New York City Board of Estimate presidents of Manhattan and Brooklyn, each having two votes; and the borough presidents of the Bronx, Queens, and Richmond (Staten Island), each having one vote. (The 1897 charter effective on amalgamation had had a five-member Board of Estimate and Apportionment.) 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
New York City Regional Center areas of New York City in need of long-term economic growth. Examples include: • $220 million to finance ground-up construction in the Bronx; • $108.5 million to finance ground-up and redevelopment projects in Washington Heights (an Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone); and, • $767 million to finance ground-up, redevelopment, and infrastructure projects in Brooklyn, including seven projects totaling $339 million in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Examples of economic development projects utilizing loans provided by NYCRC-managed funds include the following: • A new wireless infrastructure network in New York City’s subway stations • Redevelopment of a new cargo facility at JFK International