The records created by New York City’s governing bodies have been of enduring concern from the colonial era to the present day. Throughout the 18th century, the City was somewhat less than zealous about the preservation of its records, but when faced with the Revolutionary War, precautions were taken. In April 1776, the Common Council issued orders “to secure those authentick documents which may be of great service in a future day.” The records were removed to private homes in Westchester County, and when British troops marched up the lower Hudson Valley, the City’s records were transported farther north to Kingston, in Ulster County. Despite these safeguards, some records fell into the hands of the British and wound up in the Tower of London where they allegedly still remain. With the return of peace in 1784, many documents and papers stored upstate were returned, only to suffer in the next century a fate far worse - neglect.

In 1803, the Common Council established a Committee to “Investigate Keeping of Public Records.” The Committee recommended procuring a sufficient number of boxes of a suitable size for keeping the city’s records. About 24 years later, records accumulated and storage space was insufficient, so the Council allocated “the small room in the attic at the head of the staircase in City Hall,” to the City Clerk for records storage.

In 1844, in response to the apparent negligence of NYC’s historical records, David T. Valentine – who, as City Clerk, was responsible for publishing the Corporation of the City of New York manuals – began adding facsimiles of historical documents and sketches to the manual, in addition to the lithographic plates previously included.

The first outside report on the condition of New York City’s archives was prepared in 1900 by Harold Osgood for the Public Archives Commission of the American Historical Association. His findings showed that the city’s records were scattered about, uncared for, and impossible to use for research. Unfortunately, Osgood’s report didn’t change the conditions of city government’s records.

In 1939, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia established the Mayor’s Municipal Archives Committee. Led by Rebecca Rankin, librarian of the Municipal Reference Library, the Committee proposed the acquisition of a building suitable for centrally storing records of all city departments. The Board of Estimate approved the purchase in 1943. World War II diverted the Committee’s plans and they turned to salvaging old records for the war effort.  Previously, the Department of Sanitation had burned records authorized for disposal.

The Committee disbanded at the end of Mayor La Guardia’s term in 1945. Mayor William O’Dwyer reactivated the Committee in 1948 in response to a report charging that worthless records were taking up valuable office space and creating operational inefficiencies. The revived Committee was almost entirely made up of city officials, with Rebecca Rankin reappointed as its head. Their principal goal was the development of a “modern” records management program which would provide for provide retention and retrieval of city records, the timely disposal of obsolete records and the preservation and servicing of archival records.

Recognizing the importance (as well as the poor condition) of the city’s historical records, the Committee urged the creation of an agency to care for the city’s documentary heritage. Following this recommendation, the Municipal Archives was established as a division of the Municipal Reference Library in 1950. In addition, the Municipal Records Center was established in 1951, also as a division of the Library. Between 1950 and 1952, the Board of Estimate financed the Committee’s request for a study conducted by the National Records Management Council. The study included modeling the filing, indexing, keeping, making and disposing of city records, using five city agencies in the pilot project. Archives staff worked with the Council to inventory, appraise, develop retention standards and transfer records. The Mayor’s Municipal Archives Committee continued to function in an advisory capacity on matters relating to records preservation and disposal until it was disbanded by Mayor Wagner in 1964. 

In 1952, the Archives and the Records Center were separated from the Library and placed under management of the New York Public Library as the Municipal Archives and Records Center, or MARC. Funding for the operation of this “branch” was provided by the City. The arrangement endured until 1967, when MARC was transferred to the temporary jurisdiction of the Office of the City Register in the Department of Finance.

 The transfer back to the city was largely in part due to findings issued in 1966 by Mayor Lindsay’s Task Force on the Municipal Archives. The group, composed of distinguished historians, scholars and heads of academic and cultural institutions, had been directed to conduct a study of the city’s archives and records management practices.  Unsurprisingly, the Task Force reported essentially the same situation described by their predecessors on the Mayor’s Committee: i.e. the city’s historical records were still being neglected.

MARC changed administrative hands again in 1968, when it was transferred from the City Register and briefly became an operational bureau of the Department of Public Works. A year later, when the Municipal Services Administration began operating, MARC came under the wide umbrella of this “super agency” (one of many formed by Mayor Lindsay’s administration that would later be dismantled by his successors).

Beginning in the early 1970s, MARC staff were largely focused on records storage and developing a citywide records management program; with few resources devoted to the Archives. Operating the Municipal Archives was reported to be MARC’s “greatest difficulty” and was “virtually unmanned.” The 1971 MARC annual report noted: “Were it not for the direct intervention of MARC’s Director and Deputy Director, the service undoubtedly would have been discontinued or suspended. While thousands of annual visitors and correspondents have displayed great patience and understanding regarding our staff problems, we feel that unless this activity is supported by a professional and clerical staff, we may, with the greatest reluctance and regret, be forced to close our doors.” The fiscal crisis of the 1970s led to further staff reductions.

Growing concerns regarding the City’s historical records both within and outside government in the 1970s finally prompted significant action. City Council President Paul O’Dwyer, and other leaders rallied support in the Council for passage of Local Law 49 of 1977, creating the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS). The legislation incorporated suggestions from Mayor Lindsay’s Task Force and was hailed as a major innovation in the field of archives management. Consisting of three functional divisions. the Municipal Archives, the Municipal Records Center and the Municipal Library, DORIS would operate as an independent agency under direct control of the Mayor. The legislation added a new Chapter to the City Charter (Chapter 72), and clearly delineated appraisal, accession, processing, conservation and servicing of archival records as functions of the Archives division.

DORIS fared relatively well through the 1980s. But even though the value of an efficient records management program had been accepted by several successive city administrations, the Archives, Library and Records Management programs were significantly underfunded from the 1990s through the 2000s.

More recently, with support from Mayor de Blasio, the Archives has enjoyed a renaissance.  Increased funding has enabled hiring new professional staff in all areas of the Archives including conservation, digital programs, processing, and research services.  And in 2021, the Archives will cut the ribbon on its new state-of-the-art storage facility in Industry City, Brooklyn.