As the November Ballot approaches, the 2026 Commission on Government Efficiency (COGE) has put forth five ballot proposals to improve processes in the city government. Although most of the proposals are not related to preservation, HDC is particularly concerned with Item 3 that deals with the sale and lease of city-owned land and air rights in historic districts. We present the following statement on our thoughts and recommendations on Item 3 for those interested in how the item will affect the preservation of historic buildings in the city.
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Historic Districts Council (HDC) is the citywide organization advocating for New York’s historically, architecturally, and culturally significant buildings and neighborhoods. We support preservation efforts in all five boroughs and work with more than 500 neighborhood groups to preserve the places that matter to them.
In reference to the questions proposed by the Commission on Government Efficiency for the November 2026 ballot, HDC questions the composition of Question 3 on the ballot ballot.
HDC does not support the combining of multiple issues, the sale and lease of city-owned parcels streamlining street infrastructure improvements, and the disposition of air rights for city owned landmarks together into one ballot item. These are all separate matters with distinct constraints. We fear the overall effort is one of streamlining many government processes mainly focused on removing public input and engagement from the process and lessens City Council involvement, concentrating the power in the hands of the Mayoral administration and its agencies. We remain steadfast in our belief that public engagement is a core tenet of good government.
As for the specifics of the ballot question, HDC is largely supportive of the City’s proposed plans to streamline the process to identify and sell air rights from city-owned landmark sites. We welcome the opportunity to contribute to the action plan to promote the designation and subsequent use of city-owned landmarks. The city can unlock money for the continued appropriate maintenance and restoration of city-owned landmarks and help build much-needed housing nearby. As long as this process continues to include the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission’s (LPC) review of all maintenance plans developed from the sale of air rights, then we support this effort.
As for the disposition of City-owned land we have more reservations. City owned land and buildings are a finite resource for the good of New Yorkers and the process for the sale and/or use of the sites must be scrutinized carefully to make sure that the highest and best use is being made of these sites. Even smaller parcels can be excellent locations for new affordable housing but speeding up the process and removing public involvement runs the risk of these sites not being used to their best potential. And as we stated, once these sites are gone, they are gone.