On July 29, 2024, the 2024 New York City Charter Revision Commission (CRC) approved five ballot proposals following their final public meeting. The proposals include: clean streets, fiscal responsibility, capital planning, public safety, Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises, and modernization of City operations.
Clean Streets
This proposal aims to strengthen New York City Department of Sanitation’s ability to keep New York City healthy, safe, and clean by enhancing and clarifying its authority.
The amendment provides the Department of Sanitation the authority to clean any City-owned property at the mayor’s direction; clarifies that the Department of Sanitation may require garbage to be containerized; and extends the Department of Sanitation’s enforcement authority over vendors to consist of those vending on other types of city property, besides streets and sidewalks.
Fiscal Responsibility
This proposal aims to strengthen how New York City analyzes the fiscal impact of proposed local laws and address inefficient budget deadlines.
The amendment: requires an initial fiscal impact statement prior to a public hearing on a proposed local law; an updated fiscal impact statement be prepared prior to a vote on a proposed local law by the full City Council; mandates fiscal impact statements for proposed laws contain an estimate by the City Council and the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget is provided the opportunity to submit fiscal impact statements at the same time; and update several budget-related deadlines.
Capital Planning
This proposal focuses on promoting transparency, improving how the City collects critical capital planning information, and update capital planning deadlines.
The amendment includes having the City publish detailed information about the state of repair for facilities; requires the New York City Department of City Planning and the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget to consider city facility conditions and maintenance needs, geographic distribution, and other factors when developing the 10-Year Capital Strategy; and amend the date that the 10-Year Capital Strategy is due and public hearing date to align with the date for the City’s preliminary budget.
Public Safety
This proposal requires public feedback before the City Council votes on local laws affecting public safety operations of the New York City Police Department, the New York City Department of Correction, and the New York City Fire Department.
The amendment would require the Council provide the public, the mayor, and the commissioners of affected agencies at least 30 days in advance of a vote that covers a public safety proposal. During the period between the notice and the ultimate vote, the mayor and affected agencies could hold one or more additional public hearings on the proposal in order to solicit additional public input, though they would not be required to hold such hearings.
Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises and Modernization of City Operations
This proposal requires charter provisions be updated to improve city government operations.
The amendment consists of: adding the chief business diversity officer in the charter, evaluating the efficacy of city policies to address disparities in procurement and proposing needed changes to city policy; granting the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment the power to issue permits; combine two charter-created boards that share the same mission of reviewing municipal archives.
The ballot proposals were completed after a review of the entire City charter; 12 hearings across all five boroughs; and testimony from members of the public, experts, elected officials, government groups, and academics. The proposals have been submitted to the New York City Board of Elections to be placed on the ballot for November’s general election.
The approved ballot proposals do not include the City Council’s bill for advice and consent, Int. 908, passed earlier this year. Int. 908 would have amended the City charter to require the advice and consent of the City Council for 21 commissioner appointments. Since the bill limits an elected official’s power by restricting the Mayor’s ability to directly appoint commissioners, state law requires that the bill also be presented as a ballot question for voters before the bill can go into effect. The New York City Charter Revision Commission, which is appointed by Mayor Adams who is in opposition to Int. 908, determined the bill would not be included in the ballot proposals for the upcoming November election.
In response to this decision, Speaker Adams said, “The Mayor’s Charter Revision Commission’s proposed changes to the City’s constitution represent a power grab that will make government less responsive to New Yorkers by consolidating even more power to the Mayor and his agencies. The Commission’s failure to come close to the standards within its own proposals, let alone basic levels of transparency, is utter hypocrisy and denies any public input on the final proposals while approving them just two days after release to the public. This will undermine our local democracy, and protections established by oversight that ensure government serves New Yorkers and keeps our communities safe. The Mayor’s Commission is not only blocking voters’ rights to decide on the existing advice-and-consent proposal on the November ballot but is also taking away the will of the voters who elected 51 Council Members to represent them. This cynical attempt to weaken our city’s representative democracy must be completely rejected.”
Mayor Adams stated the following regarding the unanimously voted to approve ballot proposals for the upcoming November election, “On behalf of 8.3 million New Yorkers, I want to thank the distinguished members of this Charter Revision Commission for volunteering their service to our city. This dedicated group of veteran civil servants, former elected officials, community activists, and religious and business leaders brought their vast experience and diverse voices to the table to ensure that our city is working as efficiently as possible for all its residents and delivering a city government that reflects the needs and aspirations of millions of working-class New Yorkers. This commission carefully examined our city’s charter, heard from residents across all five boroughs, and approved thoughtful ballot proposals regarding cleaner streets, fiscal responsibility, public safety, capital planning, and minority- and women-owned business enterprises that their fellow New Yorkers will have the opportunity to vote on when they flip their ballots this November.”
By: Chelsea Ramjeawan (Chelsea is the CityLaw intern and a New York Law School student, Class of 2025.)