New York City Hall
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Nyc city hall jan06a.jpg New York City Hall is the seat of government of the City of New York. City Hall is located in Lower Manhattan on Murray Street between Broadway and Park Row and across from one of the campuses of Pace University. It faces south to the recently renovated City Hall Park.
The New York City Hall building was designed by John McComb, Jr. and Joseph François Mangin. Construction of the City Hall building began in 1803 and was completed in 1812. The building's front facade is marble and granite, while the back is sandstone. At that time of construction, the north end of the city was at City Hall.
City Hall houses the mayor's office and the New York City Council. Press conferences concerning city politics are frequently held on the steps of the building. The official setting for most mayoral news conferences is in the Blue Room. The mayor's staff and thirteen municipal agencies are located in the nearby Manhattan Municipal Building, one of the largest governmental buildings in the world.
Fences surround the City Hall building, with strong security presence by the NYPD. Access to the building is restricted to public tours (by reservation) and to those with specific business there. Despite the security measures, on July 23, 2003 at 2:08 p.m., a fatal shooting occurred inside City Hall. Othniel Askew, a political rival of City Councilman James E. Davis, opened fire in the chamber's balcony, killing Davis just minutes after the two had entered City Hall together. Askew was shot and killed by a plainclothes officer who was on the council speaker's security detail. The two did not pass through a metal detector, which is not unusual for elected officials and their guests. As a result of the security breach, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that, effective immediately, he and all other elected officials and their guests must go through the metal detectors.