Tomorrow, Saturday April 2nd, begins Vote Week for the Participatory Budgeting (PB) process organized by the office of Council Member Tiffany Cabán.
Anyone age 11 or older who lives or attends school in New York City Council District 22 can vote on how the office spends over $1 Million – “the people’s budget.” They’ll have until Sunday, April 10th to cast their vote.
Council Member Cabán’s office has allocated $1 Million that can be used for long-term public physical infrastructure projects, and $50,000 that can be used for programs such as community classes, planting gardens, and equipment to maintain parks.
The eligible projects are all listed on ballots, which can be found here, the same location where District 22 residents and students can cast an online vote. Additionally, those wishing to participate can cast a paper ballot in person, either by visiting the Council Member’s district office at 30-83 31st St. between 10AM and 6PM, or by visiting one of the pop-up locations listed here.
“Our youth committee has been hard at work preparing for vote week and engaging more young community members in the process,” said Ariana Tzanos Co-Chair of the District 22 Participatory Budgeting Youth Committee. “I am looking forward to in-school voting as young people often don’t have a voice in community projects or local government. PB allows for participatory democracy with voting open to anyone age 11 and up, regardless of citizenship.”
Participatory Budgeting first launched in New York City in 2011 with four Council Members empowering their constituents to vote on how to allocate a portion of their discretionary budgets. By 2019, a 33-member majority of the Council was participating. This year, Council Member Cabán’s office is one of 14 running a Participatory Budgeting program.