The Manhattan Borough President is the borough’s top elected official, responsible for advocating for Manhattan’s roughly 1.6 million residents inside New York City government. What the Manhattan Borough President does, in practice, breaks down into four main jobs: reviewing land use and zoning proposals that affect the borough, steering a dedicated share of the city’s capital budget, appointing every voting member of Manhattan’s 12 community boards, and chairing the Borough Board that coordinates planning and services across neighborhoods. The office does not pass laws, run city agencies, or control the overall city budget. Its power is advisory, procedural, and appointive, and most of its influence comes from how skillfully the officeholder uses those three levers.
As of 2026, the office is held by Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who took over after Mark Levine was elected City Comptroller in November 2025 and left the borough presidency on January 1, 2026.1Office of the New York City Comptroller. About Mark Levine
Reviewing Land Use and Zoning Proposals
The most visible part of the job is land use. Under Section 197-c of the City Charter, any proposed zoning map change, disposition of city-owned land, or siting of a city facility must move through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, known as ULURP, and the affected Borough President must submit a written recommendation on every application.2American Legal Publishing. New York City Charter – Section 197-c The recommendation is not binding. It is a required step, and it carries real weight with the City Planning Commission and City Council, which decide the application afterward.
That required-step status is where the leverage lives. Developers seeking a zoning change in Manhattan have to engage the Borough President’s office, and engagement often produces negotiated commitments: affordable housing set-asides, park improvements, school seats, or other community benefits attached to a project.
The office is also pulled into environmental review. Applicants under the City Environmental Quality Review process must forward environmental assessment materials to the affected Borough President so the office can weigh in on a project’s environmental consequences.3Board of Standards and Appeals. Section 1-08 City Environmental Quality Review (CEQR)
Steering a Share of the Capital Budget
Section 211 of the Charter sets aside 5% of the city’s capital appropriations for the five boroughs, divided by a formula that weights population and land area equally. Manhattan’s share is the pool the Borough President works with when proposing capital projects to the Mayor. Those proposals must come with estimated annual operating and maintenance costs, construction estimates, and a timeline for follow-up appropriations over the next three fiscal years.4American Legal Publishing. New York City Charter – Section 211 Typical uses include school renovations, park upgrades, and improvements to cultural institutions.
The office also funds outside nonprofits through a competitive capital grant process, with eligibility rules covering incorporation, operating history, audited financials, paid staff, and minimum city contributions that scale by project type.5Manhattan Borough President. Budget and Funding
Beyond capital, the Borough President consults on both the expense and capital budgets, holds public hearings, and makes policy recommendations to the Mayor under Section 82 of the Charter.6NYC Charter. Chapter 4 – Borough Presidents
Appointing Manhattan’s Community Board Members
Manhattan is divided into 12 community districts, each with its own community board. The Borough President appoints every voting member. Section 2800 of the Charter allows each board up to 50 appointed members serving staggered two-year unpaid terms.7American Legal Publishing. New York City Charter – Section 2800 At least half of each board’s members must be drawn from nominees submitted by City Council members whose districts overlap the community district; the Borough President fills the rest directly. Council members representing any part of the district also sit on the board as non-voting members.
To qualify, an appointee must have a residence, business, professional, or other significant interest in the district. No more than 25% of a board’s members can be city employees, and no more than two can be under 18. The Charter also directs the Borough President to seek geographic representation within the district and appointees who reflect the community’s diversity by race, ethnicity, gender, age, and disability status.7American Legal Publishing. New York City Charter – Section 2800 The office also funds community board operations, including administrative staff, office space, and planning expertise.
Coordinating Planning Through the Borough Board
The Borough President chairs the Borough Board, which brings together the Borough President, every City Council member representing a Manhattan district, and the chair of each of the 12 community boards.8American Legal Publishing. New York City Charter – Section 85 The Borough Board is the forum for coordinating planning and service delivery across neighborhoods and gives the office a borough-wide view of how city agencies are performing.
The office also runs a topographical bureau whose director serves as construction coordinator and consulting engineer for the borough, monitoring capital projects, expediting construction work, and providing technical assistance on building projects.6NYC Charter. Chapter 4 – Borough Presidents This is one of the more hands-on functions of the office: less policy, more making sure things actually get built.
To support all of this, the Borough President appoints a deputy and an executive assistant and maintains both a budget office and a planning office.6NYC Charter. Chapter 4 – Borough Presidents
Who Holds the Office and How They Get There
The Borough President must be a resident of Manhattan and is elected to a four-year term on the same cycle as the Mayor and City Council.6NYC Charter. Chapter 4 – Borough Presidents The Charter sets the salary at $179,200 per year.9American Legal Publishing. New York City Charter – Section 81
Term limits come from Section 1138, not Section 81. No person may be elected to or serve as Borough President after holding the office for two or more consecutive full terms, unless a full term has passed since they last served. The same rule applies to the Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller, and City Council members.10NYC Charter. Chapter 50 – Term Limits
If the office goes vacant in the first three years of a term, a general election fills the remainder, and the Mayor must proclaim the election date within three days of the vacancy. Until a successor is elected, the Deputy Borough President or the executive assistant temporarily acts in the role, in whatever priority order the outgoing Borough President previously designated.9American Legal Publishing. New York City Charter – Section 81
Why the Role Is Advisory Rather Than Decisive
The office used to carry much more direct authority. Before 1989, the Borough President was a voting member of the Board of Estimate, which controlled the city’s budget and land use decisions. Each borough president cast one vote; the Mayor, Comptroller, and City Council President cast two each. The U.S. Supreme Court struck that arrangement down in Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris, holding that giving equal votes to boroughs with wildly different populations violated the Equal Protection Clause, with a 78% deviation from one-person, one-vote.11Justia. Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris A Charter revision abolished the Board of Estimate and sent most of its powers to the City Council. The Borough President’s role shifted from direct budget authority to the advocacy, advisory, and appointive functions that define the job today.