New York (N.Y.). Board of Estimate

Revisions to the Charter of the City of New York, effective January 1, 1990, abolished the Board of Estimate and redistributed its responsibilities among the Mayor, the Comptroller, the City Council, the Borough Presidents, the City Planning Commission, and Community Boards. The Board functioned officially through June 30, 1990.

The disbandment of the board and the reallocation of its powers was mandated by the unanimous ruling of the U.S. Supreme court on March 22, 1988. Affirming the October 8, 1987 ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Second District, the Court acknowledged that the board was unconstitutional because it violated the one person, one vote principle of the U.S. Constitution.

Established by the Reform Charter of 1873, the board, a unique governmental structure, part administrative, part legislative, had evolved into an eight-member institution with a total of 11 votes. Its members, elected to their respective city offices for four-year terms, served as members "ex-officio" of the Board of Estimate. The Mayor, serving as chairperson, the Comptroller, and the President of the City Council, elected by the voters of the city at large, had two votes each. The borough presidents of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, elected by the residents of their respective boroughs, had one vote each. This apportionment of voting power was ruled unconstitutional because the borough presidents individually had only one vote each although the boroughs represented varied substantially in population.

The Board of Estimate was responsible for determining policy in reference to all financial matters, city planning, franchises, public improvements, municipal real estate, and zoning.

Specifically, the board was responsible for:

Granting leases of city property and concessions for the use of city property and entering into leases of property to the city for city use.

Making recommendations to the mayor or the council in regard to city policy matters.

Holding public hearings on city policy or other matters within the scope of its responsibilities whenever the public interest would be benifited.

Authorizing the use, development and improvement of city land. Approving standards, scopes and final designs of capital projects.

Superseding or withdrawing from a community board its delegated powers for violation of law, malfeasance or misfeasance.

Approving standards, scopes, and final designs of capital projects.

Holding hearings on tax abatement applications relating to the development of city land involving any city agency.

Establishing under the board, the Bureau of the Secretary and the Bureau of Franchises, whose heads, appointed by the board would be respectively, Secretary to the Board of Estimate and Director of Franchises. The board further conferred upon these appointees the powers of the department heads in organizing and staffing their bureaus.

The genesis of the board was the creation in 1864 of a Board of Estimate and Apportionment, consisting of the Commissioners of the Metropolitan Police and the comptrollers of New York and Brooklyn, to estimate the expense of a regional Metropolitan Police District for the State of New York. Another Board of Estimate and Apportionment, whose members were the Mayor, the Comptroller, the Commissioner of Public Works, and the President of the Department of Public Parks, was formed in 1871 to apportion the revenue resulting from a tax assessment on property valuation.

Under the Reform Charter of 1873, the now abolished board was established as the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, composed of the Mayor, the Comptroller, the President of the Board of Aldermen, and the President of the Department of Taxes and Assessments. Its function was to estimate the cost of conducting the city government and, based on this estimate, to establish a tax rate.

In 1901, the Revised Charter, reflecting the creation of "Greater New York," provided that the members of the board should be the Mayor, the Comptroller, and the President of the Board of Aldermen, and the five borough presidents, all of whom were elected officials. The Mayor, the Comptroller, and the President of the Board of Aldermen had three votes each, the presidents of Manhattan and Brooklyn, two votes each, and the presidents of The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island, one vote each.

In 1902, the powers of the Board of Public Improvements were transferred to the board, and in 1911 it was empowered to authorize public improvements and determine assessments for them, and in 1917 further empowered to regulate buildings and zoning. Its name was abbreviated to the Board of Estimate in 1938, and it was given the powers previously exercised by the Sinking Fund Commissioners regarding city-owned real estate.

On April 15, 1958, an act of the New York State Legislature, apportioned the 22 votes of the board as follows: The Mayor, the Comptroller, and the President of the Council, four votes each; the five borough presidents, two votes each. The apportionment was further reduced under the Laws of 1978, chapter 763, to two votes each for the Mayor, the comptroller and President of the Council and one vote each for the borough presidents. It remained at this ratio until the board was dissolved June 30, 1990.

From the description of Agency history record. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 145406953