Mamdani’s COGE Puts Fast Permits, Procurement on Ballot

Voters will have a chance to weigh in on measures to reform New York City’s permitting and procurement systems in November, after Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s charter revision panel approved a slate of new ballot questions.

All five proposed charter amendments received the Commission on Government Efficiency’s blessing to appear on the ballot, with the 15-member panel unanimously voting to recommend the questions, along with related internal reforms to city agency procedures.

“We looked at the processes we had, the procedures of city government, and we were clear among ourselves here that, unlike some other commissions, efficiency was not the end goal,” Chair Patrick Gaspard said. “Being able to deliver an affordable New York, that was the end goal.”

Charter updates, internal reforms

One charter revision on the table would authorize the city to establish a centralized hub where users can access 40 construction permits and approvals currently housed across 18 offices and agencies. Under the current ballot measure, more Department of Buildings officials would also be able to issue approvals.

That ballot measure would also bring the waterfront permitting process under the DOB’s purview, instead of the Department of Small Business Services that currently handles permits for construction on all city-owned waterfront property and private property used for maritime purposes.

“Charter Amendment Four’s proposed streamlining of the permitting process can be a game changer for our city, and we wholeheartedly support it,” John Woelfling, Partner at Dattner Architects, said in a statement. 

Another ballot measure aimed at expediting the city’s procurement of goods and services from third-party vendors or contractors will appear on the November ballot. COGE claims the recommended revision would cut up to 30 days from a process that currently takes “hundreds of hours of staff time” to set up social services contracts. Simplifying questionnaires for vendors seeking city contracts and allowing the mayor to delegate approvals to relevant agencies are also included in the measure.

A third ballot measure would give the city more latitude to repurpose small lots of public land using the Expedited Land Use Review Procedure and to more quickly acquire office space for city workers.

Additional charter revisions on the ballot would establish a reserves target equal to 12 percent of total tax revenues for the city’s rainy day fund and cut down outdoor dining application obstacles.

“It’s going to take a lot of work to make city government more efficient,” Kathy Wylde, former president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, said. “This is all in the minutiae and the details, and it’s going to take a lot of work and convincing”

Unlike the Trump administration’s Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, which formally shut down earlier this month, COGE will live on after the charter revision panel’s recommendations appear on the ballot in November. 

The Mamdani administration announced Thursday that COGE will continue beyond its charter revision function as an advisory board, exploring topics that surfaced during the public feedback process the panel conducted over the summer. Topics highlighted for further consideration in COGE’s final report include changes to the construction code amendment process and the structure of oversight bodies.

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