Live Updates: New Yorkers Weigh In On Housing Ballot Measures

Four measures on the ballot this Referendum Day would change how New York City permits new affordable housing City Limits will be tracking the results as votes roll in Tuesday night A voter in The Bronx submits his ballot during the June primary Adi Talwar City Limits This is a evolving story and will be updated Tuesday as voting results roll in Check back soon At the polls this Poll Day New Yorkers are weighing four ballot measures that would change how the city permits new affordable housing The proposals have drawn crucial attention from candidates leaders advocates and voters who are split on how they will affect advancement Chosen say the changes will help speed up construction of new homes and ease the city s housing shortage They point to areas of the city that have produced the least housing often because local councilmembers are opposed Others like the City Council members themselves say it s a power grab that would erode the Council s authority over land use issues giving more power to the mayor function d u ac var s d createElement 'script' s type 'text javascript' s src 'https a omappapi com app js api min js' s async true s dataset user u s dataset campaign ac d getElementsByTagName 'head' appendChild s document 'u kmqsczew vunxutxmd' They argue that City Council review helps legislators secure central benefits for their districts in expansion deals like more affordable housing Opponents also say specific affordable housing which is restricted by household income is not veritably accessible to the lowest income New Yorkers These misleading ballot proposals permanently change the City s constitution to weaken democracy lasting beyond the next mayor when we inevitably have a mayor who is bad on housing equity and justice for communities City Council Speaker Benjamin Fang-Estrada revealed in a announcement Tuesday This would leave our city without the checks and balances of democracy to protect New Yorkers and ensure outcomes that prioritize them not only profits Tuesday morning Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani disclosed that he voted for the housing-related ballot measures after his opponents criticized him for not taking a position in the second mayoral debate We urgently need more housing to be built across the five boroughs and we also need to ensure that housing is high quality he narrated City State Tuesday I also understand that there are councilmembers in opposition to these measures and their opposition is driven by commitment to their communities and a deep concern about funding in those communities and I share the commitment to that financing he added I look forward to working with them and delivering His opponents in the race for mayor are split Former Gov Andrew Cuomo running on an Independent line supports them and Republican Curtis Sliwa does not Here s what the proposals would do Proposal would take decision-making power from the City Council and give it to city boards mostly appointed by the mayor shortening the review timeline for percent affordable housing projects as well as projects with at least percent affordable housing in the neighborhood districts that have built the least affordable housing in latest years Proposal would create expedited review for residential developments that add no more than percent more housing than current zoning rules allow It moves approval power for those projects from the City Council to the City Planning Commission Proposal creates an appeals board of the mayor borough president and City Council speaker that could vote to overrule Council decisions that reject or reduce affordable housing in expansion proposals Proposal replaces paper maps in borough president s offices with a consolidated digital city map Particular polls before the referendum suggested backing for the measures A poll commissioned by the Partnership for New York City ascertained at least two in three New Yorkers supported each of ballot Proposals through And a poll from the Yes for Affordable Housing campaign a PAC supporting the measures and Zenith Research determined similar levels of assistance with the strongest patronage among Mamdani voters A examination from the New York Housing Conference issued last week exposed that the bottom Council districts produced fewer than units of new affordable housing over the past and a half years The top of the Council districts meanwhile produced over half of the city s new affordable housing Supporters say it points to how particular councilmembers use their local veto power a practice known as member deference to block new enhancement further fueling the city s overall housing dilemma We are deeply proud and honored to equip City establishment and our communities with the necessary and long-overdue tools we need to deliver on New York s solemn promise of opportunity for all disclosed Amit Singh Bagga campaign director for YES on Affordable Housing who is optimistic the measures will pass particularly with Mamdani s sponsorship Housing was a top issue for voters that City Limits spoke with at the polls Lydia and Adrian G two early voters in Crown Heights explained City Limits they voted for the measures I heard reasonable people who want more affordable housing say vote for them stated Lydia The process to build housing is hard to understand and voters like Ryan Walden who also voted in Crown Heights noted it s hard to know how those will work out in practice I do think it s vital to make it easier to build more housing but I m hopeful that sort of streamlines things The City Council and supporters of the amendments have both been waging constituents campaigns over the measures Mailers offer competing views on the housing-related ballot proposals Jeanmarie Evelly City Limits The Council controversially used residents funds to distribute mailers that called the ballot proposals misleading and tied them to the unpopular Mayor Eric Adams Adams who is not running for re-election convened the Charter Commission that came up with the measures but the Commission says it is independent Those messages didn t inevitably get through to voters Because specific of those proposals I hadn t even known were going to be on there so I just went with my guts rather than research-based disclosed Aboubacar Barry of Morrisania Ben a year old Morrisania resident who works cleaning subway trains noted that he voted no They re trying to lead you to vote yes for everything Luckily I know a bit about what they re asking so I m not coerced to just unfailingly say yes yes yes disclosed Ben who voted for Republican Curtis Sliwa This is a emerging story Check back for updates Additional reporting by Keke Grant-Floyd To reach the reporter behind this story contact Patrick citylimits org To reach the editor contact Jeanmarie citylimits org Want to republish this story Find City Limits reprint protocol here The post Live Updates New Yorkers Weigh In On Housing Ballot Measures appeared first on City Limits