Design Flags of New York City

1 design

1.1 colors
1.2 symbolism
1.3 inconsistency

design

the city s first official flag, 1915.

section 2-103 of new york city administrative code ( official city flag ) establishes design follows: flag combining colors orange, white , blue arranged in perpendicular bars of equal dimensions (the blue being nearest flagstaff) standard design of seal of city in blue upon middle, or white bar, omitting legend sigillum civitatis novi eboraci, colors shall same of flag of united netherlands in use in year sixteen hundred twenty-five.

colors

the blue, white , orange refer colors of historical dutch flag. orange color dutch adopted after leader william of orange. committee s report stated order of arrangement follows practice found in french, belgian , other tri-colors, of placing darkest bar next staff.

the new-york historical society proposed adopting horizontal tricolor more reflective of historical dutch flags, committee kept vertical orientation.

symbolism

bald eagle: symbol of united states of america
native american: original inhabitants of area
seaman: symbolizes colonizers of area
beaver: symbolizes dutch west india company, first company in new york (originally known nieuw amsterdam). official animal of new york state.
windmill: remembers dutch history of city , prosperous industry of milling flour.
flour barrels: in 17th century, new york had been granted short-lived monopoly on milling, established fledgling colony commercial powerhouse
1625: 1664, year later changed honor establishment of new amsterdam, settled in 1624. 1625 date has been described arbitrary public historian @ new-york historical society , wrong michael miscione, manhattan borough historian.

inconsistency

although city code states seal s latin legend omitted flag, city s own webpage shows flag motto intact.