Dozens rally against proposals that will appear on November ballot

"

There is a ballot question controversy brewing in New York City - with less than two months until Election Day. Dozens rallied Tuesday to share why they want New Yorkers to vote "no" on certain proposals, claiming that they are a power grab by Mayor Eric Adams. Civil rights and community advocates, alongside some local lawmakers, highlighted questions two through six, which will appear on the back of ballots in NYC this November. They cover a range of topics, from increasing the Sanitation Department's authority to clean streets and rid them of illegal vendors, to requiring City Council members to provide cost analysis for laws they propose. Another ballot proposal would also demand that the council provide more notice before holding votes on public safety issues. Those who rallied say the process to come up with these proposals was rushed without enough public input, and in retaliation for back and forth between the mayor and the council over several bills. "What they had was, 'let's rush something through with a fake process so we can bump the City Council's bill and never put it on the charter,'" said NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. "That is not a way to govern. And it's part of the reason that we're having such confusion right now. So if you're not happy with the situation we're in, if you're not happy with the confusion that we've been thrust into, you've got to nix two through six." However, the Charter Revision Commission is standing by its work in developing those questions. "After holding hearings attended by more than 750 people in all five boroughs and receiving more than 2,300 written submissions, the Charter Revision Commission put forth thoughtful ballot proposals reflecting the desires they heard from New Yorkers for clean streets, fiscal responsibility, public safety, transparency in the city’s capital planning process, and support for Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises,” said CRC Executive Director Diane Savino in a statement. “Now, New Yorkers will have the power to flip their ballots and vote on these proposals in November." Question one on the back of ballots will be a statewide proposal that would add anti-discrimination provisions into the state constitution. "