It appears that New Yorkers will get something else to vote on this November after all. The New York City Board of Elections (BOE) has voted in favor of all the 2025 Charter Revision Commission’s questions on the ballot, which include three housing proposals to fast-track project approvals and form an appeals board.
The decision comes just a week after the New York City Council urged the BOE to reject the measures, claiming that they aim to "deceive voters." Keep in mind that one of the measures takes some power away from the Council, as the appeals board can overrule the legislative body by striking down or changing a rejected affordable housing decision.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams endorsed the proposals and celebrated the news.
“New York City faces an extremely low vacancy rate, and the independent Charter Revision Commission has identified key ways for voters to weigh in on city laws that have prevented us from building more housing faster," he said in a statement.
"These ballot proposals will allow voters to decide to maintain the status quo or revise the process for building affordable housing and smaller projects, while preserving local voices. After extensive public hearings and input, the independent Charter Revision Commission voted to place these proposals on the ballot."
Adams also indicated that rents could spike even more if the three initiatives weren't included on the ballot, because failure to act could further limit housing supply. A recent report from Realtor found that NYC median rents in the second quarter increased by 3.7 percent or $123 year-over-year to $3,491. A 2024 study by McKinsey & Company pinpointed that the city is 540,000 housing units short of meeting the demand, according to New York nonprofit group, the Citizens Budget Commission.
The other options that voters are set to have on the ballot on November 4 are Adams, along with former NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa, and Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, to serve as the city's next Mayor. Mamdani, who upset Cuomo to become the Democratic nominee over the summer, is considered the favorite. The 33-year-old has campaigned on freezing the rent, raising wages in the city to $30 per hour and building 200,000 rent-stabilized, permanently affordable homes.
But ultimately — everything on the ballot will come down to the decision of the city's residents later this fall.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.