Ken Fisher is quoted in THE CITY’s article discussing the approval of housing projects by limiting the power of the City Council. Some developers may choose to avoid involvement in a new project if certain City Council members represent the area and are generally unsupportive. In November, voters will have the opportunity to weaken member deference and increase the role of borough presidents, enabling some smaller projects to bypass Council approval. A set of charter amendments would allow many publicly financed, all-affordable projects to go through the Board of Standards and Appeals for approval, rather than the City Planning Commission or the Council.

One proposal would create a board of appeals composed of the mayor, speaker, and borough president, which would reduce the power of individual Council members. While the current borough presidents of Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn have generally supported development and strongly advocated for reforms, this may not be the case across the board. “And there might be a political price that borough presidents might not be willing to pay,” said Ken. The City Council attempted to make the Board of Elections exclude the reforms from the ballot, but this was rejected. Ken noted that last year, voters approved four of five proposals put forward by a previous Eric Adams charter commission, which was regarded as overly politicized and had no support from civic organizations. This year, civic organizations such as the Citizens Budget Commission and Citizens Union have endorsed the changes. Campaigns to get the proposals approved are being ramped up by pro-housing activists and could be significant for affordable housing.

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