Eric Adams’ Charter Revision Commission to hold hearings

The Charter Revision Commission convened by former New York City Mayor Eric Adams on his final day in office has scheduled a handful of public hearings across the city, setting the stage for the legally precarious group to consider a series of controversial potential changes to the City Charter over the next month.

Since its inception, the group has been interested in opening up the city’s primary elections – something a previous charter revision commission pursued, but ultimately dropped to prioritize several land use and affordable housing-related measures instead. While open primaries remain a priority for the 13-member panel, the group will also consider initiatives to “address anti-semitism, hate crimes, and protester interference with houses of worship,” additional housing and land use reforms aimed at spurring more affordable housing and prohibitions to bar elected officials from raising their own salaries while they are in office, according to Kayla Mamelak Altus, a commission member and Adams’ former press secretary. In addition to former first deputy mayor Randy Mastro offering the group pro bono legal services, the commission is composed of many of Adams’ allies. 

Specifics about how the commission might address these initial topics are unclear. Mamelak Altus noted the four issues were recommended by staff as a starting point. “The public comes and tells the commission what needs to be considered in the City Charter for the ballot proposals,” she said. Details about the four public hearings, which were scheduled in every borough other than Manhattan, and starting topics are expected to be published in the city record Wednesday. 

All have been hot topic issues in the early months of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s tenure. Critics, including Adams himself, have accused the mayor of not doing enough to crack down on antisemitism, pointing at things like his revocation of an executive order that adopted a broad definition of antisemitism and another that barred city employees from boycotting Israel. Mamdani has also been critical of legislation directing police to come up with a plan to implement protest buffer zones outside of schools (which Mamdani vetoed) and houses of worship (which he let stand).

After the City Council began moving forward legislation that would have automatically increased pay for elected officials last year, Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin announced that they would form a commission to consider the possibility instead. (The mayor has said he would not take a pay raise.) And the non-partisan, open primary system that the commission and its supporters have been mulling from the start is something that Democratic socialists like Mamdani generally oppose, as it is thought to benefit candidates who are closer to the political center. 

Much is still unknown about the commission’s future and its ability to get any proposals onto the ballot. There is little if any precedent of a charter commission established by a former mayor operating without approval from the new administration. And while there are ways for Mamdani to kneecap the group, it has managed to barrel forward regardless – at least so far. The 13-member panel voted in acting leadership at a meeting in late April after the person Adams initially appointed for the role of chair failed to file the necessary paperwork in time. Despite Mamdani not including any funding for the commission in his preliminary budget proposal, the group has explored the possibility of soliciting alternative revenue streams and is currently relying on donations and volunteers as Mastro continues to push the mayoral administration for support.

“Our administration and the Law Department are considering all options as it relates to the Charter Revision Commission,” said Dora Pekec, a spokesperson for the mayor. 

All of the locations for the upcoming public hearings were donated. The first, scheduled for May 27, will take place at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. That’ll be followed by another hearing on June 2 at God’s Battalion of Prayer in Brooklyn and another on Staten Island at the Jewish Community Center on June 9. The last that’s currently scheduled will be held in Queens at the Glow Community Center on June 23.  Mamelak Altus said the commission is still seeking a location to hold a meeting in Manhattan.