It’s that time of year again. That time when we all bad talk new soca releases, complain about the commercialization of Christmas, and assume we are too clever to vote. Well, this post is not meant to persuade you to give 2025 soca a chance or volunteer at a shelter if you’re so anti-capitalism. This post is also not meant to convince you to vote either Democrat or Republican, but to get you to understand the proposals that are on this year’s ballot so that you can’t complain when your NYC cost of living goes up and quality goes down.

Many of you may have received your voter guide and tossed it in the trash or put it aside to read later, so let me break down what proposals are on the NYC voting ballot and how they affect your day-to-day life.

BALLOT PROPOSAL 1:

Amend the State Constitution to prohibit discrimination and protect New Yorkers who seek access to reproductive healthcare from discrimination.

• A “YES” vote puts these protections against discrimination in the New York State Constitution.

• A “NO” vote leaves these protections out of the State Constitution.

If this Proposal Passes: New Yorkers would be protected under the law from discrimination based on these criteria.

BALLOT PROPOSAL 2:

Street vendors will have to adhere to Department of Sanitation cleaning rules and you may have to change how you put your garbage out for collection.

• “Yes” will expand and clarify the Department of Sanitation’s power to clean streets and other City property and require disposal of waste in containers.

• “No” leaves laws unchanged.

If this Proposal Passes: It would clarify the DSNY’s authority and jurisdiction to keep the city clean and make rules about how garbage is put out for collection.

BALLOT PROPOSAL 3:

The 2024 Charter Revision Commission reviewed the New York City Charter, held public hearings and conducted outreach to solicit public input. This proposal would extend the deadline for certain budget reports in the first year of a new Mayoral administration, and permanently extend the deadline for the Mayor to publish their annual City budget.

• “Yes” would amend the City Charter to require additional fiscal analysis prior to hearings and votes on local laws, and update budget deadlines.

• “No” leaves laws unchanged.

If this Proposal Passes: It would require that cost estimates from the Council and Mayor are available before proposed laws are considered at public hearings.

BALLOT PROPOSAL 4:

Public hearings will be held before The City Council votes on laws impacting the city’s Police, Fire, and Corrections departments.

• “Yes” will require additional notice and time before the Council votes on laws respecting public safety operations of the Police, Correction, or Fire Departments.

• “No” leaves laws unchanged.

If this Proposal Passes: The Mayor and affected agencies could use the 30-day period to hold public hearings on the proposal.

Ballot Proposal 5:

The City must assess the cost of maintaining city facilities, infrastructure, and investments and publish these assessments in capital planning reports.

• “Yes” would require more detail when assessing maintenance needs of City facilities, mandate that facility needs inform capital planning, and update capital planning deadlines.

• “No” leaves laws unchanged.

If this Proposal Passes: It would expand criteria used to assess maintenance costs for city property. The public has expressed concerns that the language of Proposal 5 is misleading and that passage of the proposal would fail to improve transparency or the City’s infrastructure planning.

Ballot Proposal 6

Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBES), Film Permits, and Archive Review Boards

The proposal would create a new role to support MWBEs, allow the Mayor to designate which agency issues film permits, and merge two boards that manage city records into one.

• “Yes” would establish the CBDO to support MWBEs, authorize the Mayor to designate the office that issues film permits, and combine two boards.

• “No” leaves laws unchanged.

Key Dates

• Early Voting: Sat, October 26, 2024 - Sun, November 3, 2024

• Early mail/absentee ballot and voter registration form request deadline: Sat, October 26, 2024

• Voter registration application deadline: Sat, October 26, 2024

• Early mail/absentee ballot request deadline (in-person): Mon, November 4, 2024

• General Election: November 5th