Boroughs of New York City Boroughs of New York City New York City encompasses five county-level administrative divisions called "boroughs": Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island. All boroughs are part of New York City, and each of the boroughs is coextensive with a respective county, the primary administrative subdivision within New York State. Queens and The Bronx are concurrent with the counties of the same name, while Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island correspond to New York, Kings, and Richmond Counties respectively. Boroughs have existed since the consolidation of the city in 1898, when the city and each borough assumed their current boundaries. However,
Boroughs of New York City 1898. Under the 1898 City Charter adopted by the New York State Legislature, a "borough" is a municipal corporation that is created when a county is merged with populated areas within it. The limited powers of the borough governments are inferior to the authority of the Government of New York City, contrasting significantly with other borough administrations of government used in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, where a borough is an independent level of government, as well as borough forms used in other states and in Greater London. New York City is often referred to collectively as the five boroughs;