The New York City charter is undergoing its most comprehensive review in 30 years—and New Yorkers can help shape those revisions.
The city’s charter is a sort of municipal constitution. It creates the framework for the city’s government, controls how the city spends tax dollars, and shapes the decision-making process about changes to neighborhoods. The authority of public officials is defined through the charter, and so too are the processes through which those offices are held accountable.
Major changes were last made to the charter in 1989, when, on the back of their general election ballots, New Yorkers voted to eliminate the Board of Estimates, an office that had control over the city’s budget, land use, contracts, franchises, and water rates. This change was a massive retooling of the city’s government in and of itself. Voters also nixed the position of City Council president, creating the offices of the Council Speaker and Public Advocate in its stead.
Those charter revisions make their way onto the ballot, and will again come the November general election, after months of review and dozens of public meetings by a 15-person New York City Charter Revision Commission—made up of appointees by the mayor, the City Council speaker, the city comptroller, the public advocate, and each borough president. This year the commission has examined a variety of different offices and processes within the broader categories of governance, finance, elections, and land use.
Work to review the charter began in September with initial public hearings across the boroughs to gather input on what the commission should take a close look at. In January, those meetings drew to a close. Next the commission issued a list of areas it is focusing on, partially based on the feedback it heard from locals. Expert forums began in February and last week the commission released its 80-page “Preliminary Staff Report” of possible recommendations.
The report’s focus include elections and redistricting, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, conflicts of interest, the Public Advocate’s office, the Borough Presidents’ offices, the city’s budget, potential changes to the city’s land use processes, and exploring the creation of a Chief Diversity Officer in the Office of the Mayor. Now, another series of public hearings across the five boroughs is underway for input on specific proposals before the final proposals are drafted in June and then submitted to the City Clerk in July. The commission spends the months before the November general election educating voters on proposals they’ll have a chance to vote on come election day.
To weigh in on the specific proposals you’d like the commission to make, here are five public hearings being held across the boroughs where you can do just that:
Queens
April 30 at 6 p.m.
Jamaica Performing Arts Center, 153-10 Jamaica Avenue
Brooklyn
May 2 at 6 p.m.
Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street
Bronx
May 7 at 6 p.m.
Lovinger Theatre at Lehman College, 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West
Manhattan
May 9 at 6 p.m.
City Council Chambers at City Hall
Staten Island
May 14 at 6 p.m.
Williamson Theatre at the College of Staten Island, 2800 Victory Boulevard
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