NYC Council Moves to Keep Its Say Over Land Use Amid Push to Shift Authority

Mayor Eric Adams is getting pushback from the New York City Council as a set of ballot proposals aims to shift final say in approvals for new developments.

The City Council is asking the New York City Board of Elections (BOE) to block three ballot proposals put forth by Adams’s Charter Revision Commission that would hand this authority to the City Planning Commission or the Board of Standards and Appeals.

The central issues for the City Council, as expressed in a letter to BOE issued Tuesday morning, include potentially misleading language in the proposals, plus the fact that the agencies that would be in charge of approving rezonings for certain affordable housing and infrastructure projects would not be elected.

“Under current law, the City Council is the only democratically-elected body that has a vote on local land use decisions,” City Council leaders said in a letter to the BOE. “This is the only real authority that the public can rely on to influence decisions on a land use proposal within their communities, providing a powerful voice and serving as a strong and well-known lever of power for residents to influence development and investment in their neighborhoods.”

The Adams administration, which has sought to boost housing across the city however possible, has criticized the traditional process of reviewing major projects via community boards, borough presidents offices and the City Council as a drawn-out affair that slows progress in meeting the demands of the housing crisis.

“We are confident in the rigor and legal basis for the Commission’s important work to address the city’s housing crisis. The ballot questions clearly explain how the proposals would change housing and land use process in the City, including the consequences of a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote,” Casey Berkovitz, spokesperson for the Charter Revision Commission, said in a statement. “We will continue our education efforts to ensure that New Yorkers across the five boroughs learn more about these proposals over the next two months.”

The Adams administration and the BOE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“In particular, the three questions fail to inform voters that the ballot proposals will completely eliminate the City Council’s existing authority on behalf of the public to approve or modify a wide range of land use proposals—including many projects made up almost entirely of luxury housing,” the letter continued.

The letter was released hours before a BOE meeting in which the commissioners would weigh the proposals and any other matters regarding the November general election, during which New Yorkers will likely select a new mayor.

The City Council under Speaker Adrienne Adams has several times this year pushed back against the mayor for what they see as overreach, starting with Adams’s veto of a bill disapproving of a rezoning application for the proposed Bally’s casino proposal in the Bronx in July.

Adams said at the time that the final say in the casino permitting process should be decided by the New York State Gaming Commission.

The mayor again snubbed the City Council and the Street Vendor Advisory Board — made up of business, immigrant rights and real estate groups — by vetoing another bill that would bring about reforms for people selling goods curbside.

And earlier in August, Adams raised the ire of local elected officials and advocates when he killed a bill that would establish minimum pay standards and protections for grocery delivery workers, on the belief that it would cause food prices to increase.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.