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Boundaries, Districts, and Zones in New York City: Neighborhood Services

This guide covers how to find cartographic materials related to the internal boundaries, districts, and zones of New York City.

Neighborhood Services

Using maps to look at the services that are provided for each neighborhood in NYC, some questions you can answer include: 

  • Where are neighborhood services being offered in NYC?
  • How are these neighborhood services districted throughout the communities?
  • Are these services equally distributed amongst all of NYC?
  • Are there patterns of where these services are being distributed?

To answer these types of questions, please see below for examples of maps that depict various types of neighborhood services.

Quick Links to Each Section on Page:

School Districts | Postal Zones | Green Spaces | Business Improvement Districts (BID)

School Districts

When using the Online Research Catalog:

For maps showing current school districts, please visit New York City's Department of Education website for the following resources:

schools districts

Image Source: Plan of the City of New York : showing the wards and school districts. 1870. NYPL Digital Collections Image ID 5056957

Directories

When reviewing maps of school districts, you can utilize them alongside certain school-related directories to get a sense of which schools, staff members, and administrators were working in the region.

For instance, 1931's directory from the Official directory of the Board of Education of the City of New York series includes the address, district, division, how many classrooms, grades, principal, district superintendent, and telephone number for each school.

For more information on how to find directories with school-related information, please refer to the blog post Class Act: Researching New York City Schools with Local History Collections by the Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy.

1931 school directory entry

Page 126 of 1931's directory from the Official directory of the Board of Education of the City of New York series (STF (New York (City). Education Dept. Directory of the Board of Education) 1931)

To find supplementary books and documents related to school districts, please conduct the searches listed on this page's "Catalog Tips" with "Cartographic" NOT checkmarked  in our Online Research Catalog. From these results, you can also checkmark any of the other listed formats. See below for a list of recommended materials when "Text" is checkmarked

Postal Zones

Zip codes Queens When using the Online Research Catalog:

Image Source: Excerpt from "New York City - Postal Zones XVII" from New York City 5 borough Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens & Staten Island, New York street atlas. [2014]. Map Div. 21-660

To find supplementary books and documents related to postal zones, please conduct the searches listed on this page's "Catalog Tips" with "Cartographic" NOT checkmarked  in our Online Research Catalog. From these results, you can also checkmark any of the other listed formats. See below for a list of recommended materials when "Text" is checkmarked:

 

Green Spaces

When using the Online Research Catalog:

For additional maps on green spaces in New York City, please review the following resources:

  • New York City Tree Map via NYC Parks
    • "...includes information about every tree in New York City that is managed by [NYC Parks] Forestry team, and it updates weekly...updated to include inspections and work orders, forested areas, and even trees in parks!." 
  • NYC Waterfront Access Map via NYC Planning's website
    • Shows public access areas, as well as  public parks and facilities, that are on the waterfronts.
  • Community Gardens on the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation
    • "Find a Community Garden Near You" map allows you to search for community gardens. Clicking on a garden will lead to additional information about the green space.
  • Hiking in NYC Parks on the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation
    • Provides access to interactive trail maps in parks throughout the 5 boroughs.

Image Source: Public squares, parks, and places in the City of New York. 1852. NYPL Digital Collections Image ID 5056876

To find supplementary books and documents related to green spaces, please conduct the searches listed on this page's "Catalog Tips" with "Cartographic" NOT checkmarked  in our Online Research Catalog. From these results, you can also checkmark any of the other listed formats. See below for a list of recommended materials when "Text" is checkmarked:

Additional non-NYPL publications that might be useful for your research can be found below:

Business Improvement Districts (BID)

When using the Online Research Catalog:

For maps of current BID districts, please utilize the following resources:

  • SBS Neighborhood Development Map
    • Use the right panel to facet which districts and types of development you are interested in reviewing. For this topic, of interest is "NYC Business Improvement Districts."
      • When clicking on a district in this layer, the resulting pop-up will share information on the year that the BID was established, total storefronts, assessment revenue for the fiscal year, expenses for the fiscal year, and a link to the BID's website.

The Fashion Center

Image Source: The Fashion Center : [Manhattan, New York, N.Y.] c1994. Map Div. 95-360

To find supplementary books and documents related to Business Improvement Districts (BID), please conduct the searches listed on this page's "Catalog Tips" with "Cartographic" NOT checkmarked  in our Online Research Catalog. From these results, you can also checkmark any of the other listed formats. See below for a list of recommended materials when "Text" is checkmarked:

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