NEW YORK, N.Y. — New York City voters said yes to every one of the five charter changes on Tuesday’s ballot, backing a package meant to cut red tape inside city government.
All five measures were projected to pass by 10:45 p.m. on election night. Support for the individual questions landed between 61.7% and 72.4% of the vote, comfortable margins across the board.
The proposals came out of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Charter Commission on Government Efficiency, a panel the mayor set up to look for ways to make city agencies move faster.
Proposal 1 loosens the approval process for putting up structures in public spaces, such as benches, ramps for accessibility and outdoor cafe setups. Public hearings that are normally required become optional, and there are fewer formal review steps.
Proposal 2 targets city contracting. It simplifies the questionnaire vendors fill out and requires the Procurement Policy Board to hold a meeting at least once every three months, with room to ease requirements for some contractors. The mayor’s office pitched it as relief for small businesses and nonprofits that work for the city.
Proposal 3 is aimed at getting street safety projects built sooner, and the mayor’s office estimated it would speed that work by at least 33%. It also touches the process for selling or leasing some city-owned property and for office leases.
Proposal 4 lets more agency officials sign off on construction permits and orders the Department of Buildings to set up one central system for filing and approving permit applications by 2030.
Proposal 5 creates goals for how much New York should stash in its rainy day fund, the reserve meant to cover emergencies, downturns and budget gaps, and requires the mayor to come up with a formula for how much to deposit.
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