Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse than City of Yes, the Charter Commission released a report that threatens to upend every neighborhood in NYC, even if we prevail in our lawsuit. Back in December, four days after the City of Yes was passed with modifications by the City Council, the Mayor convened this Charter Revision Commission to craft ballot proposals that includes everything he wanted – and then some. 
Check out what they are putting up for a vote this year:
• BALLOT QUESTION #2: Fast Tracking Affordable Housing
• BALLOT QUESTION #3: Simplify Review of Modest Housing
and Infrastructure Projects
• BALLOT QUESTION #4: Establish a Land Use Appeals Board
with Council, Borough, and Citywide Voices
• BALLOT QUESTION #5: Modernize the City Map
• BALLOT QUESTION #6: Even Year Elections
Let’s focus on the first three proposals, in order of how bad they are for us. (ELURP = Expedited Land Use Review Process)

LANGUAGE SUPPORTING BALLOT QUESTION #3: 
“In low-density districts (zoned R1 through R5), ELURP would be available only for zoning map changes to another low- density district, enabling modest multifamily housing with a standard height limit of not more than 45 feet and a maximum residential FAR of not more than 2.0”

In a nutshell, this means apartment buildings will be allowed in current low-density zones – EVERYWHERE. For reference, 45 feet tall apartment buildings at a 2.0 FAR is the equivalent of an R5D zone. This would allow, for example, a four-story apartment building with six units and no parking replacing a typical one-family house on a 40’ x 100’ lot in an R2 zone.

“In medium- and high-density areas (zoned R6 and above), ELURP would enable a type of gentle increase in density that ULURP effectively prohibits. Specifically, zoning map changes that result in an increase in standard residential capacity of 30% or less would be eligible for ELURP.”

This means that every current zone in this category would allow the height and density of the next highest zone – EVERYWHERE. Tall and dense buildings will become taller and denser.

LANGUAGE SUPPORTING BALLOT QUESTION #4:​
“To strike a better balance between local, boroughwide, and citywide voices in the land use review process, this proposal would replace the mayoral veto with a new three-person body: an Appeals Board with representation from the Borough President of the affected borough, the Speaker, and the Mayor, or their designees. If two-thirds of the Appeals Board agrees, a City Council disapproval of a land use action, or individual modifications made by the Council, could be reversed.”

This basically brings back the old Board of Estimate – which was abolished in 1989 for being unconstitutional and brought about our current form of government – in a slightly different version and eliminates Councilmember deference, or the idea that if there’s a project or rezoning in a Councilmember’s district that constituents are opposed to and that Councilmember states opposition, the rest of the Council will respect that and vote against it. This would allow for this new “Appeals Board” to reverse the Council’s decision. In reality, a developer wouldn’t have to care as much about pleasing and negotiating with the local Councilmember who reports directly to the affected constituents under this Appeals Board.

LANGUAGE SUPPORTING BALLOT QUESTION #2:
“The Affordable Housing Fast Track is a targeted effort to promote more equitable development of affordable housing while preserving the ordinary process of land use review in most of the city. Under this proposal, the Affordable Housing Fast Track would only come into play in the 12 community districts that permit the least affordable housing — that is, the bottom fifth of all districts. By design, this proposal would affect only outlier districts: the few that produce the lowest affordable housing.”

This will mean that there will be increased targeted development steered to 20% of Community Boards on top of all the regular development that we will see over that time. This is an idea that was part of Corey Johnson’s Planning Together abomination that we killed in early 2022. It was a terrible idea then and remains one today.

This directly targets most of the outer boroughs, especially those considered transit deserts. Folks – this Mayor remains laser-focused on destroying our neighborhoods to help “his developers” as he has called them repeatedly.

Mayor Adams is acting like an innocent bystander in what may become one of the most egregious power grabs in the history of New York City. Charter Revision Commissions are created and empowered to push the agenda of those that create it, whether it is the Mayor or the City Council. The rogue’s gallery that makes up this Charter Revision Commission is stacked with many of the same people and groups that were directly behind the original City of Yes before the City Council modifications (which are still awful and why we are going to court on July 16th). This commission is Eric Adams incarnate. He is not incidental; he is its progenitor.
Make no mistake: Eric Adams has been and continues to be directly responsible for the dismemberment and destruction of our city for the sole benefit of “his developers” – and himself.

VOTE NO ON ALL OF HIS BALLOT PROPOSALS.