New York City Board of Estimate

The New York City Board of Estimate was a governmental body in New York City, responsible for numerous areas of municipal policy and decisions, including the city budget, land-use, contracts, franchises, and water rates. Under the charter of the newly amalgamated City of Greater New York (passed in 1897, effective January 1, 1898) the Board of Estimate and Apportionment was composed of eight ex officio members: the Mayor of New York City, the New York City Comptroller and the President of the New York City Council, each of whom was elected citywide and had two votes, and the five borough presidents, each having one vote.[1] The La Guardia Reform Charter of 1938 simplified its name and enhanced its powers.

On March 22, 1989, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously declared in Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris that the Board of Estimate was unconstitutional on the grounds that Brooklyn, the city's most populous borough had no greater effective representation on the board than Staten Island, the city's least populous borough, and that this arrangement was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause pursuant to the high court's 1964 "one man, one vote" decision (Reynolds v. Sims).[2][3]

In response to the Supreme Court's decision, the New York City Charter Revision Committee drew up changes to the municipal government, which were approved 55% to 45% in a city-wide referendum on election day that November.[4] A month later, the changes were approved by the U.S. Department of Justice[5] and they were implemented as planned the following year according to the 1990 City Charter, which abolished the Board of Estimate and assigned most of its responsibilities to an enlarged New York City Council.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Being Borough President, Gotham Gazette, July 18, 2005
  2. ↑ Cornell Law School Supreme Court Collection: Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris, accessed June 12, 2006
  3. ↑ Greenhouse, Linda (March 23, 1989). "Justices Void New York City's Government; Demand Voter Equality in All Boroughs". New York Times. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  4. ↑ Finder, Alan (November 8, 1989). "The 1989 Elections: Charter; Overhaul of New York City Charter Is Approved, Polls Show". New York Times. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  5. ↑ Finder, Alan (December 14, 1989). "New York City Charter Revision Approved by Justice Department". New York Times. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.