.nyc

Overview

.nyc is a geographic top-level domain (GeoTLD) for New York City intended for the city's residents, institutions and businesses. It enables direct second-level registrations (example: yourname.nyc) and is promoted as a city-branded namespace to help New Yorkers and visitors find local services and organizations online. The public-facing site associated with the registry is www.ownit.nyc.

History

• Early proposals and alternate-root use:
  • name.space ran an alternative root that included a .nyc label from the late 1990s and applied in the 2000 ICANN round; that application was refused.
• Local advocacy and municipal involvement:
  • Queens Community Board 3 passed an "Internet Empowerment Resolution" in April 2001 supporting a local TLD.
  • Connecting .nyc (a non-profit formed by Thomas Lowenhaupt) and other local groups campaigned for a community-oriented .nyc.
  • The New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) issued an RFI in May 2009 and an RFP in October 2009 to solicit partners to obtain and operate .nyc.
• Application and delegation timeline:
  • March 22, 2012: DoITT selected Neustar as its partner to handle the application and operations for .nyc; Neustar agreed to pay the ICANN application fee.
  • June 12, 2012: City of New York submitted an application to ICANN for the .nyc gTLD.
  • May 24, 2013: The city's application passed ICANN initial evaluation.
  • January 23, 2014: The City received a Registry Agreement signed by ICANN.
  • March 20, 2014: ICANN delegated .nyc to the DNS root zone (implementation completed 20 March 2014).
• Post-delegation changes:
  • May 25, 2018: The .nyc registry updated its WHOIS access policy to protect personally identifiable information from public WHOIS searches.

Usage and Audience

• Intended audience:
  • Individuals whose primary domicile is in New York City.
  • Businesses, organizations and institutions with a bona fide presence in the city.
• Typical uses and goals:
  • Local branding for New York City businesses and organizations.
  • City government and municipal services using the domain to reach constituents.
  • Promotion of local commerce and tourism and to provide a clearer digital identity tied to NYC.

Registration Rules

• Nexus requirement:
  • Registrants must certify a "substantive and lawful connection" (Nexus) to New York City before registration.
  • Acceptable categories include:
    • Natural persons whose primary place of domicile is in the City of New York.
    • Entities or organizations that have a bona fide presence in the City (factors include regularly performing lawful activities in the city, maintaining an office or facility in the city, or directing activities toward city residents and businesses).
  • The registry conducts random spot checks to verify Nexus compliance.
• Structure and restrictions:
  • Direct second-level registrations are allowed (e.g., name.nyc).
  • The registry enforces Nexus-based eligibility restrictions rather than being an open gTLD.
• Fees and commercial terms noted during the procurement:
  • Neustar paid the $185,000 ICANN application fee on behalf of the city as part of the selection agreement.
  • Financial terms discussed in planning included revenue shares to the city (figures reported in sources included an estimated 40% share and various press-reported projections).

SEO and Brand Impact

• City branding and discoverability:
  • .nyc was positioned as a tool to promote local businesses, make municipal services easier to find, and strengthen New York City's digital identity.
  • The City framed the TLD as part of a broader "Road Map for the Digital City" to support digital services and economic benefits.
• Trust and data/privacy updates:
  • The registry's 2018 WHOIS policy change to limit publicly available personally identifiable information reflects privacy and trust considerations for registrants.

Notable Cases or Examples

• Operator selection and disputes:
  • Neustar was selected by DoITT in 2012 to manage the application and operations; this selection and the broader procurement process drew interest and some protest from earlier claimants such as name.space.
• Community and governance:
  • A .NYC Community Advisory Board was formed on March 22, 2013 with members including Thomas Lowenhaupt and Esther Dyson; the advisory board was later disbanded.
• Public advocacy and promotion:
  • Local advocacy groups (Connecting.nyc, DotNYC, Names@Work) and city officials debated and promoted different models for administering .nyc, including public–private partnership proposals and community-reserved name plans.
• Registry and policy milestones:
  • Key dates: Neustar selection (2012), ICANN initial evaluation (May 24, 2013), Registry Agreement (Jan 23, 2014), delegation to root (Mar 20, 2014), WHOIS privacy update (May 25, 2018).

% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

domain:       NYC

organisation: The City of New York by and through the New York City Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications
address:      255 Greenwich Street, 9th Floor
address:      New York NY 10007
address:      United States of America (the)

contact:      administrative
name:         IANA Contact
organisation: GoDaddy Registry
address:      100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address:      Tempe AZ 85281
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1 480-505-8800
fax-no:       +1 480-624-2546
e-mail:       iana@registry.godaddy

contact:      technical
name:         IANA Contact
organisation: GoDaddy Registry
address:      100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address:      Tempe AZ 85281
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1 480-505-8800
fax-no:       +1 480-624-2546
e-mail:       iana@registry.godaddy

nserver:      A.NIC.NYC 2001:dcd:1:0:0:0:0:10 37.209.192.10
nserver:      B.NIC.NYC 2001:dcd:2:0:0:0:0:10 37.209.194.10
nserver:      C.NIC.NYC 2001:dcd:3:0:0:0:0:10 37.209.196.10
nserver:      NS1.DNS.NIC.NYC 156.154.144.125 2610:a1:1071:0:0:0:0:7d
nserver:      NS2.DNS.NIC.NYC 156.154.145.125 2610:a1:1072:0:0:0:0:7d
nserver:      NS3.DNS.NIC.NYC 156.154.159.125 2610:a1:1073:0:0:0:0:7d
ds-rdata:     12721 8 2 37f945f2d915698dcda12f80c7306150223270f78ec1d96fffeb163a2b1eac22

whois:        whois.nic.nyc

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://www.mydotnyc.com

created:      2014-03-13
changed:      2024-04-17
source:       IANA