Res. No. 1285

Resolution officially designating “Gotham City” as the nickname of New York City.

By Council Members James and Gerson

Whereas, The name Gotham is derived from the Anglo-Saxon term for “Goat Town;” and

Whereas, The village of Gotham, Nottinghamshire, England, first gained notoriety in the thirteenth century when its residents feigned dementia, then thought to be a contagious condition, to avoid being subject to King John’s taxes; and

Whereas, The name Gotham was first applied to New York City in Washington Irving’s “Salmagundi Papers,” to draw a favorable comparison between New Yorkers and the shrewd inhabitants of Gotham, Nottinghamshire, England; and

Whereas, For over the past six decades, New York City has served as the model for Gotham City, the imagined hometown of Batman and his civilian counterpart, Bruce Wayne; and

Whereas, Gotham preceded “the Big Apple” as a nickname for New York City; and

Whereas, Several New York City-based institutions have incorporated the “Gotham” name into its title, including the Gotham Center for New York City History, the Gotham Gazette, Gotham Bar & Grill, Gotham Writer’s Workshop and Gotham Comedy Club; and

Whereas, Whether it refers to the clever inhabitants of a distant land, or a fictitious city protected by the Caped Crusader, the name “Gotham” will forever be inextricably linked with our great metropolis; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York officially designates “Gotham City” as the nickname of New York City.

LS#4276

DMB

1/7/08