New York City Board of Estimate

The New York City Board of Estimate was a governmental body in New York City, responsible for numerous areas of municipal policy and decisions, including the city budget, land-use, contracts, franchises, and water rates. Under the charter of the newly amalgamated City of Greater New York (passed in 1897, effective January 1, 1898) the Board of Estimate and Apportionment was composed of eight ex officio members: the Mayor of New York City, the New York City Comptroller and the President of the New York City Council, each of whom was elected citywide and had two votes, and the five borough presidents, each having one vote. The La Guardia Reform Charter of 1938 simplified its name and enhanced its powers.

On March 22, 1989, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously declared in Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris that the Board of Estimate was unconstitutional on the grounds that Brooklyn, the city's most populous borough had no greater effective representation on the board than Staten Island, the city's least populous borough, and that this arrangement was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause pursuant to the high court's 1964 "one man, one vote" decision (Reynolds v. Sims).

In response to the Supreme Court's decision, the New York City Charter Revision Committee drew up changes to the municipal government, which were approved 55% to 45% in a city-wide referendum on election day that November. A month later, the changes were approved by the U.S. Department of Justice and they were implemented as planned the following year according to the 1990 City Charter, which abolished the Board of Estimate and assigned most of its responsibilities to an enlarged New York City Council.