mayor is William L. Strong