NYC Department of Records

NYC Department of Records Collecting and preserving the history of New York City. The law consolidated several information and reference programs already in existence.
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New York City Department of Records – the source for four centuries of municipal government history and information. The Department of Records and Information Services was created by Local Law 49 of 1977, which added a new Chapter 72 to the Charter of The City of New York. For the first time in the City's history, this law established in one department the responsibility for the organization and r

etrieval of the massive documentation--records, reports and archival documents--produced by past and present governments. Visitors to the Municipal Archives and the Municipal Library marvel at the beautiful marble lobby at 31 Chambers Street. We encourage you to take the opportunity to experience the wealth of archival and library treasures preserved behind locked doors by visiting the Municipal Library, Archives and Visitor Center. Take a look at our PSA on YouTube (http://bit.ly/1EJforC).

Join us online from 1-2pm on July 7, when fashion historian Nancy MacDonell will delve into the work of columnist and ed...
06/13/2026

Join us online from 1-2pm on July 7, when fashion historian Nancy MacDonell will delve into the work of columnist and editor, Diana Vreeland, and photographer, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, for the New York fashion magazine, "Harper’s Bazaar".

Stemming from MacDonell’s recent book, "Empresses of Seventh Ave: World War II, New York City, and the Birth of American Fashion", this presentation will highlight how the work of these two women during the 1940s - specifically, their collaboration on the 1942 photoshoot, “Flight to the Valley of the Sun” - showcased the evolution of American style.

Learn more & RSVP here: https://on.nyc.gov/4wXocH3

New Yorkers have been on a roller coaster ride with the New York Knicks in their bid for the NBA championship. This prom...
06/12/2026

New Yorkers have been on a roller coaster ride with the New York Knicks in their bid for the NBA championship. This prompted research in the Municipal Library and Archives collections for Knicks-related information, memorabilia, and photographs.

Research in these collections also yielded ten historical images that featured the team stars of an earlier era. These archival photographs are available to purchase as copies from the Municipal Archives or in sets of postcards at the CityStore (CityStorenyc). 🏀🗽✨

Learn more - and check out the photos for yourself - here: https://on.nyc.gov/4va3ouL

Code Red is in effect until 8pm on Friday. Extreme heat can be dangerous, especially for older adults and people with he...
06/12/2026

Code Red is in effect until 8pm on Friday. Extreme heat can be dangerous, especially for older adults and people with health conditions. Stay hydrated. Stay cool. ☀️

To find cooling center locations throughout New York City, visit NYC.gov/beattheheat

NYC Emergency Management

NYC cooling centers are open 6/11 - 6/12. ❄️When it's very hot, air conditioning will help keep you safe. If you don't h...
06/11/2026

NYC cooling centers are open 6/11 - 6/12. ❄️

When it's very hot, air conditioning will help keep you safe. If you don't have air conditioning, find a cool place to visit nearby - like a friend’s place, a mall, museum, coffee shop, library, or an NYC cooling center. Find an NYC cooling center at https://on.nyc.gov/coolingcenter or call 311.

For more on how to stay cool this summer, visit NYC.gov/beattheheat

NYC Emergency Management

06/10/2026

However you're watching the New York Knicks game tonight, just get there for the start of the game. 🏀🗽✨

📜 Volunteer to transcribe history! The Municipal Archives at the NYC Department of Records has digitized historic record...
06/09/2026

📜 Volunteer to transcribe history! The Municipal Archives at the NYC Department of Records has digitized historic records from 1660-1838 documenting children born to enslaved women and manumissions. These records, spanning hundreds of pages, need your help! By transcribing them through "From the Page", you’ll make this invaluable history searchable and accessible to all.

Sign up today and be part of this meaningful project! 🔗 www.archives.nyc

06/08/2026

Welcome to NYC. Now let's make New York Knicks history. 🏀🗽✨

TOMORROW! Join us online from 1-2pm on June 9 when Dr. Peter D. Blackmer will examine the methods, uses, and impact of s...
06/08/2026

TOMORROW! Join us online from 1-2pm on June 9 when Dr. Peter D. Blackmer will examine the methods, uses, and impact of state repression using the NYC Municipal Archives’ NYPD Bureau of Special Services & Investigation (BOSSI) Collection. The author of "Unleashing Black Power: Grassroots Organizing in Harlem and the Advent of the Long, Hot Summers", Dr. Blackmer will explore how archival records can help us understand, analyze, and write more complete and compelling histories of the Black Freedom movement in New York and beyond.

"Unleashing Black Power" explores the local dynamics, national connections, and global context of the Black Freedom movement in Harlem from 1954-64, illuminating how activists, organizers, and ordinary people mounted their resistance to systemic racism in the Jim Crow North. Tracing the dual evolution of Black radicalism and white resistance, "Unleashing Black Power" offers a new framework for analyzing the epochal urban uprisings in the 1960s.

Learn more & RSVP here: https://on.nyc.gov/4dMdOdv

THIS TUESDAY! Join us online from 1-2pm on June 9 when Dr. Peter D. Blackmer will examine the methods, uses, and impact ...
06/06/2026

THIS TUESDAY! Join us online from 1-2pm on June 9 when Dr. Peter D. Blackmer will examine the methods, uses, and impact of state repression using the NYC Municipal Archives’ NYPD Bureau of Special Services & Investigation (BOSSI) Collection. The author of "Unleashing Black Power: Grassroots Organizing in Harlem and the Advent of the Long, Hot Summers", Dr. Blackmer will explore how archival records can help us understand, analyze, and write more complete and compelling histories of the Black Freedom movement in New York and beyond.

"Unleashing Black Power" explores the local dynamics, national connections, and global context of the Black Freedom movement in Harlem from 1954-64, illuminating how activists, organizers, and ordinary people mounted their resistance to systemic racism in the Jim Crow North. Tracing the dual evolution of Black radicalism and white resistance, "Unleashing Black Power" offers a new framework for analyzing the epochal urban uprisings in the 1960s.

Learn more & RSVP here: https://on.nyc.gov/4dMdOdv

Who is a New Yorker? Someone who only eats NYC-style pizza? Belongs to at least one library (if not three)? Knows to wal...
06/06/2026

Who is a New Yorker? Someone who only eats NYC-style pizza? Belongs to at least one library (if not three)? Knows to walk on the right side of the sidewalk? Celebrates Manhattanhenge? Knows where to grab the best BEC in the city? 🍳

Decide for yourself at the NYC Department of Records' online, interactive exhibit "NYC's Story: The City On Record" at www.RememberNYC.nyc. 🍕📚🌇

Address

31 Chambers Street
New York, NY
10007

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 4:30pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 4:30pm

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