Adopted in the 1989 City Charter Revision, “Fair Share” provisions require the City to ensure that communities are both getting their fair share of amenities like parks and libraries and doing their fair share to confront citywide problems like homelessness. An audit and report from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander found that New York City unevenly distributes city facilities.

By keeping critical data on the concentration of services in neighborhoods unavailable, the City has failed to produce mandated analyses of neighborhood impact. As a member of the City Council, I work to ensure that the report’s recommendations are followed by the New York City government.

Based on its review, the Comptroller’s Office recommends that the City: 

1. Establish clear, centralized city oversight over Fair Share compliance 
2. Improve and regularly update the Fair Share Criteria, including the BTP ratio 
3. Improve public access to information on sitting, facility capacity, and concentration 
4. Reform the Citywide Statement of Needs 
5. Prohibit unfair siting in over-saturated districts 
6. Clarify that Fair Share should apply to city facilities sited through emergency procurement.