Elections in New York: who is the borough president and what he is responsible for

Municipal elections continue in New York. In addition to the new mayor and city council members, whom almost everyone around us is talking about, we also elect presidents from 4 out of 5 boroughs. But are they important? What are they doing anyway? Answers to these questions were given by the publication City.

Borough presidents were once part of the Board of Estimate, which gave them more authority, but even now, do not underestimate their role in the development of each of the five boroughs in New York.

In 1989, the Supreme Court abolished the Estimates Commission, after which in 1990 the city's charter was changed.

“The role of the president of the borough has gone from being decisive to being more advisory,” explained former Brooklyn President Marty Markowitz.

The importance of the role of the president of the borough is to support common agreement, to find consensus among all the disparate points of view of the people of the boroughs.

Responsibilities of the borough president under the city charter

1. Formal recommendations for decisions on large construction projectsundergoing the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. Borough Presidents' land-use and zoning proposals are non-binding and advisory, which means they cannot participate in the final decisive vote. Regardless, the opinion of the borough president can help the city council negotiate with the developer. So, the president of the borough can influence the decision to increase the number of available units in the project, etc.

2. Management of the borough's annual budget in the amount of millions of dollars for distribution to schools, parks, community organizations and community groups in the borough. Information on how the heads of the boroughs divided the budget in previous years is available at the links: Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens и Staten island.

“We're helping equip libraries with elevators, upgrade ramps in nursing homes, and schools with tablets,” said Aldrin Bonilla, who served as Manhattan's deputy president from 2014 to 2020.

3. Submission of bills for consideration by the city council. However, if the city council takes up the proposed bill, the president of the borough cannot vote for it.

4. Creation of territorial government bodies by annually appointing new members to vacant positions. All members of the territorial administration bodies have a sliding term of service, providing for the annual replacement of about half of the composition. The city council can propose candidates for positions, but it is the borough president who makes the final decision.

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Examples of effective work of borough presidents:

• Gail Brewer (the current president of Manhattan) sponsored several bills that became laws during her tenure, including a measure to protect interns from workplace harassment.
• After Bronx President Ruben Diaz Jr. pulled out of support in 2009 to transform the Kingsbridge Armory to a shopping center, the city council rejected the offer.
• Marty Markowitz was a huge help to the megaproject that donated the Barclays Center and Atlantic Yards, now called Pacific Park, to Brooklyn.
• The late President of Queens, Claire Schulman, pushed for funding for the renovation of medical centers in her borough, which led to appropriate decisions.

Learn more about the presidential candidates for your borough. here.