Five charter questions on your ballot, and what they would change for the Council

Early voting opens Saturday, October 24, and runs through November 1. Election Day is November 3. Every city voter's ballot will include five proposed changes to the City Charter. Mayor Zohran Mamdani's Commission on Government Efficiency (COGE) placed all five there. Mamdani created the commission in May. It held hearings in all five boroughs and approved its final proposals in July, THE CITY reported.

The commission says the goal is to cut delays. Its executive director, Ann Cheng, told NY1 in July that "efficiency is not about doing less." Speaker Julie Menin's office has raised concerns. Spokesperson Henry Robins told THE CITY the Council is "concerned by the speed and process" behind the proposals.

The five questions

This summary draws on amNY's guide.

Question 1: Permits to use public space. It would combine the separate sidewalk and roadway dining applications and drop the mandatory public hearing. It would also remove the Council's power to disapprove individual sidewalk café applications. Community boards, borough presidents and the local Council member would still get at least 15 days' notice to comment. It would take effect March 1, 2027.

Question 2: City contracting. It would let the Procurement Policy Board tailor paperwork rules for contractors and require the board to meet at least every quarter. It would also let the mayor hand some contract approvals to agency officials. COGE estimates it would cut about 30 days from procurement.

Question 3: Street projects, small land sales and office leases. It would speed reviews of bus and bike lane projects and limit lawsuits over minor paperwork errors. Cheng discussed that change at an October 20 talk, Streetsblog reported. It would also shorten the sale of small city-owned lots, and give the City Planning Commission, not the Council, the final decision on those sales and some transfers of development rights. The Department of Citywide Administrative Services could lease offices with fewer reviews.

Question 4: Building permits. It would create a central construction permit hub, with a target launch of December 2029 if funding allows. Waterfront construction permits would move from Small Business Services to the Buildings Department.

Question 5: Rainy day fund. It would set a reserve target of at least 12 percent of the prior year's tax revenue. The mayor would have to certify a compelling fiscal need before withdrawing more than half the fund in one year.

What our records add

The Council uses the power Question 1 would remove. This year the full Council voted on seven sidewalk café applications. It approved six and rejected one. On September 24 it voted 46 to 0 to disapprove a café at 45-18 104th Street in Corona (companion resolution). Members also used "call-ups" at least seven times to pull a Transportation Department café approval in for Council review. One example is M 0091-2026, from Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry in September. Under Question 1, those decisions would rest with the Transportation Department.

Outdoor dining is the one bill Mamdani has signed. In August the mayor signed Int. 655, Council Member Lincoln Restler's year-round roadway café bill. See our tally of mayoral actions.

Members have raised the administration's promotion of the questions. At a September 22 oversight hearing, Council Member Julie Won brought up videos of the mayor promoting the ballot proposals. The hearing was about the administration's use of social media influencers. On September 10, Council Member Frank Morano recalled that the Council had campaigned against last year's ballot measures that shifted land use authority.

The rainy day fund has been a budget fight. Speaker Menin said in June the Council wanted to set money aside in the fund. Finance Chair Linda Lee said in March the Council's analysis showed the city could protect services without drawing it down. The Citizens Budget Commission's president told THE CITY he would vote no on Question 5, arguing that 12 percent is too low, as Brownstoner's reprint notes.

What's next

If voters approve a question, its changes take effect on the dates written into it. Several of those dates fall in 2027. Official ballot wording and voting information are on the city's Charter Revision Commission site. Early voting sites are listed through 311.