As New Yorkers head to the polls to vote for their governor and congressmembers, they’ll also be asked to weigh in on a series of ballot questions that could expand outdoor dining and speed up the development of new bike and bus lanes.

The November ballot features five proposed amendments to the city charter, New York City’s municipal constitution. Last year, voters overwhelmingly approved four proposals aimed at fast-tracking housing development in the five boroughs.

Previous Mayor Eric Adams tried to influence this year’s charter amendment process on his way out, creating a “zombie” charter commission on his final day in office. Mayor Zohran Mamdani disbanded the body and replaced it with his own Commission on Government Efficiency, or “COGE” — a cheeky reference to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

The commission held public meetings in each borough to hear testimony on how residents thought city government could work faster and more effectively. Commissioners then developed five proposals for this year’s ballot.

Here’s what they say and how they could affect outdoor dining, city contracting, bus and bike lane construction, vacant city properties, the building permitting process and the city’s rainy day fund.

Early voting starts Saturday, Oct. 24. Election Day is Nov. 3. You can find your poll site at vote.nyc .

What the ballot says: Simplify process to use public space for uses such as ramps, planters and cafes, by removing mandatory hearings and Council disapproval of sidewalk cafes, while maintaining community and Council input.

“Yes” speeds up process to use public space while maintaining community input.

“No” maintains longer process with mandatory public hearing to use public space and Council review of sidewalk cafes.

What it means: Outdoor dining exploded across New York City during the pandemic after officials relaxed regulations to help the struggling restaurant industry. But city data show the number of businesses offering outdoor dining has dropped about 90% since those pandemic highs, largely due to restrictions passed by the City Council in 2023. Earlier this year, the Council reversed some of those regulations. This charter amendment aims to further support outdoor dining by cutting down on permitting times and fees.

City officials say it currently takes restaurants up to eight months to open an outdoor dining space. The ballot language would combine applications for sidewalk cafés and roadway sheds into a single process and remove the City Council’s veto power over sidewalk cafés. Commission officials say the changes would cut the application process down to two months and save restaurants up to $1,800 in fees.