Although much attention is being placed on the midterm elections this year, the city’s Commission on Government Efficiency (COGE) has produced five proposals that will be on the back of ballots this November.
The ballot proposals cover a range of topics, including outdoor dining rules, streamlining city contracting for small businesses and nonprofits, street safety, building permitting, and setting targets for city savings.
“The Mayor asked us to go through this document, which is quite old, and review it and find things that are outdated, that are bureaucratic. Requirements that city agencies have to fulfill that maybe don’t make sense anymore, or don’t make sense in the age of the internet, or that we could do better,” said COGE Executive Director Ann Cheng at an ethnic media roundtable on Oct. 13. “We heard from union members. We heard from small business owners; we heard from big business owners. We heard from people who just walked in off the street.”
Mamdani called for COGE to convene the Charter Revision Commission (CRC) this May. After a series of public hearings and talks with city workers, the commission released a final report and compiled five ballot proposals. If voted through, this would change parts of the city constitution in 2026’s upcoming general election.
Here’s what each ballot proposal says, some background information about each one, and a breakdown of the impact they might have, according to electeds and advocates.
Ballot Question 1: Outdoor Dining
Although outdoor dining has been allowed in New York City since 1934, it was solidified as a lifeline for many restaurants during the COVID pandemic in 2020. Currently, sidewalk cafe applications take about six to eight months to complete, and roadway cafe applications take three to five months, said the report. It takes so long because outdoor dining runs into the issue of “revocable consent,” which is the right for a person or entity to construct structures on city property when it comes to streets and public spaces.
The first ballot proposal aims to cut the lengthy application process down to about two months, and save small businesses up to $1,800 on fees.
Ballot Question 2: City Contracting Reform
Getting a city contract is an infamously daunting process for small businesses and nonprofits, even more so for Minority and Women Business Enterprise (M/WBEs). According to the 2025 city comptroller report, only 5% of citywide procurement is actually awarded to M/WBEs, staggering considering the city’s lofty goal of giving out close to 30% MWBE contracts. Businesses specifically owned by “women of color and Black and Hispanic American men” win far fewer contracts than others, said the report.
The second ballot proposal aims to reduce the amount of paperwork for small businesses and non-profits, be more transparent in procurement oversight, and have fewer reporting requirements to free up staff time.
The M/WBE program is regulated by the state, but COGE commissioners said that several M/WBE owners testified to their struggles in contract procurement during the public hearings.
“We heard from a lot of [M/WBEs] in this process. And so both the outdoor dining proposal and the contracting proposal were in response to stories and testimony from the M/WBE community about both the struggles they face with outdoor dining, and also the struggles they face in contracting with the city,” said Cheng. “I think that making it easier to work with the city will make it easier for those goals to be met.”
COGE Commissioner Henry Garrido added that waiting to be paid on these city contracts is deeply costly for MWBEs and needs to be streamlined. “For a lot of the nonprofits, the minority contractors don’t have bank accounts that can withhold delays, delays, and delays. … So speeding up the process, reducing the administrative burden will help them in the end to also have cash flow for continuing to [bid on] other contracts, to be able to pay the workers, to be able to pay the bills and pay the rent faster,” said Garrido.
Regardless, there’s still a large skepticism from nonprofits and city officials that the proposal will help the city’s “cash flow problem” without real change and accountability.
Ballot Question 3: Street Safety Projects
Mamdani has been focused on delivering on his promise of fast buses, as opposed to free, just yet, with the city’s Next Stop Plan. This is in partnership with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT).
The ballot proposal aims to speed up construction of street and infrastructure projects, including the building out of bike lanes and bus lanes. It would achieve this by eliminating any requirement that an agency that is consulted about a major transportation project must consult with local groups within the agency. This ballot proposal would allow the DOT to start work on a project before consulting the local community board, and a lawsuit could not stop the implementation of a street safety project based on technical errors in presenting or notifying the community board.
There’s already been some pushback from driving commuters in Brooklyn who dislike the configuration of new lanes and elimination of old ones, as well as the impending threat to the borough’s dollar van businesses. Some small business owners also claim that there’s been a negative impact on their foot traffic, resulting in a loss of customers.
Additionally, this ballot proposal would fast-track the sale or lease of “modest” city properties, the air rights above city-owned landmarks, and lease of office space for city workers, said the report. This proposal would remove both the City Planning Commission hearing and approval requirement and the City Council’s disapproval authority over office acquisitions as well, giving it to the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS).
Ballot Question 4: Building Permitting
Renovating a house or building ‘affordable’ housing is a complex maze of interagency permitting to get the construction going.
This fourth ballot proposal would require the city to create a centralized hub online for construction permits, and allow for the Department of Buildings (DOB) to approve certificates of occupancy and consolidate waterfront permitting more quickly.
Ballot Question 5: Rainy Day Fund
New York City’s rainy day fund, or the Revenue Stabilization Fund (RSF), which was created as a backup savings in case of emergency, was established in a previous charter revision commission in 2019. However, rules about deposits or withdrawals and a target goal of how much to balance in the fund were not mandated. As of the 2026 final budget, Mamdani has about $2 billion in the fund.
The fifth ballot proposal would add to a previous amendment and create rules for the rainy day fund and set a target amount of money to be held in reserve at 12% of the city’s total tax revenue.
Although, the best route would be to adopt a target balance of 16% of tax revenues and a lower bound of 10%, according to the most recent Comptroller’s report.
Don’t forget to check your voter registration at NYC’s Board of Elections. Find your polling place at findmypollsite.vote.nyc/. Early voting begins Oct. 24. Election Day is on Nov. 3.
