Participatory Budgeting Cycle 7 Has Begun

Pamela Wong -
PBNYC District 39 Project Expo at Camp Friendship in Park Slope, March 2017 (Photo: Pamela Wong/BKLYNER)

The new cycle of the New York City Council’s Participatory Budgeting has officially begun!

Participatory budgeting (PBNYC) is a city program that allows residents to vote on $1 million to $1.5 million in projects developed by community members. PBNYC gives New Yorkers the chance to brainstorm, research, develop, and vote for projects to improve their neighborhoods.

Council Members choose to join PBNYC, a yearlong process consisting of public meetings where community members discuss local needs and develop proposals for projects addressing those needs. Residents then decide through a public vote which proposals will receive the allocated funds. See if your Council Member is participating here.

Many of the projects focus on schools, libraries, green spaces, housing, and the arts and are led by neighbors and community leaders who have first-hand knowledge of what needs improvement in their districts.

Voters get to select as many as five of their favorite PBNYC project proposals on their district’s ballot. Each participating Council Member guarantees funding for the projects that receive the most votes, until their PBNYC funding runs out.

How Does Participatory Budgeting Work?

  • Community members brainstorm ideas at assemblies and decide what types of projects are needed in their neighborhoods.
  • Volunteers work with experts in developing full project proposals to present to the community at a project expo.
  • The community then votes! Residents aged 14 and up are eligible to vote, either online or at locations throughout their district.
  • The projects with the most votes share the funding! The projects are then implemented over the next few years. See a list of last year’s winning projects here.

Check out the video below for more information on the process:

Several neighborhood assemblies to discuss potential projects are scheduled in the coming days, with Brooklyn Council Members Levin (District 33), Cumbo (District 35), Cornegy (District 36), and Lander (District 39) hosting meetings this week and Council Members Eugene (District 40) and Williams (District 45) hosting assemblies next week. See the list of upcoming Neighborhood Assemblies here.

Council Members Reynoso (District 34), Greenfield (District 44), and Treyger (District 47) do not currently have any neighbors meetings scheduled.

Council Member Menchaca (District 38) hosted two meetings late last month, however anyone can submit ideas for projects on the New York City Council Participatory Budgeting idea collection map. The deadline to submit ideas is Friday, October 13.

For more information on Participatory Budgeting, to volunteer, or to get involved in the process, visit council.nyc.gov/pb. See BKLYNER’s coverage of previous PBNYC cycles here.