Mamdani Establishes Charter Commission Focused on Government Efficiency

Last week, Mayor Mamdani announced the creation of a Charter Revision Commission focused on government efficiency, called The Commission on Government Efficiency (COGE). Led by Chair Patrick Gaspard and Proposed Executive Director Ann Cheng, the Commission will evaluate reforms to the City Charter with a series of 10 public hearings to advance ballot questions for New Yorkers to vote on in November. COGE will focus their work on three priorities: removing outdated bureaucratic barriers that slow infrastructure projects and delay service; equipping city agencies with authority, enforcement tools, and flexibility needed to delivery programs effectively; and modernizing government to improve efficiency and savings, reserves, and budgetary practices. This directive is a clear demonstration of the mayor’s commitment to delivering faster, smarter, and more efficiently for New Yorkers and ensuring that the city maximizes public dollars.

Read more about COGE >

Additional Updates from City Hall:

• Mamdani Administration releases housing plan, Block by Block, detailing strategies to build 200,000 new affordable homes and preserve another 200,000 over the next decade. Notable items include:
  • DOB to convene an Affordable and Efficient Code Reform Task Force to work in collaboration with the City Council’s Advisory Group on Housing Affordability (start by looking at expanded allowance of smaller elevators and use of plastic piping materials)
  • Maximize housing development opportunities on city-owned land; Co-locate housing with city-owned buildings, such as libraries, schools, and other public assets
  • Pursue citywide transit-oriented development strategy, particularly zoning changes tied to transit improvements like the Interborough Express and new Bus Rapid Transit routes
  • Establish The Bronx Plan to improve housing quality, reduce health disparities, and build equity for low-income and working-class Bronxites with targeted HPD assistance to improve housing conditions and coordinated community quality of life improvements
  • Advance equitable housing by strengthening neighborhood climate resilience with the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice’s Climate Strong Communities program
  • Establish standardized technical specifications to enable replicable models for industrialized construction
  • Incentivize investments in housing quality and energy efficiency with the recently state-authorized extension of the J-51 program
• Established on day one of Mamdani’s Administration, the SPEED Task Force was charged with identifying strategies to expedite the delivery of housing in NYC. After meeting with over 100 industry experts, advocates, developers, builders, and trade organizations (including AIA New York), the interagency group put forward seven major initiatives in their SPEED Report.
  • Cut the city’s pre-certification timeline for many zoning actions from two years to six months so housing projects can be reviewed and approved faster
  • Assign a dedicated central project management team to every city-financed affordable project to shepherd projects through the up to 15 agencies that are responsible for permitting, environmental review, and financing
  • Accelerate the review process for Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans
  • Streamline office-to-residential building conversions
  • Improve the fire alarm inspection process
  • Reimagine the affordable housing lottery from the ground up
  • Launch new programs to more efficiently move homeless New Yorkers from shelters into permanent, affordable homes