May 8, 2025 - Citizens Union has issued the following statement from Board Chairman John Avlon celebrating a unanimous New York State Appellate Court ruling affirming the constitutionality of a 2023 state law moving many county and town elections to even-numbered years, overturning a state Supreme Court decision in October that invalidated the law
April 30, 2025 - Citizens Union has issued the following statement from Board Chair John Avlon applauding the Charter Revision Commission for including two transformative reforms in their report issued today: moving New York City elections to even-numbered years and implementing a top-two open primary system. These long-standing priorities of Citizens Union represent important steps toward a more inclusive, participatory, and representative local democracy:
April 10, 2025 - Citizens Union, New York’s pre-eminent nonpartisan good government organization, today announced its endorsement of Republican Frank Morano in the special election for New York City Council District 51, representing Staten Island’s South Shore communities. The seat was vacated earlier this year by former Council Member Joe Borelli.
For Immediate Release Contact: Max Schulman, 347-861-4167, max@anatgerstein.com Proposal to be presented to the Charter Revision Commission this evening; report…
April 2, 2025 - Citizens Union today released the following statement from Chairman John Avlon in response to dismissal of corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams
March 20, 2025 - Citizens Union released the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum, applauding the New York City Council for passing legislation to address the city’s long-standing sidewalk shed problem. Citizens Union’s 2023 report, Sidewalk Shed Reform in New York City, highlighted how these structures, originally intended as temporary safety measures, have become permanent fixtures
February 24, 2025 - Citizens Union today released a new report urging both New York City Charter Revision Commissions to take decisive action to strengthen democracy and enhance government accountability. The report, published ahead of Citizens Union’s testimony before the Mayoral Commission this evening, calls for comprehensive reforms, including establishing a process to remove mayors for misconduct, implementing top-two open primary elections, moving city elections to even-numbered years, and expanding the powers and independence of the Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB).
February 19, 2025) - Mayor Eric Adams should resign from his office. His choices and actions over a sustained period of time have led to levels of ethical misconduct in City Hall unseen in decades. This has created a crisis of confidence in his ability to lead the government of our nation’s largest city and has led to the resignation of more than half of his current deputy mayors. Serious ethical lapses by the Mayor, and an absence of stability in any one of these roles, let alone all of them, threaten to undermine policymaking and the delivery of essential public services citywide.
February 18, 2025 - Watchdog and legal groups applauded today’s thoroughly-researched and argued decision by the NYS Court of Appeals that solidifies the constitutionality of the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (COELIG). This victory for state ethics oversight will help ensure that the governor does not have undue control over the very body that ensures their conduct is ethical
February 10, 2025 - Citizens Union issues the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum and Board Chair John Avlon in response to the directive from the Acting Deputy Attorney General to the Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York to dismiss the charges against Mayor Eric Adams
February 07, 2025 - Citizens Union and Citizens Union Foundation announced today that Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum will retire after seven years at the organization's helm. Gotbaum, a distinguished public servant and nonprofit leader, has spent more than five decades serving the people of New York City in various capacities, leaving an indelible mark on the city’s civic and political landscape.
February 7, 2025 - Citizens Union and Reinvent Albany sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins in response to the efforts to change the special election calendar in New York.
January 24, 2025 - Citizens Union today published an analysis revealing that the number of senior City officials indicted or resigning under investigation in the three years since Mayor Eric Adams took office is double the combined totals across the Dinkins, Giuliani, Bloomberg, and de Blasio administration
January 8, 2025 - Citizens Union issues the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum in response to the report released today by the Department of Investigations revealing that NYC Board of Elections Executive Director Mike Ryan harassed employees and created a hostile work environment
December 21, 2024 - Citizens Union issues the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum in response to the resignation of NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey
December 18, 2024 - Citizens Union announced the election of John Avlon as their new Board Chair. Avlon, an accomplished journalist, author, civic leader, and former congressional candidate, succeeds Randy Mastro, who has served with distinction as Chair since 2016. Avlon was elected unanimously by the boards of Citizens Union and Citizens Union Foundation.
New York, N.Y. (December 12, 2024) - Citizens Union has issued the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum in response to Mayor Eric Adams’s announcement of the appointment of a Charter Revision Commission
December 9, 2024 - Several good government groups and political club sent a letter to the New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and top Council officials expressing concern over the possible appointment of Frank Seddio, former chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, for Commissioner of Elections. Seddio has been nominated by the Brooklyn Democratic Party for a term that begins on January 1, 2025. A date for the confirmation has not been set.
November 6, 2024 - Citizens Union has released the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum in response to the results of Tuesday evening’s election
October 21, 2024 - Citizens Union has released the following statement in response to Council Speaker Adrienne Adams’s announcement that she will propose legislation creating a new Charter Revision Commission
October 16, 2024 - Citizens Union announced its endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for President in the 2024 election. This marks only the second time in the organization’s 125-year history that it has endorsed a candidate for the highest office in the nation.
October 10, 2024 - Today, Citizens Union announced its official positions on the six ballot questions that New York City voters will consider in the upcoming November 2024 general election. These questions include a statewide constitutional amendment and five proposed amendments to the New York City Charter
October 9, 2024 - Citizens Union has issued the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum in response to a New York state Supreme Court judge’s ruling that the new state law that will move many local elections in line with state and federal elections in even-numbered years violates the state Constitution
October 9, 2024 - Citizens Union has issued the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum in response to a New York state Supreme Court judge’s ruling that the new state law that will move many local elections in line with state and federal elections in even-numbered years violates the state Constitution
September 26, 2024 - Citizens Union has issued the following statement in response to the indictment of New York City Mayor Eric Adams