What to Know About the Charter Revision Ballot Questions
New York City’s Committee on Government Efficiency (COGE) was formed this past May and is tasked with eliminating waste, streamlining processes and modernizing city government.
Between May and July, COGE held seven public meetings attended by over 780 people, heard from 178 speakers and received an additional 345 written submissions. COGE released its preliminary report in July (approved on July 23, 2026). The report identified four main areas of focus for achieving COGE goals:
- Accelerating access to public space and infrastructure improvements
- Accelerating permitting and contracting
- Modernizing outdated systems and requirements to bolster innovation
- Ensuring the city’s fiscal stability
Although all are worth further reading, the area of most immediate importance to the design build community is the acceleration of permitting and contracting.
While COGE has already implemented some changes on its own, the bulk of the recommendations are being put to a vote in the November 3 General Elections. Five questions related to COGE are scheduled to appear on the ballot. The permitting and contracting questions are:
Question 2: “Reduce City Contractor Paperwork; Require Regular Meetings of Procurement Policy Board.” A “no” vote leaves the current laws unchanged. A “yes” vote:
- Authorizes the Procurement Policy Board to simplify contractor questionnaires
- Requires quarterly meetings of the Procurement Policy Board.
- Removes the mandatory hearing for required client services report.
- Authorizes the Mayor to delegate certain contract approvals.
Question 3: “Speed Up Street Safety Projects, Disposition of Unused City Property, Office Leasing.” Voting “yes”:
- Simplifies review of street safety projects to reduce construction timelines.
- Provides fast track disposition of unused City property with approval from the City Planning Commission.
- Expedites the leasing of offices used for City workforce. “Yes” simplifies street project approval, City property disposition and office leasing. “No” maintains intra-agency consultation for road projects, Council approval for City property dispositions and Council disapproval of office leases.
Voting “no” will maintain intra-agency consultation for road projects, require Council approval for City property disposition, and maintain the Council’s right to disapprove of office leases.
Question 4: “Simplify Building Permitting and Move Waterfront Permitting to Department of Buildings.” A “no” vote will leave current laws unchanged. A “yes” vote will:
- Create centralized construction permits hub, funneling most if not all permits through the Department of Buildings (DOB). This would include permits that would otherwise have been filed with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Fire Department (FDNY), and the Department of Transportation (DOT).
- Move waterfront permitting from the Department of Small Business Services (DSBS) to the DOB.
- Allow construction approval by additional DOB officials.
All of the questions are available online. Abstracts that explain the current systems and proposed new systems are also available.
The proposed Charter Revisions have the potential to greatly impact how development happens in the City going forward. We encourage you to educate yourself about the proposals and what they could mean for your projects before the election.
