Council Overrides 17 Adams Vetoes in Sweeping Year-End Reckoning

Council Clears the Decks: 17 Veto Overrides in One Week

The week of Jan 26–Feb 1 was defined by a single dominant story: the New York City Council overrode 17 vetoes issued by former Mayor Eric Adams before he left office on Dec 31, 2025. The bills span housing, immigration, labor, civil rights, and vendor regulation — legislation Adams had blocked that the Council is now enacting under the new Mamdani administration. Every override passed with well above the 34-vote threshold required.

These overrides reflect the close of the Adams era. Mayor Mamdani did not veto any of these bills and has been broadly supportive of the Council's legislative agenda.

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Housing: Land Banks, Foreclosure Limits, and Affordability Mandates

Housing legislation dominated the override session, with five bills clearing the former mayor's vetoes.

• The Council passed a land bank bill creating a New York City land bank to acquire and redevelop properties for affordable housing (44–7).
• A companion measure directing the city to sell tax liens to that land bank also passed (44–7), alongside a tax lien transparency bill requiring public reporting on lien activity (51–0).
• A foreclosure protection bill restricting foreclosures on owner-occupied homes cleared the override threshold at 44–7.
• The Council unanimously passed a deep-affordability mandate requiring deeply affordable rental units in city-funded housing projects (45–6), and a separate bill establishing an affordable homeownership program with down-payment assistance passed 51–0.
• A bill setting a timeline for co-op apartment sales passed unanimously at 51–0, overriding the Adams administration's veto.

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Civil Rights and Public Safety: DNA, Immigration, and Survivors

Several high-profile civil rights bills moved through the override process this week.

• The Council passed a bill protecting minors from warrantless DNA collection (45–6), overriding a veto from the Adams administration.
• A bill barring ICE from Department of Correction facilities passed 44–7, prohibiting immigration enforcement access to city jail spaces.
• Gender-violence survivors gained an extended legal window to sue, with the Council unanimously overriding the Adams veto 51–0.
• A bill establishing wage and training standards for security guards passed 46–5.

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Workers and Vendors: Rideshare, Street Vendors, and Sanitation Workers

Labor and small-business protections made up a substantial share of the override package.

• Rideshare drivers gained protection against wrongful deactivation from app-based platforms, passing 46–5.
• The Council unanimously passed a bill creating a street vendor assistance division within city government (51–0), and a companion measure expanding mobile vendor licensing and compliance rules passed 41–7.
• A supervisory licensing bill for mobile food vendors passed 42–8.
• Street cleaners won a delay in new sanitation rules until 2028, passing unanimously at 51–0.

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Government Integrity: Contracts and Conflict-of-Interest Rules

Two unanimously passed bills tightened standards for how the city does business.

• Int 0479-2024 establishing conflict-of-interest standards for city contracts passed 51–0, overriding the Adams administration's veto.
• A separate bill on city contract conflict-of-interest standards also cleared the Council without opposition.

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Committee Activity: Land Use, Procurement, and Public Services

Thirty bills received committee hearings this week, with none advancing to a final vote — all were laid over or tabled for further review.

Land use dominated the committee docket. A cluster of applications related to the Seaside Park & Community Arts Center in Brooklyn generated multiple hearings across zoning, special permits, and landmarks subcommittees, with decisions delayed on all fronts. A proposed redevelopment at 395 Flatbush Avenue — covering rezoning, housing, a special permit, and a preservation component — also received hearings, with the landmarks panel postponing action on each piece. Historic district designation proposals for Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West in Brooklyn were heard and held over. Several Constellation landmark applications (CB3, CB5, CB16, CB17, and Open Door) were discussed and tabled. The Prospect Farm landmark acquisition was also delayed.

Procurement and government operations bills received hearings but no votes. A bill creating a public procurement portal, an emergency procurement measure, and a subcontractor fraud penalty bill were all heard and laid over by the Contracts Committee. A bill establishing a pay commission for elected officials was tabled after a hearing.

Social services bills heard in committee included measures on early childhood program payment tracking, child care licensing guidance, paid donor leave for city workers, youth board restructuring, and suicide reporting standards — all held over pending further deliberation.

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Introduction Trends: 547 Bills Filed

With 500 bills introduced this week, the Council's filing activity reflects broad legislative priorities for the new session. Government operations led with 231 introductions, followed by civil rights (128), housing (111), consumer protection (84), public safety (79), environment (76), small business (75), and transportation (73). The volume reflects the start of a new Council term, when members typically file legislation signaling their agendas for the coming years. Most introduced bills will be referred to committee and may take months or years to advance.

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