NYC Council Member Julie Menin Releases 2023 Participatory Budget Ballot Projects To Be Voted On By Constituents March 25 To April 2 - Find Out If Any Roosevelt Island Submissions Made The Ballot

New Yorkers, Participatory Budgeting is back for its twelfth cycle! This is your opportunity to voice your opinion on how city funding will be spent to directly improve your neighborhood. The process is underway. Learn more here: https://t.co/6Ajdlymo25 pic.twitter.com/x00TxVnOcS

— NYC Council (@NYCCouncil) September 16, 2022

According to the NYC Council:

Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) is Here!

Following months of agency vetting and deliberation, Budget Delegates have crafted their ballot that will be in their respective districts during a nine-day voting period for Participatory Budgeting.

Vote Week will begin on Saturday, March 25th through Sunday, April 2nd. What is Participatory Budgeting? 

Below are the NYC Council Member Julie Menin's Participatory Budget projects that will be voted on by residents of the 5th District, which includes Roosevelt Island.

Among the District 5 Participatory Budgeting projects which passed the vetting and deliberation stage is a $300 Thousand upgrading Of local school PS/IS 217 bathrooms.  

I asked Ms Menin's office if the $150 Thousand project for installation of 30 new trees with tree guards throughout District 5 would include placement on Roosevelt Island. Ms Menin's representative replied:

If the new trees and tree guards are selected during PB, then the forestry unit within the Parks Department will determine where the new trees and tree pits will be planted. Unfortunately, our office does not have control over where the new new trees will go.

A Roosevelt Island Participatory Budgeting voting location will probably be at the RI Public Library branch (504 Main Street). Confirmation of that will come soon. Voting can also be done online.

Roosevelt Island projects submitting for Participatory Budgeting but not passing the vetting stage included:

Here's more from the NYC Council on NYC Participatory Budgeting:

Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. The process began in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1989. Today, there are more than 3,000 participatory budgeting processes around the world, most at the municipal level. What is PBNYC?

In 2011, four New York City Council Members – Brad Lander, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Eric Ulrich, and Jumaane D. Williams – launched a PB process to allow residents in their district to allocate part of their capital discretionary funds. Over the years, the process has grown to include a majority of Council Members, giving communities real decision-making over more than $30 million in taxpayer money on an annual basis.

Participatory Budgeting in New York City (PBNYC) plays an important role in giving communities the ability to directly impact the capital budgeting process. It motivates New Yorkers to engage the civic process and make decisions by sharing ideas, developing proposals, and voting on community projects. Since 2011, PBNYC has strengthened our communities and made our city stronger over the last few years.

This year, 30 Council Members across New York City are asking residents how to spend at least $30 million in capital funding, specifically for local improvements to schools, parks, libraries, public housing, streets and other public spaces. PBNYC funds physical infrastructure projects that benefit the public, cost at least $50,000 and have a lifespan of at least 5 years...

More on NYC Participatory Budgeting here.