The Daily Dirt: Project approval reform under attack

"The Council's message when it ignores the custom of member deference seems to be: See? We're not provincial, turf-protecting insiders! We act in the interest of the whole city! But we're talking about four instances in two decades, if not longer. The Council has considered thousands of land use applications in that time, and in 99.9 percent of them, the local member has decided the result. Make no mistake: Member deference is alive and well."

"The 2021 override was to approve a New York Blood Center project. In that case, the Council snubbed a member unpopular with his colleagues, Ben Kallos. He had sided with entitled Upper East Side residents who claimed shadows would ruin their precious playground. Project supporters said it was more important to find a cure for sickle cell anemia. To be sure, there was some political theater going on."

"It's also not a coincidence that two of the four instances came last week, as the Council was preparing a campaign against City Charter revisions that if approved by voters on Nov. 4 would weaken member deference. Perhaps Council Speaker Adrienne Adams will point to the chamber's Sept. 25 approval of Bronx and Brooklyn rezonings over the objections of Council members Kristy Marmorato and Simcha Felder, respectively, as evidence that the system works."

Council overrides of local members on real estate projects are rare. The last four overrides occurred at ends of four-year election cycles: 2009, 2021 and 2025 (two in 2025). Howard Slatkin of the Citizens Housing and Planning Council noted the pattern. The Council sometimes uses rare overrides to signal it acts for the whole city rather than protecting turf. Thousands of land use applications have been considered, and in 99.9 percent the local member decides the result. Recent overrides in late September coincided with a Council campaign against City Charter revisions that would weaken member deference. One charter proposal would create an appeals process for denied applicants.

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