S 5874: Directs the board of standards and appeals and the city planning commission in the city of New York to mail a copy of each application for and appeal of a variance to the city council member, borough president and state legislators for the affected land.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5874 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE March 3, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. LANZA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities 1 AN ACT to amend the New York city charter, in relation to requiring the board of standards and appeals and the city planning commission of the city of New York to provide a copy of each application for a variance or special permit to the members of the city council and the state assembly and the state senator in whose districts, and the president of the borough in which the land, to which the application relates, is located The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph 1 of subdivision c, and subdivisions d and e of 2 section 668 of the New York city charter, as amended by local law number 3 103 of the city of New York for the year 2017, are amended to read as 4 follows: 5 1. Each proposal or application shall be filed with the board of stan- 6 dards and appeals, which shall forward a copy within five days to the 7 community board for each community district in which the land involved, 8 or any part thereof, is located, and to the borough board if the 9 proposal or application involves land located in two or more districts 10 in a borough; and shall deliver, within five days, a copy thereof to 11 each member of the council, each member of the state assembly and each 12 state senator in whose district, and the president of the borough in 13 which the land involved is located. 14 d. The recommendation of a community board or borough board pursuant 15 to subdivision c of this section shall be filed with the board of stand- 16 ards and appeals and [a copy] copies sent to the city planning commis- 17 sion, and to each member of the council, each member of the state assem- 18 bly and each state senator in whose district, and the president of the 19 borough in which the land involved is located. The board of standards 20 and appeals shall conduct a public hearing and act on the proposed EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10339-01-5 
 S. 5874 2 1 application. All testimony delivered at a public hearing by the appli- 2 cant on the proposed application shall be sworn or affirmed under oath. 3 A decision of the board shall indicate whether each of the specific 4 requirements of the zoning resolution for the granting of variances has 5 been met and shall include findings of fact with regard to each such 6 requirement. When the board of standards and appeals grants or denies an 7 application for a variance or special permit, the board shall respond, 8 as applicable, to any relevant recommendation filed with such board by a 9 community board or borough board regarding such application. Inadvert- 10 ent failure to comply with the preceding sentence shall not result in 11 the invalidation of any board decision. 12 e. Copies of a decision of the board of standards and appeals and 13 copies of any recommendation of the affected community board or borough 14 board shall be filed with the city planning commission. Copies of the 15 decision shall also be filed with the affected community or borough 16 boards. In addition, copies of the decision shall be sent to each 17 member of the council, each member of the assembly and each state 18 senator in whose district, and the president of the borough in which the 19 land involved is located. 20 § 2. Subdivision b of section 669 of the New York city charter, such 21 section as designated by a vote of the people of the city of New York at 22 the general election held in November of 1975, is amended to read as 23 follows: 24 b. Such appeal may be taken within such time as shall be prescribed by 25 the board by general rule, by filing with the officer from whom the 26 appeal is taken and with the board a notice of appeal, specifying the 27 grounds thereof. The board shall deliver each notice of appeal so filed 28 within five days to each member of the council, each member of the state 29 assembly and each state senator in whose district, and the president of 30 the borough in which the land involved is located. The officer from whom 31 the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the board all the papers 32 constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken. 33 § 3. Subdivision a of section 201 of the New York city charter, as 34 amended by a vote of the people of the city of New York at the general 35 election held in November of 1989, is amended to read as follows: 36 a. Applications for changes in the zoning resolution may be filed by 37 any taxpayer, community board, borough board, borough president, by the 38 mayor or by the land use committee of the council if two-thirds of the 39 members of the committee shall have voted to approve such filing with 40 the city planning commission. The city planning commission shall deliv- 41 er each application so filed within five days to each member of the 42 council, each member of the state assembly and each state senator in 43 whose district, and the president of the borough in which the land 44 involved is located. All such applications involving changes in the 45 designation of zoning districts under the zoning resolution shall be 46 subject to review and approval pursuant to section one hundred ninety- 47 seven-c and one hundred ninety-seven-d of this chapter. For applica- 48 tions involving other changes in zoning resolutions and regulations, the 49 commission prior to taking action upon any such application shall refer 50 it to the affected community boards or borough boards for a public 51 hearing and recommendation. 52 § 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 53 have become a law, and shall apply to proposals and applications filed 54 with the board of standards and appeals and the city planning commission 55 of the city of New York on or after such date.