New York City Board of Estimate

The New York City Board of Estimate was a political body in New York City that, as a kind of city council or magistrate, was responsible for the public budget and the zoning plan . It was found unconstitutional in a Supreme Court decision in 1989 and subsequently dissolved.

history

Since it was founded in 1898, the Board of Estimate had eight ex officio members: the three offices directly elected by the general population, the Mayor of New York , the City Comptroller and the President of the New York City Council , each with double voting weight, and the five borough presidents each with a single voting weight. In 1938, the powers of the board under Mayor LaGuardia were further expanded.

In 1989 the Supreme Court of the United States declared the board unconstitutional because in it Brooklyn, the most populous borough, held the same voting weight as the much smaller borough Staten Island . However, this contradicted the basic principle of "one man, one vote" codified in the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment .

In the New York City Charter, revised in 1990, most of the tasks were assigned to the New York City Council. The position of President of the New York City Council, now largely restricted to its representative role, was subsequently renamed the New York City Public Advocate and converted into an ombudsman for the New York people.