The levels of government
The stack, from Washington to your block
Showing New York, where our coverage is deepest, as an example of the full stack. Set your place and every layer here becomes yours; all 50 states work.
Each layer of government decides different things about your life. Tap a layer to enter it. Tell us where you live and this page shows who speaks for you at every level.
The leadersWho runs each level, and who each of them answers to. No one reports upward; follow the appointment lines.
openFederal · Washington
United States
Taxes, immigration, Social Security, the military. Hardest to move: 1.7% of bills become law.
Speaks for New York
Gillibrand · Schumer Senate
15,580 bills this Congress · 79 laws
State · Albany
New York State
Rent laws, the MTA, schools, criminal law. Can override the city below it.
21,337 bills this session · 879 signed by the Governor
Your state senator and assembly member arrive as this layer deepens.
City · City Hall
New York City
Trash, zoning, restaurants, housing rules. Moves fastest: a committee vote means 99% odds.
The Council + the Mayor
965 bills in 2026 · 46 laws · 60 meetings ahead
51 districts, 5 boroughs, one map.
Borough · the county layer
The five boroughs
Each borough is a county with its own president, district attorney, and Council delegation.
5 borough presidents · 5 district attorneys · 51 Council districts
Set your location and yours leads the list.
Authorities
The unelected boards
The MTA, NYCHA, the Port Authority, and the EDC run transit, public housing, ports, and development. Nobody votes for them; someone appoints them.
4 authorities · who appoints each board, and where it meets
The MTA is a STATE authority; part of what the city gets blamed for is decided in Albany.
Your block
Community boards
Liquor licenses, zoning opinions, street changes. Advisory but first to hear everything, and each files an annual list of what your block needs.
59 boards · 3,809 budget requests to the city this cycle
Every board, its chair, and what it asked for.
Representatives from official rosters; counts from official records on each linked page. Layers we do not cover yet say so; nothing here is ever placeholder data presented as real.