Following is a list of genealogy resources we turn to when we reach the limits of our own archive. All of these resources are provided by public NYC institutions, and are available online for no cost.
The New York City Municipal Archives holds birth, death, and marriage records.
New York City directories record the names and addresses of city residents, businesses, churches, schools, police stations, courts, and other government offices, as well as the names of individuals associated with those institutions. They also feature images, including maps, illustrations of buildings, and advertisements. Some directories also listed profession, work address, and race.
Over the past decade NYPL has digitized nearly 9,000 pages from 162 atlases documenting New York City's changing geography and built environment. The majority of these maps are fire insurance maps (some of the most detailed city maps ever published) depicting building footprints, lot dimensions, shoreline locations and a few even show property ownership.
Newspapers.com is the largest online newspaper archive consisting of 300+ million pages of historical newspapers from 11,100+ newspapers from around the United States and beyond, with a special focus on full runs and portions of runs of well-known, regional and state titles in addition to small local newspapers. Free for NYPL cardholders.
The NYC Department of Buildings building information search site provides records of ownership, renovations, complaints, businesses/tenants, etc.
Between 1939 and 1941, the Works Progress Administration, in conjunction with the New York City Department of Taxation, organized teams of photographers to shoot pictures of every building in the five boroughs of New York City. They’re now digitized and available online:
