The June 26 meeting of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s hand-picked Charter Revision Commission focused on the role of community boards and the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), which governs the approval of building projects. The meeting produced no proposals for changes to the charter – reassuring to those concerned about potential limitations to the public’s voice in city governance and land development.
But it’s too soon to put worries to rest. As soon as the Mayor launched his commission in March, the City Council announced its own charter review project. We can expect that the council will also be looking at the community board and ULURP laws. Other prominent issues up for review by both groups are campaign financing and election district apportionment.
You can expect to see the recommendations made by the Mayor’s Commission on the ballot in the 2018 general election. Those made by the city council won’t come up until 2019. The charter was last reviewed in 1989.
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