In the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, New York City voters will vote yes or no on five City Charter amendments covering outdoor dining permits, city contracts, street safety projects, construction permits and the rainy day fund. Based on Patch's report on Monday, the 26th, here is a summary of each measure and the positions for and against.
According to Patch, New York City voters will cast ballots on five measures to amend the City Charter in the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The measures concern outdoor dining permits, city contracts, street safety projects, construction permits and the rainy day fund. They were drafted by Mayor Zohran Mamdani's Commission on Government Efficiency after public hearings and a public comment process. On each measure, a Yes vote approves the amendment and a No vote keeps the current rules.
The outdoor dining measure is the one most directly relevant to restaurant and shop owners. According to the commission, permits for sidewalk cafes and roadway dining take up to eight months, with applications, public hearings and fees. The amendment would make hearings optional in some cases, eliminate the requirement to run newspaper ads before a hearing, and repeal the City Council's veto power over sidewalk cafe applications while keeping opportunities for residents to comment. The commission estimates the process would shrink to about two months and save each operator up to $1,800 in fees. Restaurant owners and several civic and good-government groups support it, while Common Cause New York opposes it, saying it could reduce residents' and elected officials' ability to influence decisions about public space.
The city contracts measure would have the Procurement Policy Board simplify the qualification questionnaires that contractors and nonprofits must complete, and require the board to meet at least once every three months. The mayor could delegate approval of some contracts worth more than $5 million to senior officials, and some public hearings would be replaced by written comments. The commission expects contracting time to fall by 12%, and Common Cause, Reinvent Albany and Citizens Union support the measure. However, some nonprofits and city officials have questioned whether delays faced by service providers would actually shrink significantly. The street safety measure would eliminate some internal reviews for bike lane, bus lane and pedestrian safety island projects, cutting project timelines by 33%. It is bundled with provisions that shift review of dispositions of small city-owned properties from the City Council to the City Planning Commission and eliminate some hearing and approval steps for office leases. Reinvent Albany criticized the bundling but later endorsed the full package, while groups opposed to bike lanes worry about reduced oversight.
The construction permits measure would create a one-stop portal to file about 40 types of permits now spread across 18 offices and agencies, and the portal would have to be running by 2030. Waterfront construction permits would move from the Department of Small Business Services to the Department of Buildings, and more senior Department of Buildings officials could approve certificates of occupancy. The rainy day fund measure would set a target of 12% of the previous year's city tax revenue for the fund, which was created by the 2019 Charter revision and now holds about $2 billion. The figure cited in the source report puts the fund at about $10 billion. The Mayor's Office of Management and Budget and the city comptroller would create a deposit formula and update it at least every four years, and withdrawals of more than 50% of the fund would require the mayor to certify an immediate fiscal need. However, there is no obligation to make deposits if the fund falls short of the target, so the Citizens Budget Commission and Reinvent Albany oppose the measure, while Citizens Union and Common Cause support it while acknowledging it falls short. City Comptroller Mark Levine has argued for a target of 16% of tax revenue.
The outdoor dining measure applies to the permit process for sidewalk cafes and roadway dining citywide, so it directly affects restaurant owners, while the city contracts measure applies to businesses and nonprofits that contract with the city.