Council Passes 26 Bills, Clears Major Rezonings Across Brooklyn and Queens

Overview

The week of Feb 23 – Mar 1 was one of the busiest of the young 2026 session. The Council passed 26 bills and land-use measures, advanced 31 items through committee, and introduced 48 new bills. The full-Council vote calendar was dominated by landmark designations, neighborhood rezonings, and a handful of significant legislative measures. Committee hearings ranged from school security buffers to small-business retail safety funding.

---

Land Use: Rezonings, Landmarks, and a Farm

The Council's land-use calendar was the week's centerpiece, with unanimous or near-unanimous votes on more than a dozen items.

Brooklyn rezonings and landmarks

• The Council unanimously approved the Prospect Farm acquisition in Brooklyn, adding the site to city ownership.
• Three Brooklyn neighborhoods received new historic district protections: Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West both passed 49-0.
• The Constellation landmark series — a group of related historic designations — moved through with varying levels of support. CB5 passed 48-1; CB3, CB16, and CB17 each passed 42-3 with 4 abstentions; Open Door cleared 47-0 with 2 abstentions.
• The Avenue U mixed-use development in Brooklyn, along with its companion zoning text and map amendments, passed unanimously.

Queens rezonings

• Two separate mixed-use projects in Queens cleared the full Council without opposition: rezonings at 217-14 24th Avenue and Broadway, each with companion resolutions.

Seaside Park & Community Arts Center

Five related measures — covering special permits, a rezoning, and additional permits for the Seaside Park & Community Arts Center project — all passed 49-0.

Flatbush Avenue and Beach Channel (committee stage)

Several larger redevelopment projects advanced out of committee but have not yet reached a full Council vote. The Flatbush Avenue redevelopment moved forward across four related land-use items covering rezoning, housing, a plaza plan, and parking — all with committee modifications. In Queens, the Beach Channel Drive rezoning and its companion measure advanced after months of delay. An Astoria rezoning at 33-01 11th Street also cleared committee.

---

Legislation: Government Operations and Public Reporting

Three legislative bills passed the full Council this week, all unanimously.

• The Council enacted updated emergency procurement rules requiring faster contract audits — a government-operations measure that passed 49-0.
• The Health Department will now be required to track and report citywide suicide data annually, under a bill that also passed 49-0.
• A bill requiring the city to report monthly on payment delays to early childhood education providers passed 49-0, addressing a longstanding concern among childcare operators about late reimbursements.

Int 0068-2026 also passed unanimously, requiring newsrack owners to display a contact email address and report changes to the city within a set number of days — a minor but enforceable update to street furniture rules.

One bill drew the week's only contested vote on the legislative side: a measure allowing Open Streets holiday activations passed 42-7, the narrowest margin of the week.

The Council also passed a bill restructuring the city's youth advisory board, reducing its membership to 18 and requiring that members be between the ages of 16 and 24.

---

Public Safety and Civil Rights: Security Buffers and Hate-Related Bills

Two bills that advanced through committee this week would establish security buffer zones around sensitive locations:

• A bill covering religious institutions was amended in committee and moves to the next stage.
• A companion measure for schools was similarly amended and advanced.

Several civil-rights-related bills were heard but laid over for further work:

• A bill on hate crime reporting requirements was discussed and delayed.
• A proposed hate incident hotline and reporting system was heard and sent back for revision.
• A social media literacy bill — which would require schools to receive materials on online hate risks — was heard but not yet advanced.
• A bill on gender-based violence data access was discussed and delayed for further consideration.

Reimbursement for surveillance cameras at nonpublic schools was also discussed in committee without a vote.

---

Small Business and Retail Safety

Two retail security bills were heard this week but rerouted rather than advanced:

• A retail security funding bill was heard in the Small Business Committee and referred to the Public Safety Committee.
• A small business security pilot program was similarly discussed and sent to Public Safety.

The referrals suggest the Council is consolidating retail safety legislation under one committee rather than splitting jurisdiction.

Also heard but delayed: a flexible benefits card mandate related to payment access, and a human services wage bill that drew committee attention but was held over.

---

Housing, Health, and Children's Services

A cluster of bills touching housing, children's services, and health were heard in committee this week without advancing to a vote:

• A mental health pilot program for children returning home from foster care removal was discussed and delayed.
• A bill requiring multilingual child welfare disclosure forms was heard and postponed.
• A parental rights disclosure bill was laid over by the Children and Youth Committee.
• Bills on renewable diesel heating oil feasibility and a renewable diesel mandate for city vehicles were both heard and postponed.
• Two bills on city property rental and building space tracking were heard and tabled pending further input.

---

Introduced Bills: Themes to Watch

Forty-eight new bills were introduced this week. The largest clusters fell under land use (41 introductions, many tied to ongoing ULURP processes), government operations (31), and civil rights (21). Smaller batches addressed housing, health, public safety, parks, and small business. These introductions set the committee agenda for the weeks ahead but have not yet been scheduled for hearings.