NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL

NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL

REPORT TO THE

2019 NEW YORK CITY CHARTER REVISION COMMISSION

JANUARY 2019

COREY JOHNSON, SPEAKER

FERNANDO CABRERA, CHAIR, COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS BRAD LANDER, DEPUTY LEADER FOR POLICY

CONTENTS

Introduction

2

Part I: Balance of Power in City Government

3

Part II: Voting & Elections

10

Part III: Police Oversight

12

Part IV: The City Budget

14

Part V: The Procurement Process

23

Part VI: Land Use

25

1|New York City Council

INTRODUCTION

The New York City Charter is the foundation upon which our City's government is built and, essentially, serves as a municipal constitution. It sets out the roles and powers of our elected officers, and establishes the structure and responsibilities of our City agencies.

New York State law provides us with a process for periodic comprehensive examinations of our Charter. Our modern City government was created through the Charter Revision process when voters adopted the recommendations of the 1989 Commission. No commission since then was tasked with examining our entire City's government, from top to bottom. No commission, whether in 1989 or since then, has consisted of representatives from every elected official in the City, with no one office holding a majority of the seats. After almost 30 years, both were long overdue. I am proud to have worked with thenPublic Advocate and now Attorney General, Letitia James and the Manhattan Borough President, Gale Brewer to create this commission through the Council's legislative process. We expect that the 2019 Commission will serve as a model for all future Charter Revision Commissions.

Yet, even for a commission as independent and inclusive as this one, the Charter revision process is best served when a commission receives a broad range of recommendations from the City's residents. City Council Members and staff have watched and listened to the thoughtful testimony presented at the hearings held by the 2019 Charter Revision Commission, and the public's embrace of this process has been the very epitome of `a government for the people' in action. With that same spirit, this report makes recommendations to the 2019 Charter Commission for changes to the City's Charter.

The recommendations in this report are the result of a long and deeply considered process, including many meetings of the Council's Policy Working Group, led by Council Members Brad Lander and Fernando Cabrera. These recommendations are divided into several broad categories, though together we believe they represent a plan for a more balanced and accountable City government that would be more directly responsive to the people that it serves.

2|New York City Council

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