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1894...Voters narrowly approve the consolidation of Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island into the Greater City of New York. Opposition is especially strong in Brooklyn – but four years later the merger becomes official.

1928...The first news is flashed along the zipper of the old New York Times building in Times Square. Five-foot letters lit by 15,000 lightbulbs announce Herbert Hoover's victory over New York Governor Al Smith for president.

2001...Billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg pulls out a last-minute victory to beat Democrat Mark Green in the race for mayor.

Today's New Yorker birthdays include director Mike Nichols, born in 1931.