Restaurateurs, Cyclists, and Builders Are the Winners of NYC’s Ballot Measures

Restaurant Owners, Cyclists, and Builders Are the Big Winners of the City’s Ballot Proposals Photo-Illustration: Curbed; Photos: Getty Images Zohran Mamdani racked up more wins Tuesday night, as New Yorkers passed the five ballot measures spun up by his independent Commission on Government Efficiency. The whole slate was shaped by a major Mamdani campaign theme — affordability, this time through better and faster city government — and each of the proposals received more than 61 percent of votes. (The fifth proposal, setting contribution goals for the city’s rainy-day fund, reached over 72 percent.) “We are cutting red tape that will directly address the affordability crisis and help New Yorkers stay in the city they love,” the mayor said Tuesday. Who are the winners and losers of the night when it comes to the city’s infrastructure? The dining and hospitality industry is arguably the biggest beneficiary of Proposition 1, which speeds up permitting for the outdoor cafés and streeteries that have proven a lifeline for restaurants. The third proposal, intended to make it easier for the city to start bike- and bus-lane projects, was championed by safe-streets and transit advocates. “New York City has purchased every 55-gallon drum of green paint for sale in the country,” the anonymous Bike Lanes NYC account wrote on X last night. “No more red tape, we’re building bike lanes baby.” The building industry loves Proposition 4, which is slated to create a hub for construction-permit applications. It will, said Carlo Scissura, president and CEO of the New York Building Congress, “give our members one place to submit and track construction approvals, cutting repetitive paperwork and making it easier to see exactly where a project is stuck.” He added that these in-the-weeds reforms will, in the long run, “save money, reduce delays, and help us build the housing, infrastructure, and public improvements our city needs.” Broadly, the ballot proposals’ sweep seems like a win for the so-called abundance movement, the progressive version of supply-side economics that has gained prominence in the past half-decade. “You’re seeing the tides shifting,” said Abundance New York co-founder Catherine Vaughan. “You see this broader coalition that’s aligned with the mayor, and it’s kind of relegated the community-board NIMBYs to the relative amount of power they should have. They are not broadly representative of the people, who want to see the city become more affordable and grow and change.” As for the losers? Peg Breen, the longtime (and, soon, departing) president of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, said Proposition 3 — which will enable the city to more quickly sell unused development rights from landmarked properties it owns — leaves her with concerns about how these real-estate deals will affect the surrounding communities. “Where are they going in the neighborhood, and what will that development be like? Is it contextual?” she said. “We think the public and communities have a right to say how their neighborhoods grow and change.” Breen also shared more general concerns that these propositions strip back local input. “Community input is getting … a bad rap, and I think people deserve a chance to weigh in on what happens in their neighborhood.” Several supporters of the ballot measures took issue with this broader line of criticism, including Transportation Alternatives’ executive director Ben Furnas. Pointing to fights over the city’s safe-streets projects, he said, Proposition 3 will “prevent a small minority of people from being able to sue and block and delay in an undemocratic process.” Rachael Fauss, a senior policy adviser at the good-government group Reinvent Albany, offered cautious optimism about the ballot measures. COGE heavily relied on data to justify Tuesday’s proposals, and the ballot measures’ success will depend on whether new data shows the government is moving any faster. “From there,” she said, “are there other things that can be done?” The Big Winners of the City’s Ballot Proposals Your product is saved! You’ll receive emails when your saved products go on sale. Manage preferences.