Citydwellers will vote this fall on five charter revision proposals that could speed up the construction of affordable housing, but chip away at City Council member’s power — including a measure that would limit “member deference,” a controversial practice that allows council members to effectively veto housing proposals in their district.
The Charter Revision Commission, which was convened by the mayor, voted to advance the ballot proposals on Monday. Voters will decide whether to put the proposals in place in the ballot-boxes this November.
The proposals, most of which focus on housing, are meant to “fast track” affordable development by lifting some of the bureaucratic hurdles often slowing down the process, the commission said.
But some of those measures would chip away at the power City Council members have over new developments.
One proposal would hand over more authority to the City Planning Commission, which would be given the power to approve or block affordable housing in the districts that have greenlit the least amount of affordable housing.
The panel is also looking to change the appeals process by creating an “Affordable Housing Appeals Board” made up of the mayor, Council speaker and the borough president in which any particular development is located, instead of the mayor’s veto. That board would then be able to reverse Council decisions if two out of three of them agreed.
The panel had previously considered a version that would have subjected all housing developments to this appeals board.
Councilmembers, some who stand to lose some of their power, slammed proposals in a joint statement that touted the Council’s work on building more housing, including the approval of over 120,000 units,
“Mayor Eric Adams’ Charter Revision Commission conveniently ignored these facts to advance a self-serving narrative in support of expanded mayoral power, even as his administration hypocritically overturned housing at the Elizabeth Street garden that was approved years ago by the Council,” Speaker Adrienne Adams and Councilmembers Diana Ayala, Amanda Farías, Selvena Brooks-Powers, Justin Brannan, Keith Powers, Carlina Rivera, Rafael Salamanca Jr., and Sandra Ung said.
“This commission’s misguided proposals would undermine the ability to deliver more affordable housing, homeownership opportunities, good-paying union jobs, and neighborhood investments for New Yorkers across the five boroughs.”
The proposals are also likely to spark backlash from labor groups who oppose shortening the runway on projects and residents against new housing.
A third proposal would speed-up approvals for smaller and affordable projects.
The 13-person commission also voted to advance bids to shift elections to even-numbered years, to coincide with national elections, and digitize the city’s mapping system.
The panel previously decided against pushing for open primaries — a hot button issue that had advocates from all ends of the political spectrum up in arms.
The commission was convened by Mayor Adams in December and has for months been hosting public hearings and meetings to decide what to advance to the ballot.
