A borough president is an elective office in each of the five boroughs of New York City. Borough presidents currently have little power in New York City government and generally serve as ceremonial leaders who advocate for their boroughs on key issues.
Borough presidents advise the Mayor, comment on land-use items in their borough, advocate borough needs in the annual municipal budget process, appoint community boards, chair the borough boards, and serve as ex officio members of various boards and committees. They generally act as advocates for their boroughs at the mayoral agencies, the city council, the New York State government, public corporations, and private businesses. Their authorizing law is codified in title 4, sections 81 to 85 of the New York City Charter, while their regulations are compiled in title 45 of the New York City Rules.
Borough presidents currently have a relatively small discretionary budget for projects within their boroughs. They advise the Mayor on issues relating to their boroughs, comment on land-use items in their boroughs, advocate for their boroughs' needs in the annual municipal budget process, appoint community boards, chair the boroughs' boards, and serve as ex officio members of various boards and committees. They also act as advocates for their boroughs at mayoral agencies, the City Council, the New York State government, public corporations, and private businesses. Borough presidents are currently elected by popular vote to four-year terms, and can serve up to three consecutive terms (12 years).
Borough presidents influence the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) by appointing NYC community boards and voting on the applications. The staff of boroughwide economic development corporations are often closely aligned with the borough president, and work closely with the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the primary coordinating agency of city-sponsored economic development.