How New Yorkers can lower rents and raise voter turnout
Your guide to the 2025 ballot propositions
This November, some exciting ballot propositions are giving New Yorkers a rare chance to directly lower the cost of living and strengthen our city’s democracy.
Here’s what you need to know:
NYC has a general election on November 4th, 2025. At that time, voters will choose the city’s next mayor, city council members, and other municipal officials.
Alongside the election, there are five amendments to the City’s charter that New Yorkers will be asked to vote on. These focus on housing and our electoral system.
Your vote matters. Find your voting location. Early voting starts October 25th. You can also vote by mail and/or register to vote by October 25th.
I recommend voting YES on all of this year’s ballot propositions. Read on for my analysis.
Lowering the rent by streamlining homebuilding
Propositions 2, 3, 4, and 5 focus on reducing the cost of housing in New York City by cutting red tape, removing veto points, and speeding up the process to get permission to build apartments:
Prop 2 creates a simpler and faster approval process for publicly funded affordable housing and speeds up affordable housing approvals in neighborhoods that haven’t built enough affordable homes.
Prop 3 simplifies the permitting process for small housing and climate resilience projects.
Prop 4 makes it easier for housing developments to get approved by creating a board of appeals that can re-review housing projects that get shot down by the city council.
Prop 5 speeds up housing approvals by replacing the city’s cumbersome collection of 8,000 paper maps with a unified digital system for land management.
Given New York’s severe housing shortage, I strongly recommend voting YES on all four housing propositions to help get more homes built, and bring the cost of living down.
Early polling suggests that a majority of likely voters support the proposals, which is great news:
Even-year local elections
Proposition 6 switches New York’s elections for mayor, city council, and other municipal offices to even years.
This would almost certainly improve voter participation by placing these municipal elections on the same ballot paper as high-profile elections for president, congress, and governor.
Turnout in odd-year elections hovers around 20%. Aligning them with statewide and federal races in even-numbered years could triple participation, ensuring voters who primarily engage during federal elections (especially renters and younger New Yorkers) have a stronger say in shaping city government.
Given the importance of achieving high voter turnout for electing a truly representative government, I strongly recommend voting YES on proposition 6.
(Low importance) Upstate ski facilities
Proposition 1 allows some land within Adirondack Forest Preserve to be used for recreational and competitive activities, while also expanding the park by over 2000 acres.
The location in question is five hours drive from NYC, so this proposition will impact few city residents. The question only appears on our ballots because the park is defined in the State constitution, so a statewide vote is required to amend it.
The plan is supported by local conservation groups and elected officials alike. I see no harm in voting YES on proposition 1.
These proposals are a chance to build a more affordable, inclusive New York City.
Vote YES on all six propositions, and make your plan to have your say, either in person or by mail.
