City Hall and City Council come to blows over affordable housing ballot proposals
Affordable housing is one of the biggest issues driving the 2025 NYC Mayor’s Race. When New Yorkers go to the polls to elect a new mayor next month, they will also be voting on a series of ballot proposals that could significantly alter how the city approves or denies housing developments.
There are a total of six proposals on the ballot on Nov. 4, five of which were endorsed by Mayor Eric Adams and drafted by his appointees on the Charter Review Commission (CRC). Among those five CRC-crafted proposals, three have proved particularly controversial, igniting a long-standing feud between City Council and City Hall over the future of the city’s housing review procedure.
New York City faces a housing crisis, characterized by a historically low vacancy rate of 1.6%, with no clear mechanism in place to create more affordable housing.
Ballot Proposals 2-4 — which aim to “fast-track” affordable housing, more simply review modest housing projects, and establish an appeals board that could override the City Council on housing issues — are questions designed to “take the politics out of affordable housing,” according to a CRC spokesperson.
https://www.amny.com/news/city-hall-city-council-ballot-proposals/