Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York

The New York Chamber of Commerce, founded in 1768 by twenty New York City merchants, was the first commercial organization of its kind in the country. Attracting the participation of a number of New York's most influential business leaders, such as John Jacob Astor, Peter Cooper, and J. Pierpont Morgan, its members were instrumental in the realization of several key initiatives in the region - including the Erie Canal, the Atlantic cable, and the New York City Transit Authority. The Chamber of Commerce survives today as the Partnership for New York City, which was formed from the 2002 merger of the New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the New York City Partnership.

On April 5, 1768 a group of twenty New York merchants met at Bolton and Sigel's Tavern, in the building leased from Samuel Fraunces that we now know as Fraunces Tavern, to form a mercantile union. Organized under the name the New York Chamber of Commerce, the society was designed to protect and promote the business interests of merchants in New York City. Following its relocation to the Royal Exchange in 1770, the Chamber petitioned Lt. Governor Colden and was granted a royal charter from King George III incorporating it as “the Corporation of the Chamber of Commerce in the City of New York in America.”

At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, the membership was divided into loyalist and patriot factions. Patriot members, including John Cruger, the first President of the Chamber, and William Malcolm left New York City after the British invasion of 1776 while their loyalist counterparts continued to hold meetings and transact business in the City.

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