by Jeff Wice & Alexis Marking
ELECTIONS
State Board of Elections Sued Over the Equal Rights Amendment’s Ballot Language
A new law enacted last year requires ballot language for voter referendum questions in New York State to be written in plain language at “no higher than an eighth-grade reading level.” The ballot language for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which was approved to appear on the November ballot, has … <Read More>
On July 17, 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul signed S.9839/A.10540, which provides 16 additional Family and Civil Court judges to New York City, among other judges statewide. This legislation aims to address delays and backlogs throughout the family and civil court process and expedite proceedings.
By Jeff Wice and Alexis Marking
VOTING RIGHTS
Mt. Pleasant: Town Board Challengers Ask For Court Conference
Attorneys for the voters challenging Westchester County’s town board over vote dilution issues under the state’s voting rights act have asked Judge David Everett of Westchester County State Supreme Court to schedule a conference to resolve a dispute between the challengers and the town’s Industrial Development Agency. The challengers argue that the agency needs to provide more … <Read More>
REDISTRICTING
Orange County Legislature Fails to Advance New Map
The Orange County Legislature failed to advance three county legislative draft maps to the public hearing stage after a meeting on July 26th lost its quorum of legislators necessary to move the maps to the next stage. The county needs to have a new map in place before petitioning for the 2025 primary gets underway next year.
On May 28, 2024, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) announced the initiation of the Climate Resiliency Initiative. This initiative aims to preserve the city’s waterfront historic areas by improving the speed and effectiveness of Landmarks’ response to future extreme weather events caused by climate change that will affect New York City’s waterfront historic resources.
On March 4, 2024, the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) Director Dan Garodnick announced the release of the ‘Principles of Good Urban Design’, an illustrated guidebook that strives to make New York City’s urban design principles clear and understandable to the public. The goal of the guidebook is to inspire all New Yorkers to put the principles of good urban design into action in their own communities.