The New York City Charter Revision Commission is coming to a venue near you.
After five years since its last revision, the Charter, under which the city is governed, is in the midst of an overhaul, with the 15-member commission – two representatives of which are from Queens – having recently wrapped up a series of citywide public hearings.
At the City Charter public hearing held at LaGuardia Community College in April, activists and residents addressed topics including codifying the Department of Education, suspending development in areas undergoing rezoning and providing baseline budgets to community boards.
At the gathering, City University of New York Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, chair of the Commission, told those in attendance that his collective was taking its time “to do this in a delicate and thoughtful manner.”
In fact, based on feedback garnered at the April hearings, the Commission held a panel discussion with former charter revision commissioners on May 17. And, in addition, the Commission will host a series of forums in late May and June to learn more about the issues that were frequently discussed at the public hearings.
Topics will include term limits, voter participation, government structure, public integrity and land use, with the latter taking place at Flushing Library (41-17 Main Street) on June 24. Aside from the forum on term limits, which took place at Brooklyn Borough Hall on May 25, the other forums, each in a different borough, have yet to take place. They include:
Wednesday, June 2: Voter Participation Lehman College (250 Bedford Park Blvd. West, Bronx), 6 p.m.
Thursday, June 10: Government Structure
Staten Island Technical High School (485 Clawson Street), 6 p.m.
Wednesday, June 16: Public Integrity
The City College of New York (160 Convent Ave., Manhattan), 6 p.m.
Thursday, June 24: Land Use
Flushing Library (41-17 Main Street), 6 p.m.
The discussions are open to the public and will also be webcast at ww.nyc.gov/charter. New Yorkers can submit questions and comments on the same web site by selecting “Contact the Commission” or via email at commission@charter.nyc.gov.
