The mayor of New York City serves a four-year term, and can serve up to two consecutive terms (a maximum of 8 continuous years) before needing to sit out at least one full term.

Basic term length

  • The New York City mayoral term is four years under the city charter.
  • This four-year structure has been in place (with some historical interruptions) since the early 20th century.

Term limits

  • Current law limits a NYC mayor to two consecutive four-year terms, for a total of 8 straight years in office.
  • After two back-to-back terms, a former mayor may run again, but only after a four-year break from the office.

Brief history twist

  • In 2008, the City Council temporarily extended term limits from two to three terms, which allowed Michael Bloomberg to serve three terms.
  • In 2010, voters approved a referendum that restored the limit to two consecutive terms for future mayors.

TL;DR: The term for mayor of New York City is four years, and the mayor can serve two consecutive terms (8 years total) before having to step aside for at least one term.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.