The Borough President is the chief elected official for Manhattan, serving the nearly 1.5 million residents who call our island home, as well as the millions more who work, shop and visit every day.

It is a position with one foot planted squarely in the past - remembering what Manhattan has been and working to ensure important preservation - and one foot stepping into the future, always envisioning how the greatest City in the world could be that much greater for the people that live and work here.

The BP has two offices, one in the Municipal Building downtown, and one located at 163 West 125th Street. The first serves as the main office, from which most of the BP's duties are discharged, while the uptown office focuses primarily on expanding economic development and improving city services in the areas of Manhattan north of 96th Street.

• The powers of the Borough President derive from the 1898 Charter of Greater New York - the City's Constitution.
• The BP is the advocate for Manhattan during the City's budgeting process, developing annual budget statements with the Borough Board, which the BP chairs. The BP lobbies the City Council and the Mayor to ensure that programs and services vital to Manhattan's residents are continually maintained and developed. At the same time the BP works to preserve and expand New York's economy, the most vital and vibrant economy in the world, centered in Manhattan.
• The BP maintains direct control of a portion of the City's capital budget, an amount which totaled $13.7 million in the 2003 fiscal year. This money is spent on projects and programs in Manhattan, including grants to community organizations.
• The BP reviews all major public and private land use proposals in Manhattan, and holds the power to recommend approval, rejection or the application of certain changes. Effectively, the BP has a big say in the decisions of what gets built, and where. Through studies, hearings and public meetings, the BP ensures that everyone in the Manhattan community has a voice, and that the development of Manhattan is steady but sensible.
• The BP has the power to introduce legislation to the City Council, giving the BP the ability to help shape and direct policies that will benefit Manhattan's residents.
• The BP can serve as the chief negotiator between Community Boards on development projects on which boards might disagree, working towards a solution that is both beneficial for both communities, and for Manhattan as a whole.
• The BP oversees certain infrastructure services like street repair and parks maintenance, and additionally holds some direct authority on housing code enforcement.
• The BP, through a group known as the Borough Service Cabinet, continually evaluates the performance of the City's service contracts, ensuring that the city is spending the appropriate amount for the services rendered, and working to make governmental services more responsive to community needs.
• The BP's Constituent Services Division assists all New Yorkers in interacting with the potential difficulties of governmental bureaucracy.
• And, in addition to exercising the previously discussed duties, the BP is also responsible for the following appointments:
  
  
  • Two members to every Manhattan district's Community Education Council, which replaced the Community School Boards on July 1, 2004.
  • A member of the City Planning Commission
  • A member of the Economic Development Corporation Board.
  • 600 members of Manhattan's 12 Community Boards, half on nominations from City Council members.
  • Three members to sit on the Hudson River Park Trust Board
  • Members to advisory boards of Manhattan's municipal health facilities
  • Thirty-five additional municipal advisory and tasks forces.
  
  
  
  

If you have any further questions about the role of the Borough President, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@brianellner.com.

Note: A portion of this description came from the current Manhattan Borough President's website, with additional information from The Charter of Greater New York.