Council-weakening housing proposals survive the Board of Elections

New Yorkers will likely have an opportunity to vote on three ballot proposals intended to spur housing development this fall after all. New York City Board of Elections commissioners overwhelmingly voted to keep the measures on the ballot during a hearing in lower Manhattan Tuesday afternoon.

That decision followed a last-minute effort from the City Council to stop the housing-related measures from making it on the ballot. The decision kicks off the next phase of battle between the Charter Revision Commission convened by Mayor Eric Adams last year and the council, which stands to lose some of its authority to block new development projects if voters approve the questions.

A spokesperson for the City Council said that the chamber hasn’t ruled out taking legal action, though a decision had yet to be made as of Tuesday afternoon, and their chances of success are unclear. 

The three proposals at the heart of the dispute were created by the 13-member commission following months of public hearings and internal review of the city charter. They aim to make it easier to build housing in New York amid the city’s dire housing crisis. While the commission approved five proposals this summer, the City Council’s opposition centered on only the three that would have the greatest impact on members. One would create a three-person appeals board that could overrule a City Council decision to reject or modify an affordable housing development project. Another would create a new fast track for rezonings proposed in council districts that have allowed the least amount of affordable housing to be built and another would speed up the review process for modestly sized projects. The latter two would culminate with a vote from the City Planning Commission – not the City Council. 

The City Council urged commissioners to reject the measures in a letter sent in late August, arguing that the questions were misleading to voters and would undermine council members’ ability to reject or approve housing development projects in their districts – a longstanding City Council tradition known as member deference. Rumors swirled last week that a majority of commissioners on the Board of Elections was planning to side with the council, sending pro-housing and real estate groups into a panic. Efforts to rally around the proposals were far reaching. Through her top aide, Gov. Kathy Hochul even got involved, reaching out to the Board of Elections commissioners to urge their support for the proposals, NY1 reported.

Ultimately, the 10-member board voted to put all of the measures on the ballot during Tuesday’s hearing to certify the ballot. That decision initially appeared to be unanimous, though Republican Commissioner Michele A. Sileo – who attended the meeting remotely – later clarified that she’d voted no, but her microphone had been muted.

Even Democratic Commissioner Frank Seddio, who’d reportedly considered joining Republican commissioners to reject the measures, voted to approve them Tuesday. “I don’t think there’s any room for a lawsuit,” he told reporters, addressing the possibility that the City Council could still try and sue to get the proposals kicked off the ballot. “Frankly, the board, what we’re doing right now is allowing the ballot to proceed as it was recommended.” 

The board’s decision was met with relief from the commission and the measures’ supporters who’ve argued that the Board of Elections has no legal ability to reject the language.

“It’s just gratifying to have this chapter in the process behind us,” Alec Schierenbeck, executive director of the Charter Revision Commission, told reporters following the board’s vote. “We had a little bit of a heart attack over the last week and my pulse is straightened."

In a statement, a City Council spokesperson slammed the proposals, again accusing the mayor and the commission of “trying to deceive voters” through “misleading ballot proposals.” “We as New Yorkers shouldn’t be surprised that this effort to give the public’s power to developers comes from Mayor Adams, someone who has been selling our city out to Trump and aiding in his authoritarianism at nearly every turn,” City Council spokesperson Julia Agos said in a statement. 

While the City Council didn’t rule out suing over the board’s decision, the next phase of the battle is more likely to be political than legal as ballots must be finalized and mailed out by the 19th, leaving little time to make changes. Expect a sweeping public education battle to play out with both sides seeking to sway voters to approve or reject the ballot proposals. That includes a new political action committee dubbed Yes on Affordable Housing, which plans to spend $3 million in support of the measures over the next two months.  

“We are facing an existential housing crisis here in New York City and we are now out of time and out of excuses in terms of solving this problem,” said Democratic strategist Amit Singh Bagga, leader of the committee.