General Election
New York CityProposal 4
Building and waterfront permits
Changes who can approve construction documents, how applications are submitted and which agency oversees waterfront construction.
The official question
Official sourceSimplify Building Permitting and Move Waterfront Permitting to Department of Buildings
Create centralized construction permits hub to simplify permitting. Move waterfront permitting from Department of Small Business Services to Department of Buildings. Allow construction approval by additional Department of Buildings officials.
Official YES and NO descriptions
“Yes” simplifies permitting by authorizing a centralized permitting hub, moving waterfront permitting to Department of Buildings, and allowing additional Department of Buildings officials to issue approvals.
“No” leaves laws unchanged.
What your vote means
Expand Buildings officials’ approval authority, require a shared construction-permitting system subject to funding and feasibility, and transfer waterfront permitting to Buildings.
Keep the current approval structure, separate agency permitting systems and waterfront-permitting responsibilities.
Before you decide
Your ballot · Proposal 4
Fill in one oval. Tap it again to return to undecided.
Undecided
Inside this proposal
See every changeApproval authority
Permit additional deputy and borough commissioners and citywide delegation of specified authority.
Shared permitting system
Require agencies to cooperate on a single system and accept applications through it.
Waterfront construction
Transfer the relevant permitting and code-enforcement responsibilities to Buildings.
Who’s weighing in
All statements
Gotham Organization
July 23, 2026
“Gotham Organization applauds the Commission’s proposal to simplify and centralize the City’s building permitting process.”
— Brian Kelly, President of the Gotham Organization
Reinvent Albany
July 22, 2026
“This proposal sensibly brings 40 approvals from 18 separate offices and agencies into one hub for permitting, saving builders time and frustration.”
— Reinvent Albany, written statement