The Commissioner of Docks of New York City was the head of the Department of Docks created by the New York State Legislature's 1870 revision of the New York City Charter, which returned numerous powers to the city government that had previously been taken by the state. This version of the city charter was known as the "Tweed Charter", after its main advocate William M. "Boss" Tweed, who controlled much of local politics via the Tammany Hall political ring. At the time the charter revision passed, he was a state senator representing the Fourth District in Manhattan.
The Commissioner of Docks originally consisted of "a board consisting of five persons... appointed by the Mayor... who shall hold office for a term of five years." Their duties were established and defined by the commissioners of the sinking fund, which was responsible for all aspects of the city's borrowing and debt. Money for the repair and construction of wharves, piers, and slips was originally limited by the charter to $350,000, but the loose wording in this section of the charter allowed for many other expenses that quickly opened the commission to accusations of corruption, as was the case with numerous other city agencies that were controlled by Tammany Hall.
In 1873, the state legislature passed a charter revision, making the dock board a three-member commission.
Accusations of poor oversight of the docks and piers, and of the department's finances, were made from time to time, but in 1889, a scandal erupted. Two of the Dock Commissioners were charged by Mayor Hugh J. Grant with three counts of corruption – "neglect and malfeasance in office", "failure to observe and enforce provisions of law...", and "failure to acquaint themselves with the duties and necessities of the Department of Docks..." The accused commissioners countered that they had acted no differently than previous commissioners had done for decades, and that the mayor, who was a Tammany Hall crony, did not charge the third dock commissioner because he was also a Tammany Hall colleague. They were not removed from their jobs, and accusations others not collecting rents from leases of piers continued over the years.
The department was renamed the Department of Docks and Ferries in the city charter revision of 1897. The head of the department was made a one-person commissioner, with a deputy, by the city charter revision of 1901. The department was renamed the Department of Marine and Aviation effective January 1, 1942.
List of commissioners
| Name | Dates in Office | Mayoral Administration | Notes and References |
|---|---|---|---|
| As a Five-Person Commission Appointed by the Mayor | |||
| John T. Agnew (President) Hugh Smith (Treasurer) Wilson G. Hunt William Wood Richard M. Henry | April 11, 1870 – September 1, 1870 | A. Oakey Hall | |
| John T. Agnew (President) Henry A. Smith (Treasurer) Wilson G. Hunt William Wood Richard M. Henry | September 1, 1870 – January 3, 1872 | A. Oakey Hall | |
| John T. Agnew (President) John Grenville Kane (Treasurer) Wilson G. Hunt William Wood Richard M. Henry | January 3, 1872 – May 21, 1873 | A. Oakey Hall William F. Havemeyer | |
| As a Three-Person Commission Appointed by the Mayor | |||
| Jacob A. Westervelt (President) William Budd (Treasurer) William Gardner | May 22, 1873 – December 4, 1874 | William F. Havemeyer Samuel B. H. Vance | |
| Jacob A. Westervelt (President) William Budd (Treasurer) vacant | December 4, 1874 – December 11, 1874 | Samuel B. H. Vance | |
| Jacob A. Westervelt (President) William Budd (Treasurer) Salem H. Wales | December 11, 1874 – early 1875 | William H. Wickham | |
| Salem Howe Wales (President) William Budd (Treasurer) Jacob A. Westervelt | early 1875 – March 1877 | William H. Wickham Smith Ely Jr. | |
| Jacob A. Westervelt (President) Jacob Vanderpoel (Treasurer) Henry F. Dimock | July 11, 1877 – February 21, 1879 | Smith Ely Jr. Edward Cooper | |
| Henry F. Dimock (President) Jacob Vanderpoel (Treasurer) vacant | February 21, 1879 – December 10, 1880 | Edward Cooper | |
| Henry F. Dimock (President) Jacob Vanderpoel (Treasurer) William Laimbeer Jr. | December 10, 1880 – September 13, 1881 | Edward Cooper William R. Grace (1st term) | |
| John R. Voorhis (President) Jacob Vanderpoel (Treasurer) William Laimbeer Jr. | September 13, 1881 – May 3, 1882 | William R. Grace (1st term) | |
| William Laimbeer Jr. (President) Jacob Vanderpoel (Treasurer) John R. Voorhis | May 3, 1882 – February 14, 1883 | William R. Grace (1st term) Franklin Edson | |
| William Laimbeer Jr. (President) John R. Voorhis (Temporary Treasurer) vacant | February 14, 1883 – May 9, 1883 | Franklin Edson | |
| Lucius J.N. Stark (President) John R. Voorhis (Treasurer) William Laimbeer Jr. | May 9, 1883 – May 9, 1885 | Franklin Edson | |
| Joseph Koch (President) James Matthews (Treasurer) Lucius J.N. Stark | May 9, 1885 – late 1886 or early 1887 | William R. Grace (2nd term) | |
| Lucius J.N. Stark (President) James Matthews (Treasurer) Joseph Koch | late 1886 or early 1887 | Abram Hewitt | |
| Lucius J.N. Stark (President) James Matthews (Treasurer) Charles H. Marshall | May 9, 1887 – May 22, 1888 | Abram Hewitt | |
| Lucius J.N. Stark (President) James Matthews (Treasurer) Edwin A. Post | May 22, 1888 – November 9, 1888 | Abram Hewitt | |
| Edwin A. Post (President) James Matthews (Treasurer) vacant | November 9, 1888 – December 21, 1888 | Abram Hewitt | |
| Edwin A. Post (President) James Matthews (Treasurer) Charles A. Silliman | December 21, 1888 – May 22, 1889 | Abram Hewitt Hugh J. Grant | |
| Edwin A. Post (President) James Matthews (Treasurer) J. Sergeant Cram | May 22, 1889 – May 29, 1891 | Hugh J. Grant | |
| Edwin A. Post (President) James J. Phelan (Treasurer) J. Sergeant Cram | May 29, 1891 – May 1, 1893 | Hugh J. Grant | |
| J. Sergeant Cram (President) James J. Phelan (Treasurer) Andrew J. White | May 1, 1893 – March 21, 1895 | Thomas F. Gilroy William L. Strong | |
| J. Sergeant Cram (President) James J. Phelan (Treasurer) Edward C. O'Brien | March 21, 1895 – March 23, 1895 | William L. Strong | |
| Edward C. O'Brien (President) James J. Phelan (Treasurer) Edwin Einstein | March 23, 1895 - May 6, 1895 | William L. Strong | |
| Edward C. O'Brien (President) Edwin Einstein (Treasurer) John Monks | May 6, 1895 – December 31, 1897 | William L. Strong | |
| J. Sergeant Cram (President) Charles F. Murphy (Treasurer) Peter F. Meyer | January 1, 1898 – January 1, 1902 | Robert Van Wyck | |
| As a Single Person Appointed by the Mayor | |||
| McDougall Hawkes | January 1, 1902 – January 1, 1903 | Seth Low | |
| Maurice Featherson | January 1, 1904 – January 1, 1904 | George Brinton McClellan, Jr. | |
| John A. Bensel | January 1, 1904 – January 30, 1908 | George Brinton McClellan, Jr. | |
| vacant | January 30, 1908 – February 10, 1908 | ||
| Allan Newhall Spooner | February 10, 1908 – July 1, 1909 | George Brinton McClellan, Jr. | |
| Calvin Tomkins | January 2, 1910 – April 2, 1913 | George Brinton McClellan, Jr., William Jay Gaynor | |
| Robert A.C. Smith | April 2, 1913 – December 31, 1917 | William Jay Gaynor John Purroy Mitchel | |
| Murray Hulbert | January 1, 1918 – December 31, 1921 | John F. Hylan | |
| John H. Delaney | January 1, 1922 – June 30, 1924 | John F. Hylan | |
| Michael J. Cosgrove | July 1, 1924 – April 30, 1931 | John F. Hylan Jimmy Walker | died in office |
| vacant | April 30, 1931 – May 25, 1931 | ||
| John McKenzie | May 25, 1931 – December 31, 1941 | Jimmy Walker, Joseph V. McKee, John P. O'Brien, Fiorello H. La Guardia | became commissioner of the successor Department of Marine and Aviation |
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