Category Archives: 2010 NYC Charter Revision

Charter Commission Reveals Ballot Issues

Posted on July 12, 2010 | Leave a comment

Lorna B. Goodman

Mayor Michael Bloomberg will like what his charter revision commission plans to place on November’s ballot.

After a whirlwind round of 13 public hearings, meetings and panel discussions, and consideration of testimony from hundreds of individuals and groups, the 2010 NYC Charter Revision Commission has narrowed its ballot agenda to include term limits, which satisfies Bloomberg’s 2008 commitment to billionaire term limits advocate Ron Lauder, along with several other changes that could subtly shift power towards Bloomberg’s end of City Hall.

The selected issues are laid out in a July 9 staff report, which the commission will discuss at its 6:00 PM July 12 public meeting at the Surrogate’s Courthouse in Manhattan. Continue reading →

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Posted in 2010 NYC Charter Revision

Tagged 2010 charter revision, 2010 NY charter, bloomberg charter, charter revision, instant run-off voting, Lorna B. Goodman, Matthew Goldstein, Mayor Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Charter, New York City government, non-partisan elections, NY charter commission, NY charter revision, NY City Council, NYC charter, nyc charter revision, NYC City Council, NYC Government, NYC term limits, term limits

Matthew Goldstein: NYC Needs Real Estate Development

Posted on June 28, 2010 | 1 comment

Matthew Goldstein

Chairman Matthew Goldstein used a discussion about community benefits agreements (CBAs) at the charter revision commission’s June 24 Land Use forum in Queens to voice his conviction that real estate development and growth are essential to New York City’s economic future. He did not use the session to reveal which issues his commission will place on November’s ballot.

CBAs are “side deals” by which a real estate developer may agree to provide a public benefit to a community group, e.g., jobs, loans, unrelated contracts, in return for its support of a project. They are unregulated private agreements, negotiated by private parties outside of the ULURP framework, and can substantially increase a project’s cost. Continue reading →

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Posted in 2010 NYC Charter Revision

Tagged 2010 charter revision, 2010 NY charter, Anthony Crowell, bloomberg charter, CBAs, charter revision, Christopher Collins, Citywide Statement of Needs, community benefits agreements, David Karnovsky, Development, Eddie Bautista, Fair Share, Frank Morano, Hope Cohen, Kingsbridge Armory Mall, land use, Matthew Goldstein, Mayor Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Charter, New York City government, NY charter commission, NY charter revision, NYC charter, nyc charter revision, NYC Government, Paul D. Selver, Ronald Lauder, Tom Angotti, Vishaan Chakrabarti

Charter Revision: Hints of What’s to Come

Posted on June 22, 2010 | Leave a comment

Matthew Goldstein

Past practice suggests that charter revision chair Matthew Goldstein will use the commission’s June 24 forum on Land Use to signal what his panel will focus on as it moves into summer.

We — and others — have criticized the NYC Charter Revision Commission’s calendar, which delays publication of land use proposals until July. This is too late for most community boards to draw residents to public hearings to comment on any proposed changes. The commission must submit its final proposals to the City Clerk by Labor Day to get them on November’s ballot. Continue reading →

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Posted in 2010 NYC Charter Revision

Tagged 2010 charter revision, 2010 NY charter, bloomberg charter, CEQR, charter revision, Christine Quinn, Community Boards, Lorna Goodman, Matthew Goldstein, Mayor Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Charter, New York City government, New york Community boards, NY charter commission, NY charter revision, NYC charter, nyc charter revision, NYC Government, Queens Civic Congress, Ronald Lauder, ULURP

Brad Hoylman Responds

Posted on June 14, 2010 | 2 comments

Brad Hoylman

Brad Hoylman took the time to phone us to explain his June 10 Charter Revision Commission invited testimony. He asked why we oppose his proposal — indistinguishable from that of Manhattan BP Scott Stringer — to force each community board to hire a planner to provide technical support on land use, transportation, liquor license, or sidewalk café issues.

Hoylman said having such a planner on staff would give community boards “teeth” — in our view, an overstatement — and would help boards “inhibit new development” as well as support it. Taking his assertions at face value, we tried to explain our concerns. Continue reading →

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Posted in 2010 NYC Charter Revision

Tagged 2010 charter revision, 2010 NY charter, bloomberg charter, Brad Hoylman, charter revision, Community Boards, Development, Mayor Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Charter, New York City government, New york Community boards, NY charter commission, NY charter revision, NY City Council, NYC charter, NYC City Council, NYC Government

Who is Brad Hoylman?

Posted on June 11, 2010 | 6 comments

Brad Hoylman

The strongest push to hobble NYC’s community boards by forcing them to hire dedicated planners and revert to a narrower “planning board” role (an idea we strongly oppose) came not from Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, but from the former chairman of Manhattan Community Board 2, Brad Hoylman, who was one of five invited “experts” who spoke at the Charter Revision Commission’s June 10 session on Government Structure in Staten Island. Why the commission chose Hoylman as a featured guest became evident upon examination of his credentials. Continue reading →

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Posted in 2010 NYC Charter Revision

Tagged 2010 charter revision, 2010 NY charter, Angela Mariana Freyre, bloomberg charter, Brad Hoylman, Carlo Scissura, charter revision, Christine Quinn, Community Boards, Douglas Muzzio, Eric Lane, Father Joseph McShane, Gale Brewer, Gerald Benjamin, Marc Shaw, Matthew Goldstein, Mayor Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Charter, New York City government, New york Community boards, NY charter commission, NY charter revision, NY City Council, NYC charter, nyc charter revision, NYC City Council, NYC Government

Voter Participation Takes the Spotlight

Posted on June 1, 2010 | Leave a comment

John Banks and Matthew Goldstein

This week’s charter revision commission forum on Voter Participation will take place at Lehman College in The Bronx at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, June 2. With live webcasting in place, it’s a fair bet that relatively few residents of Brooklyn or Staten Island will make the journey to personally attend —- except for members of the Independence Party and its youth affiliate, the All Stars Project.

The Independence Party — now New York State’s third largest — perennially pushes for non-partisan elections: a voting change that in NYC would weaken the dominant Democratic Party and make it easier for well-funded media campaigns to trump grass-roots voter organizing at the polls. Continue reading →

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Posted in 2010 NYC Charter Revision

Tagged 2010 charter revision, 2010 NY charter, bloomberg charter, charter revision, Community Boards, Matthew Goldstein, Mayor Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Charter, New York City government, New york Community boards, non-partisan elections, NY charter commission, NY charter revision, NY Independence Party, NYC charter, NYC Government, NYC Independence Party, The Hankster

Charter Revision Focuses on Term Limits

Posted on May 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

John Keefe

To jaded journalists, Tuesday’s charter revision commission forum on term limits provided a stimulating, wonkishly entertaining, and ultimately inconsequential diversion. One observer sitting in the second row at Brooklyn’s Borough Hall chuckled throughout.

To John Keefe, who spoke for Brooklyn Assemblyman James Brennan, the forum — and the commission itself — were “part of a cynical and opportunistic deal” that Mike Bloomberg had made in October, 2008 with billionaire term limits advocate Ron Lauder as the price for Lauder’s non-opposition to Bloomberg’s run for a third term as mayor. Continue reading →

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Posted in 2010 NYC Charter Revision

Tagged 2010 charter revision, 2010 NY charter, Assemblyman James Brennan, bloomberg charter, charter revision, Matthew Goldstein, Mayor Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, Michael D. D. White, Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Charter, New York City government, non-partisan elections, Noticing New York, NY charter commission, NY charter revision, NYC charter, NYC Government

Term Limits and Non-partisan Elections

Posted on May 24, 2010 | Leave a comment

The 2010 charter revision commission’s upcoming Tuesday evening “issues forum” on term limits is just a detour on Mike Bloomberg’s path towards increased political power for members of the Billionaires Club.

The real thrust will play out the following week, when Bloomberg’s commission discusses non-partisan elections. Why are those so important to billionaires?

Joseph J. Savino, the Bronx Republican chairman, answered this for Sam Roberts of the NY Times: Non-partisan elections eliminate the need for party primaries, thus robbing the parties of a major raison d’etre. To Savino, as well as to most Democratic Party leaders, political parties are the only way to counter great personal wealth. Roberts writes:

“Mr. Savino said the party organization was “what separates the ability of an everyday person who doesn’t have a billion dollars to get on the ballot.”

“’If you’re just Joe Citizen,’ he said, ‘you need an organization.’”

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Posted in 2010 NYC Charter Revision

Tagged 2010 charter revision, 2010 NY charter, bloomberg charter, charter revision, Joseph J. Savino, Mayor Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Charter, non-partisan elections, NY charter commission, NY charter revision, NYC charter, term limits

Charter Revision Alumni Weigh In

Posted on May 18, 2010 | 1 comment

F. A. O. Schwarz, Jr. photo courtesy praxagora.com

You wouldn’t expect that a panel discussion by former charter revision commission chairs would be enlightening or amusing, but it was both. Monday’s webcast panel at Baruch College featured former commission chairs Richard Ravitch (1986-88), F.A.O. Schwarz, Jr. (1989), Randy Mastro ( 1999, 2001), Frank Macchiarola (2003), and Ester Fuchs (2005). Current commission chair Matthew Goldstein moderated; several of his colleagues participated in the questioning.

The senior panelists agreed that Mayor Bloomberg’s 2010 commission has no choice but to address term limits (although they couldn’t agree on how), that New York’s strong mayoralty must continue, and that the borough presidents’ offices should be strengthened. What they didn’t agree on — term limits, their impact on minority voting, the fate of the public advocate, and non-partisan elections — provided some lively back-and-forth. Continue reading →

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Posted in 1989 NYC Charter, 2010 NYC Charter Revision

Tagged 1989 Charter Revision, 2010 charter revision, 2010 NY charter, bloomberg charter, Board of Estimate, Borough Presidents, charter revision, Community Boards, Eric Lane, Ester Fuchs, F.A.O. Schwarz, Frank Macchiarola, Jr., Matthew Goldstein, Mayor Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Charter, New York City government, New york Community boards, non-partisan elections, NY charter commission, NY charter revision, NY City Council, NYC charter, NYC City Council, NYC Government, Randy Mastro, Richard Ravitch, Rudolph Giuliani

Charter Revision Commission Undermines Community Board Review of 2010 Proposals

Posted on May 14, 2010 | 5 comments

Matthew Goldstein

The “issues forums” schedule just announced by the New York City Charter Revision Commission will limit public review of any proposed changes to ULURP, the city’s land use process.

This schedule needs to be scrapped.

The commission’s “issues forums,” calendared between May 25 and June 24, will generate charter proposals that won’t even be made public until July — when most New Yorkers have started their vacations, and community boards have gone on summer break. Continue reading →

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Posted in 2010 NYC Charter Revision

Tagged 2010 charter revision, 2010 NY charter, bloomberg charter, charter revision, Community Boards, Matthew Goldstein, New York City Charter, New York City government, New york Community boards, NY charter commission, NY charter revision, NYC charter, NYC Government

Category Archives: 2010 NYC Charter Revision

Charter Commission Reveals Ballot Issues

Charter Revision: Hints of What’s to Come

Brad Hoylman Responds

Who is Brad Hoylman?

Voter Participation Takes the Spotlight

Charter Revision Focuses on Term Limits

Term Limits and Non-partisan Elections

Charter Revision Alumni Weigh In

Charter Revision Commission Undermines Community Board Review of 2010 Proposals

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