Tap a goal. The card shows the motion, the exact words, and its rules. Rules reflect community board practice: the Charter requires a simple majority on every vote, never two-thirds.
The full table from the City's guide (Charts 1 and 2). Search by name or purpose.
| Motion | Class | Rank | Interrupt? | Second? | Debatable? | Amendable? | Vote |
|---|
When several motions are pending, dispose of them from the top of this list down. The rule of thumb: that which comes first goes last. If "Refer to Committee" passes, everything below it dies with the referral.
Where the City Charter and State law override Robert's Rules. These are the ones that trip boards up.
Abstentions count against a motion
A motion passes only if yes votes exceed no votes plus abstentions combined (majority of members present and entitled to vote, Charter §2801-b). An abstention is not neutral.
Never a two-thirds vote
Robert's Rules wants 2/3 for some motions (like Previous Question). The Charter overrides this: every board act passes by simple majority. Super-majorities are not permitted unless a law specifically requires one.
Quorum = majority of appointed members
For the full board: more than half of appointed members (50 members → 26). Public and ex-officio members do not count toward a full-board quorum. Committee quorum is a majority of the committee including public members.
No "present, not voting"
Every member present and entitled to vote must vote or abstain. Absentee ballots, proxies, and phone votes are not permitted. All votes are open ballot, recorded by member, and public in the minutes.
The chair votes like everyone else
Chairs have the same voting rights and obligations as members. Bylaws may not restrict a chair to tie-breaking, and a chair who wants to debate a motion should first hand the gavel to someone else.
Executive session has its own math
Closing a meeting requires a motion in open session naming the general subject, passed by a majority of the total membership (not just those present) — one of the few exceptions to the simple-majority rule. Only specific topics qualify (safety, litigation, personnel, law enforcement).
Public session is mandatory
Boards must meet monthly except July and August, and must set aside time to hear from the public at every public meeting, even in months with a separate public hearing. A quorum is required for the session.
ULURP hearings have a special quorum
Most public hearings need no quorum, but ULURP hearings require attendance of 20% of appointed members or seven members, whichever is greater. Any vote still requires a full quorum.
Committee resolutions skip the second
A resolution reported out of committee is a main motion that needs no second and takes the floor immediately. Most other motions from the floor need one.
Friendly amendments are a custom, not a rule
If the motion's maker agrees and nobody objects, a friendly amendment folds into the main motion without a separate vote. Any objection means it proceeds as a regular amendment. The chair should say which is happening.
- Someone yells "Question!" from their seat. That is not a motion. They mean either "I move the previous question" (end debate, needs the floor and a second) or a point of information.
- Point of Order or Point of Privilege used to make a speech. Both exist to fix a problem, not to gain the floor for argument.
- Cross-talk between members. All remarks go through the chair.
- Debating the undebatable. Lay on the Table, Previous Question, and Adjourn are not debatable. Check the table above before letting debate open.
- Voting on a motion nobody can state. The chair should restate the exact question before every vote, especially after amendments.
- The chair opining without stepping down. A chair who wants to argue a motion should relinquish the gavel first.
- Hostile amendments. An amendment that just inserts "not," reverses the motion's intent, or isn't germane is out of order.
- Reconsider used casually. Only someone who voted on the winning side may move to reconsider, and only at the same meeting. Beware: moving it suspends the underlying action, which can blow a ULURP deadline.
Sources: A Guide to Parliamentary Procedure for New York City Community Boards, Mayor's Community Assistance Unit (rev. 2006), including its motion charts and disposition-process chart; NYC Charter §2800–2801; NY Public Officers Law §§100–111 (Open Meetings Law). Where boards' own bylaws, the Charter, or State law differ from Robert's Rules, they control.
What this is: a working prototype of a recommendation in NYCuriosity's community boards article — a shared procedural reference any borough president's office or the Civic Engagement Commission could maintain once for all 59 boards. It is a reference aid, not legal advice, and defers to each board's adopted bylaws and parliamentarian.
Created by Tal Roded · NYCuriosity · Part of the NYC Community Board Resolutions Dashboard prototypes.