Gotham Gazette

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  • Seize the Moment to Modernize New York Democracy for the Digital Era

    virtual place hearing

    The digital era comes to government meetings (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    In late June, more than 200 people packed into a church basement for a Manhattan Community Board (CB) meeting on the contentious proposed rezoning of parts of Soho and Noho. Representatives of the New York City Department of City Planning were scheduled to make a presentation, but opponents of the rezoning booed and shouted over the planners. 

    This kind of scene is all too familiar to those who’ve attended community board meetings in the past. But it

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  • In Fits and Starts, De Blasio Moves Toward Internet Goal Set in 2014

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    Mayor de Blasio's slow-moving internet promises (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    It took a global pandemic that brought the city to a grinding halt for Mayor Bill de Blasio to order that wi-fi be installed at every homeless shelter in the city housing children and to strike a deal to install high-speed broadband internet in every New York City Housing Authority public housing development.

    More than six years after the mayor promised to create high-speed broadband networks across the city, nearly 20% of New Yorkers still lack access to the internet at home or

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  • Term Limits Heighten Need for Community Boards to Become Data Literate

    mayorsofficefiscal

    (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    On November 6, New York City voters approved a ballot proposal to impose term limits on community board members for the first time since their role was written into the city’s Charter in 1963. The proposal was introduced by Mayor de Blasio’s Charter Revision Commission and proved to be the most contentious of the three proposals listed on this year’s ballot.

    Several City Council members and one borough president, among others, argued that imposing term limits would help diversify boards that have historically

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  • Mayoral Charter Revision Commission Hears Expert Testimony on Civic Engagement and Redistricting

    lander and hidalgo at crc

    Council Member Lander and Noel Hidalgo testify


    The charter revision commission convened by Mayor Bill de Blasio held its fourth and final issue-focused forum on Thursday afternoon at NYU, hearing testimony from experts on the city’s civic engagement efforts and hearing proposals for independent redistricting of City Council districts.

    The central question before the commission on civic engagement was whether the city should create a new independent, nonpartisan Office of Civic Engagement. The proposal is the brainchild of New York City

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  • Bill Would Transform New Yorkers’ Digital Interaction with Government

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    Council Member Ben Kallos, right, has a new API bill (photo: William Alatriste)


    City Council Member Ben Kallos is always looking for ways to make government more efficient and accessible through technology and the use of data. To that end, Kallos, himself a programmer, introduced a bill last week that would require information generated or

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  • The Week Ahead in New York Politics, March 23

    New York City Hall

    New York City Hall


    What to watch for this week in New York politics:

    We're getting close to the state budget deadline of April 1. This week will be full of both private negotiations and public sessions in Albany, where lawmakers attempt to come to a budget deal while showing significantly divergent takes on key issues - as well as central mechanisms related to the budget and policy.

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