# New York Burroughs **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 20, 2002, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-burroughs/115128 "2002-06-20T20:10:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mhill007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@mhill007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhill007)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2002, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-burroughs/115128/1 "2002-06-20T20:10:12Z")
Is the only location to use the term burrough (I hope its spelled right) New York, and if it is ,why is that?..any ideas?, my room mate wanted me to ask… ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2002, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-burroughs/115128/2 "2002-06-20T20:19:44Z")
No. Other places use it as well. For example, in Alaska, there are no counties, there are boroughs. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2002, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-burroughs/115128/3 "2002-06-20T20:22:45Z")
Unless you’re referring to William F., who was a New York Burroughs. ---
**Author:** ![Cap\_n\_Crude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Cap\_n\_Crude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cap_n_Crude)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-burroughs/115128/4 "2002-06-21T01:17:11Z")
William _F._? You don’t mean William _S._ Borroughs, do you? I’d never presume to correct you, **Eve** (though I suppose I just did). My guess is that either your dainty finger slipped while typing, or I’ve got the wrong guy. At any rate, **mhill007,** only the counties that comprise the Greater New York Area are referred to as boroughs. The rest of the state has counties. Even the boroughs are called counties occasionally; the usage is somewhat haphazard. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-burroughs/115128/5 "2002-06-21T01:45:01Z")
{quote]The rest of the state has counties. Even the boroughs are called counties occasionally; the usage is somewhat haphazard. The boroughs are both boroughs and counties.The usage is not really haphazard at all. Counties are divisions of the state, so for state functions such as the Supreme Courts, the county name (which is not always the same as the borough name) is used. It’s Kings Supreme Court, not Brooklyn Supreme Court. Boroughs are divisions of the city, so for city functions, borough names are used (Manhattan Boorough President, not New York County President) It only seems haphazard, because in the rest of New York State, a county contains cities,villages and towns. Only in NYC does one city contain a number of counties. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-burroughs/115128/6 "2002-06-21T05:23:03Z")
In an attempt to fight off a secession attempt by the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood areas in Los Angeles, some politicians are proposing a borough system of government for L.A. The city would be divided into 9 boroughs under the plan, although many of the details are very fuzzy. ---
**Author:** ![Hemlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Hemlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hemlock)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-burroughs/115128/7 "2002-06-21T11:36:39Z")
Borough simply means “town” or “district” for all practical purposes. It comes from “burg” - a fortified sett;ement. In England, many towns call themselves boroughs. Originally, they were towns with a royal charter giving them a degree of self-government. London is divided into 32 boroughs, plus the City of London (a tiny jurisdiction in the center). They have responsibility fir schools, public housing, garbage disposal (you can see the difference by looking at opposite sides of the street in some places). Public transport, Police and Fire are city-wide responsibilies. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-burroughs/115128/8 "2002-06-21T12:25:22Z")
Boroughs in Bergen County, New Jersey: Allendale, Alpine, Bergenfield, Bogota, Carlstadt, Cliffisde Park, Closter, Cresskill, Demarest, Dumont, Elmwood Park, East Rutehrford, Edgewater, Emerson, Englewood Cliffs, Fair Lawn, Montvale, Moonachie, New Milford, North Arlington, Northvale, Norwood, Oakland, Old Tappan, Oradell, Palisades Park, Paramus, Park Ridge, RAmsey, Ridgeifled, River Edge, Fort Lee, Franklin Lakes, Clen Rock, Harrington Park, Hasbrouck Heights, Haworth, Hillsdale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Leonia, Little Ferry, Lodi, Mahwah, Midland Park, Rockleight, Rutherford, Saddle River, Tenafly, Teterboro, Upper Saddle River, Waldwick, Wallington, Westwood, Woodcliff lake and Wood-Ridge. NOT Boroughs in Bergen County, New Jersey: City of Englewood, Township of Ridgefield Park, Township of Ridgewood, City of Garfield, City of Hackensack, Township of Lyndhurst, Township of Mahwah, Township of River Vale, Township of Rochelle Park Township of Saddle Brook, Township of South Hackensack, Township of Teaneck, Township of Washington, and Township of Wyckoff. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-burroughs/115128/9 "2002-06-21T13:20:26Z")
Oops. “S.” I saw Mr. Burroughs in, ummm, “concert?” once, and I thought, “if I wanted to see an insane cranky old man nattering on unintelligibly for an hour, I could call my father.” ---
**Author:** ![scott\_evil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@scott\_evil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scott_evil)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-burroughs/115128/10 "2002-06-21T14:04:22Z")
The “One Island, One City” municipal mergers on the island of Montreal created one mega-city with many boroughs. - s.e. ---
**Author:** ![Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ac91a4/32.png) [@Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knighted_Vorpal_Sword)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-burroughs/115128/11 "2002-06-21T14:16:25Z")
There are boroughs in Pennsylvania as well. ---
**Author:** ![Ceejaytee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ceejaytee/32/2956_2.png) [@Ceejaytee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ceejaytee)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-burroughs/115128/12 "2002-06-21T15:12:19Z")
I thought I would just jump in to name the only NY borough with a different county name that **doreen** missed: Staten Island is Richmond County. I was the only one in my elementary school class (in the borough/county of Queens) who knew that Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island had different county names and, 30 years later, I still feel the need to show off. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![twit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twit)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-burroughs/115128/13 "2002-06-21T20:34:38Z")
I should add, since I live in Louisiana, that we have neither counties nor boroughs. We have parishes. 🙂 (Guess we have to be different!) ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-burroughs/115128/14 "2002-06-22T02:54:30Z")
I’m surprised no one mentioned that the boroughs used to be separate cities. I’m not an expert on NY history, but that must have had something to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![Servo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Servo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Servo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2002, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-burroughs/115128/15 "2002-06-22T04:06:32Z")
There’s actually a little neighborhood, Marble Hill, in the south section of the Bronx that is part of New York County _but_ is a part of the Bronx Borough. It was a piece of land at the top of The Island of Manhattan, but when a canal was dug just south of it to facilitate shipping it became an island unto itself. Then the creek to the north of it, that was part of the Harlem River was filled in, it became connected to the mainland. So while they still vote in New York County elections, they receive city services from [and are physically connected to] the Bronx. In one county, but in another borough.