Early voting runs from Saturday, October 24 to Sunday, November 1, with Election Day the following Tuesday, November 3. NYC residents will be asked to vote on five ballot questions that change the City’s charter (constitution) and determine how decisions are made locally. They cover a broad range of topics, many outside the mission of Village Preservation. But almost all limit or eliminate when and how the public has input on permitting and decision-making processes, and remove entities other than the Mayor or Mayoral agencies — such as the City Council — from the decision-making process. 

One question that is germane to our work is Ballot Question 3, for which we are URGING A “NO” VOTE. It covers multiple unrelated areas, one of which is allowing the City to sell air rights from City-owned landmarks without having to go through a public review and approval process that for decades has required the input of the City Council. We believe the existing checks and balances for important decisions such as these make for better outcomes, and help ensure a wide range of public concerns are considered when such possibilities arise. 

Collectively, City-owned landmarks contain millions of square feet of development rights, with several hundred thousand in our neighborhoods alone. Any sale and use of those air rights should be carefully considered in consultation with affected communities. This is more important than ever, now that new City rules (changed by last year’s Charter Revision ballot questions) allow air rights from landmarks to be transferred and used within a broader geography (roughly one to two blocks) from the landmarked site. Individual City-owned landmarks within our neighborhoods include The Public Theatre, the Merchant’s House Museum, 34½ East 12th Street (the Police Athletic League Building), Fire Engine Co. No. 33 at 44 Great Jones Street, and the Tompkins Square Branch of the New York Public Library, among others, all of which could end up having their air rights transferred to increase development in surrounding blocks with limited public review or input.