This year is New York City’s 400th birthday. However, there will be no big celebration as promised by Mayor Eric Adams earlier in the year, due to all the controversies leading to his departure as a candidate for mayor, plus the endless chaos from Trumpism. Furthermore, New Yorkers are not as wistful about their history, compared to other cities like Boston. Instead, most attention has been focused on the mayor’s race between the 34-year-old Islamic outlier, Zohran Mamdani (originally from Uganda), and the older (67), establishment candidate, former Governor Andrew Cuomo. These occurrences also illuminate the unique, eccentric culture and values of the New York City brand.
Politics in NYC can be Unusual
A brand is a constellation of shared values that become the basis for a special relationship built on trust. New York City is known for its diversity, independent thinking and progressive values. Today its voters are most concerned about affordability and want a change. Mamdani has focused on this deep frustration with some radical promises – e.g. free childcare, free bus rides, $30 minimum wage, etc. His proposals may be far-fetched, but they do represent a bold, fresh perspective that appeals to younger voters. Mamdani beat Cuomo in the Democratic primary election by 12 points. While Mamdani represents a big change with novel values that are shared by the disheartened working class, Cuomo is perceived as old school backed by the established power brokers.
This upcoming election may be strikingly unconventional for many outside New York, but it does reflect the distinctive, diverse culture and values of the NYC brand. To fully appreciate this city’s unique character, it is best to understand its Dutch roots when it was New Amsterdam between 1625 and 1664. In 2004, the historian Russell Shorto wrote a fascinating book, “The Island at the Center of the World”, after he discovered long lost diaries in the archives in Albany which he translated from old Dutch to reveal new insights about this fascinating period.
Dutch Roots Define NYC Today
Unlike all other American colonies which were settled for mainly religious reasons, New Amsterdam was established as a trading center by the Dutch West India Company. Henry Hudson first discovered Manhattan when sailing up the Hudson River in 1607. Fort Orange (now Albany) was later constructed in 1624 as a trading post, before Peter Minuit bought Manhattan from the Mohicans in 1626 for 60 Dutch guilders or $24 (the Dutch sent over a shipment of farm animals to Governors Island in 1625, 400 years ago).
As a business entity, New Amsterdam steadily developed trade, commerce and a culture of rich diversity. While Boston was hanging Quakers to establish a Puritan monoculture, the Dutch were fostering a polyglot society focused on making money. There were only 500 settlers then with 18 different languages spoken, including immigrants from all over Europe, native Indians, and even free black property owners. This tolerance of individuality, self-government and free trade values manifested into a divergent culture that exists today.
In the 17th century, the Dutch had the most democratic government in the world. When England won the Anglo-Dutch war in 1664, the governor Peter Stuyvesant was obliged to surrender and New Amsterdam was re-named New York for James, the duke of York then. However, the English recognized the success of this colony and contrary to their own government, decided to retain its structure and progressive values, guarantee residents’rights to their property and keep trading and worshiping freely. Diversity was encouraged and settlers held a voice in their local government. Immigration to America primarily through New York continued thereafter.
New York has remained outward looking, business minded, and globally oriented, while other colonies were more puritanical, Christian and America-first. Today New York is still the headquarters of finance, culture, the arts and media. This dynamism and diversity help explain the unique brand character of New York City.
