by Jamie Heiberger of JH Heiberger PLLC
On Tuesday, New York City voters will answer five questions on the back of the ballot that would change the City Charter, the document that sets how city government works. Two of them matter most to anyone who owns, builds, or invests in New York real estate. And separate from the ballot entirely, a change voters already approved takes effect on January 1 that will change the timeline for affordable housing in twelve neighborhoods.
After decades practicing real estate law in New York, I have learned that the most important question in any deal is rarely just what the deal says. It is who gets to decide, and how long that decision takes. That is the question behind all three of the changes below, and it is the same question I raised in my piece on the Heritage Westminster tax break: what is actually written into the deal, and who decides?
Question 3: faster street safety projects, city land sales, and office leases
Question 3 is really three changes in one vote, and that bundling is itself part of the debate. First, on street safety: the Department of Transportation could start urgent street safety projects, such as bike and bus lanes, before presenting to the community board, and a missed consultation step alone could no longer stop a project in court.
Second, and most relevant to owners and developers: the Department of Citywide Administrative Services could sell or lease small city-owned lots, under 10,000 square feet, and development rights over city-owned landmark sites, through an expedited review that ends with the City Planning Commission, instead of the roughly seven-month Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) that ends with a City Council vote. Only projects found to have no potential significant adverse environmental impact would qualify; anything that requires a full environmental impact statement under state and local law would stay in ULURP. The proposal would also make permanent the program that lets undevelopable lots be sold to the adjacent owner without a public auction, and it would remove an extra public hearing now required when more than two years pass between the Council's approval of a disposition and the actual sale or lease.
Third, the city could lease office space for city workers without a City Planning Commission hearing or a City Council vote. Instead, the DCAS Commissioner would have to find the deal is in the city's best interest and give notice to the community board, the Council member, and the Borough President.
The disagreement over Question 3 is worth stating plainly. Transit and housing groups support it, saying the current process is too slow. The Municipal Art Society objects to bundling three unrelated changes into a single yes-or-no vote, and warns the city could sell off public land quickly without safeguards for affordable housing, green space, or long-term ground leases for nonprofit developers. If you own property next to a small city-owned lot, or you hold development rights near a landmark site, the timeline for a neighboring disposition could shorten dramatically if this passes.
Question 4: one portal for building permits
Question 4 is simpler, and far less contested. It would direct the Department of Buildings to build a single online system by 2030 for the 40 permits and approvals builders now collect from 18 different offices and agencies, with the Fire Department, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Department of Transportation required to cooperate and accept applications through it. The Buildings Commissioner could also appoint additional deputy and borough commissioners who can approve construction documents citywide. Permitting for piers and other waterfront structures would move from the Department of Small Business Services to the Department of Buildings by the end of 2030, with existing permits remaining valid. Zoning decisions and waterfront land-use decisions would not change. For anyone who has ever waited on a permit while a project sat idle, this is the plumbing fix: fewer doors to knock on, one system to file through.
Already decided: the Affordable Housing Fast Track takes effect January 1
Whatever happens on Tuesday, one change is already decided. Last November, voters approved the Affordable Housing Fast Track, and on October 1 the Department of City Planning named the twelve districts where it will apply starting January 1, 2027: Brooklyn Community Districts 10 (Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights), 12 (Borough Park, Kensington), and 18 (Canarsie, Flatlands); Manhattan 7 (Upper West Side) and 8 (Upper East Side, Roosevelt Island); Queens 4 (Corona, Elmhurst), 5 (Ridgewood, Maspeth, Middle Village), 10 (South Ozone Park, Howard Beach), 11 (Auburndale, Bayside, Douglaston), and 13 (Queens Village, Bellerose, Rosedale); and Staten Island 2 (Mid-Island) and 3 (South Shore). No Bronx district made the list.
In those districts, qualifying affordable-housing rezonings will get a 90-day public review instead of the roughly seven-month ULURP timeline, cutting about four months. Community boards and borough presidents still review, concurrently over 60 days, and the City Planning Commission makes the final decision. Environmental review and landmark protections do not change. Why these twelve districts? According to the Mayor's Office, they represent roughly one-fifth of the city's 59 community districts but produced just 724 of the 63,870 new affordable homes built over the past five years, about 1.1 percent. The Department of City Planning will hold a virtual public information session on December 3 to explain how the Fast Track works. If you have an affordable-housing project in one of these districts, your calendar changes in January, whether or not you have been following this process.
The thread running through all three changes is the same: who decides, how fast, and what is written into the deal. I am not telling you how to vote. I am telling you what changes if these pass, so you can plan around it. If you have a project that touches city land, a permit queue, or one of these twelve districts, talk to us before you assume the old timeline still applies.
New York Real Estate Attorney • Counsel for decades to small, middle, and larger size property owners, including tens of thousands of affordable housing units
by Jamie Heiberger of JH Heiberger PLLC