On November 4, 2025, voters approved the housing measures produced by the 2025 New York City Charter Revision Commission. Shams DaBaron, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of LionFox Development, served on the commission.
The measures change the city’s land use review process. The Affordable Housing Fast Track creates 2 faster review processes for affordable housing. One is for publicly financed projects. The other is for projects in the 12 community districts with the lowest rates of affordable housing development. The Expedited Land Use Review Procedure sets a 90-day public review for modest housing and infrastructure projects.
The Affordable Housing Appeals Board is made up of the Mayor, the City Council Speaker, and the local Borough President. By a 2-to-1 vote, it can reverse certain City Council decisions that reject or change an affordable housing project. Voters also approved the commission’s proposal to make the Department of City Planning responsible for a single digital City Map.
DaBaron spoke at the commission’s first public meeting on January 7, 2025, and took part in its public input sessions in Queens and Staten Island. At the final meeting on July 21, 2025, he spoke and voted to send the housing proposals to city voters.
LionFox develops mixed-income and affordable housing and guides each project through public approvals. We know how housing rules work because we helped write some of them.
Sources
- NYC Votes (NYC Campaign Finance Board): 2025 ballot proposals
- City Planning Commission and Department of City Planning: proposed rules for the Expedited Land Use Review Procedure and the Affordable Housing Appeals Board
- NYC Board of Standards and Appeals: Affordable Housing Fast Track rulemaking presentation, April 1, 2026
- NYC Charter Revision Commission final meeting, July 21, 2025 (citymeetings.nyc record)
