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Manhattan, New York (U.S.)

New York County

by Mark Sensen, 25 July 2001

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The flag shown is that of the Borough President. The New York County (Manhattan) flag is as follows:

The seal is the same, surrounding the seal appear the words: "COUNTY OF NEW YORK" on top and "NOVEMBER 1, 1683" below. The writing appears right side up and is not separated from the seal and scroll.

The orange, white and blue stripes recall New York City's Dutch heritage (orange, blue and white). The seal's symbolism is as follows: The sailor represents the Dutch and the Brave the Lenni Lenape who originally lived here. The English are represented by the fishing plum on the left side of the scroll. The windmill, beavers and barrels represent New York's raison d'être, trade and commerce. The scroll reads "SIGILLIUM CIVITATIS NOVI EBORACI"; "SEAL OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK". The year appearing under the seal is 1625, which is the year of the first Dutch settlement. The crest bears an eagle over the northern hemisphere. This represents sovereignty and independence. It replaced the royal crown in 1783. New York County (also known as Manhattan) was organised on 1 November 1683 along with 11 other counties when the Royal Colony of New York was created by King Charles II.
Daniel S. Padovano, 20 November 2002

The sailor is English, I think, and also has a star sighting device behind him, coming from the scroll with the legend. (As there's no scroll on the Manhattan Borough flag, this doesn't appear). The Dutch are symbolized with the windmill. The crown was also on the arms of the colony as a whole, now (on the state flag) it lies upside down under the foot of "Liberty." The eagle, on the Western Hemisphere, replaces it there too.
Nathan Lamm, 21 November 2002