While the world’s attention was fixated on last night’s election of Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s next mayor, less attention was given to the approval by the city’s voters of three proposals designed to reshape affordable housing development.
The proposals included a new initiative to fast track the approval of affordable housing developments, simplifying the review process of “modest” housing and infrastructure projects, and the creation of an affordable housing appeals board with representation from the mayor, the City Council, and borough leaders. All three proposals passed with more than 56% of voter approval.
Also passing was a proposal to create a digital city map designed to modernize city operations. Another proposal that would have aligned municipal elections with national and state races was rejected.
New York State also held a statewide ballot vote on enabling the Olympic Regional Development Authority to continue using roughly 235 acres of forest preserve land at the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex in upstate Essex County. That proposal passed with 51.6% of the vote, and as a result the state will have acquire at least 2,500 acres of new land elsewhere in the Adirondack Park to compensate for wild acreage being claimed for development.
