Various interesting citizen lawmaking and mulling sites are among the e-democracy links in the right sidebar. So far, diversity and quality of deliberation are often hampered by most forums’ irrelevance and rudimentary process, but improvement is constant—let us know of any good ones that should be included! If you’d like to throw an idea on the wall here, or comment on another, feel free. All comments to this intro making it through our spam filters will be made posts.

Disclaimer: the ideas posted in this category (which don’t necessarily have to be for New York City) are only the inspired musings of individuals and do not represent the opinions of those working for this charter amendment, nor does its passage necessarily make their enactment any more likely.

The City’s budget could be trimmed by $6-$9 billion in every mayor’s 4 year term by eliminating over half of the Agencies through consolidation from 116 to about 48.  The revenue saved in Commissioner staff and salaries and upper level bureaucracy combined with redundancy elimination would certainly be worth its weight in legislative paper if the City Council would circumscribe the number of city agencies and cap their upper and upper middle level management.

At the National Lawyers Guild panel on COINTELPRO last week, Dhoruba Bin Wahad made an emphatic case for remaking the command structure of the NYPD to put local neighborhoods in charge.

Leads to further interesting questions of process and accountability.  Note that, theoretically, we have the right to make this change now, as it entails amending the charter.

Do it wherever you like so long as you don’t violate another law.

(Repeals NYC cabaret law.)

Just picking the glaringly obvious low hanging fruit. There’s a few like this. Guess I’ll try to post other suggestions I’ve heard made (maybe not the ones likely to be included in the flick).

As, according to EPA and NYPD stats Manhattan residents are more likely to die from air pollution than murder, according to a New York Post survey air quality has long been New Yorkers’ number one quality of life complaint, and many other hefty reasons, how about:

“Beginning May 1st, 2025, the use of any carcinogen emitting or carbon combustion engine, except those with a special permit issued by the Department of Transportation only in cases when there is absolutely no alternative, shall be prohibited on the island of Manhattan, in its airspace below 1000 feet, and upon any waterways covering any of its area above sea level in 2008 but anytime thereafter submerged.”

Plenty of time to figure out working substitutes. I think federally and state controlled highways would not fall within this proposal’s jurisdiction, but man would it be gorgeous, and we throw our collective muscle around as consumers more proactively.  Any suggestions for a spin title?  The Driving into the Future Act?

we amend the city’s charter to give its people the right to propose and vote on laws.