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Preservation actions performed
Preserve and provide access to historical and contemporary New York City government records. — Ensure historical records are preserved according to archival standards
DORIS's preservation-action count has largely tracked a grant-funded conservation project for the Brooklyn Bridge Drawings collection. Activity was elevated while that project and related work (like the Manhattan Building Plans collection) ramped up around fiscal 2023, then declined as unanticipated staff absences hit fiscal 2024 and the Brooklyn Bridge conservator's contract ended in December 2024, cutting into fiscal 2025 output; DORIS's fiscal 2026 reporting shows a further drop tied to that temporary project's completion.
Researched July 15, 2026 — DORIS, Fiscal 2024 Mayor's Management Report, DORIS, Fiscal 2025 Mayor's Management Report, DORIS, Fiscal 2026 Preliminary Mayor's Management Report
* Year to date — this fiscal year isn't complete, so it's not compared against prior years in the target/trend status above. The dashed marker projects a full-year estimate at the current year-to-date pace.
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| Fiscal year | Actual |
|---|---|
| FY22 | 8,145 actions |
| FY23 | 20,262 actions |
| FY24 | 17,151 actions |
| FY25 | 12,497 actions |
| FY26 (YTD) | 7,594 actions |
| FY26 (projected) | ~10,125 actions |
Why this is tracked
The push for a central city archive dates to 1939, when Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia's Municipal Archives Committee, led by librarian Rebecca Rankin, proposed consolidating city records into one properly maintained facility. DORIS itself was formally established in 1977 and now operates the Municipal Archives, Municipal Library, and Records Center. The Municipal Archives alone holds over 200,000 cubic feet of original documents, photographs, ledgers, maps, and moving images documenting New York City's government and history, material that would otherwise be vulnerable to loss, damage, or simply becoming inaccessible to researchers, journalists, and the public.
NYC Department of Records - About, Municipal Archives - the Institutional History, New York City Department of Records and Information Services - Wikipedia
Source: Municipal Archives Division — via NYC Open Data: Mayor's Management Report, Agency Performance Indicators
Coverage shown: FY22–FY26, reported monthly.
Definition: The number of records or holdings that require preservation work that have had any preservation action completed by the Conservation Unit including the necessary rehousing, conservation treatments and other specialized measures.