Neighbor News
What Are the NYC Ballot Proposals?
Brief summaries of the 6 ballot proposals, including links to more in depth descriptions, and your neighbor's opinion on these 6 proposals.
Just like many voters I want to know about the ballot proposals. So, I decided to do some research and to fill you all in as best I can. At the end of this article I will give my opinion on the proposals, but first I want you to read about them and get a sense of what they are about. Of course, my opinion is just that, my opinion.
The opinion of the New York City Council concerning the ballot proposals ( from the New York City Council website) https://www.nycvotes.org/whats...
The source of this information is from NYC VOTES https://www.nycvotes.org/whats...
Find out what's happening in Ditmas Park-Flatbushfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
1. Amendment to Allow Olympic Sports Complex In Essex County on State Forest Preserve Land
This proposal would allow the expansion of new ski trails in the Olympic Sports Complex in Essex County, New York. The Olympic Sport Complex is in state forest preserve land. This proposal would also require New York State to add 2,500 acres of protected forest land to Adirondack Park.
Find out what's happening in Ditmas Park-Flatbushfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
More detailed outline https://www.nycvotes.org/whats...
2. Fast Track Affordable Housing to Build More Affordable Housing Across the City
This proposal would make two new processes to fast-track certain affordable housing projects. The first process is for publicly financed affordable housing projects. The second process is for affordable housing projects in the 12 community districts with the lowest rates of affordable housing development.
More detailed outline: https://www.nycvotes.org/whats...
3. Simplify Review of Modest Housing and Infrastructure Projects
This proposal would create a faster review process for certain land use projects, such as smaller projects to change how land is used and to prepare the city for extreme weather or other future challenges. For most of these projects, the proposed process would remove final review by the City Council.
More detailed outline: https://www.nycvotes.org/whats...
4. Establish an Affordable Housing Appeals Board with Council, Borough, and Citywide Representation
This proposal would change the current land use review process when the City Council rejects or changes an affordable housing project. The proposal would create an Affordable Housing Appeals Board, made up of the local Borough President, Speaker of the City Council, and Mayor. The proposal would allow the Appeals Board to reverse the City Council’s decision with a two-to-one vote.
More detailed outline: https://www.nycvotes.org/whats...
5. Create a Digital City Map to Modernize City Operations
This proposal would make the Department of City Planning (DCP) responsible for creating, maintaining, and digitizing a single City Map.
More detailed outline: https://www.nycvotes.org/whats...
6. Move Local Elections to Presidential Election Years to Increase Voter Participation
This proposal would move election dates for city offices to the same year as federal presidential elections.
More detailed outline: https://www.nycvotes.org/whats...
YOUR NEIGHBOR'S OPINION:
1. Amendment to Allow Olympic Sports Complex In Essex County on State Forest Preserve Land
NO, NO and NO! My reasons for giving a negative opinion of this project are as follows: Firstly, this new sport complex is for a small percentage of New Yorkers. There is no figure for how many New Yorkers ski, but the national average is 3% (according to Google). This sport is most particularly for people that have extra funds. Most obviously, this also will be making some people richer.
What New York State needs.... New York State has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the nation, and I would like to see a concerted effort to address first before we start thinking about accommodating the rich to have an even more lavish lifestyle at the expense of New Yorkers losing valuable forest preserve land. According to the Children's Defense Fund, 1 in every 5 children is experiencing poverty in New York State, one of the richest states in nation https://www.childrensdefense.o...Secondly, though the intention is to add 2500 acres of preserve land, we already have land set aside. Yes, I am in agreement by all means add even more land to our preserve, and DO NOT cut down one tree for ski trails. Every single tree is a warrior against Global Warming because they sequester carbon, one of the worst molecules that traps heat on the earth's surface. We need every tree we have, and even more.....
2. Fast Track Affordable Housing to Build More Affordable Housing Across the City
NO! According to the City Council what is hidden in the language of this proposal is that power to decide what development is done in our communities will be taken away from the democratically elected representatives of the people to unelected appointees of the mayor. Thereby, giving the mayor's office more power and removing it from the people. https://council.nyc.gov/press/...
3. Simplify Review of Modest Housing and Infrastructure Projects
NO! The fast tracking of these smaller projects without consideration from the community, just allows developers to fast track their projects that do not serve the people that live in our communities, but serves to make them money. The City Council is also against this proposal and it's deceptive language.
4. Establish an Affordable Housing Appeals Board with Council, Borough, and Citywide Representation
NO! This would create a 3 person board, that would consist of the mayor, the Speaker of the City Council and the Borough President to override a decision made by the City Council. The City Council are our representatives, acting on our behalf. This a means of obtaining more power for the mayor office, and removing power from our elected representatives.
5. Create a Digital City Map to Modernize City Operations
YES! This would modernize how we map our city.
6. Move Local Elections to Presidential Election Years to Increase Voter Participation
YES! A democracy is dependent and successful if more people participate in the process. Statistically more New Yorkers come out to vote for the general presidential elections than for local elections. This shift hopefully will encourage more voter participation.
MAKE SURE TO VOTE! EVERYONE'S OPINION IS OF VALUE!
About the author: Raquel Irizarry has an MSSW from Columbia School of Social Work and a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary. She has been writing social commentary on numerous subjects for over a decade.
