Council Member Shahana Hanif, her staff, several artists from the nonprofit Arts & Democracy Project, and a handful of volunteers all gathered in the Old Stone House in Park Slope on a Monday evening last month. At the start of the meeting, each person introduced themselves and stated their artistic skills, before being assigned a project and getting down to business. The volunteers were responsible for designing posters to represent the projects for the upcoming participatory budgeting vote. The posters will be used to showcase the projects at District 39’s Participatory Budgeting Expo from 2pm to 4pm on April 6 at Powerhouse Arts in Gowanus.
For the uninitiated, participatory budgeting may seem like a bit of a gimmick—community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget (at least $1 million in each participating district). But by not participating, power (and the funding) is given to the small group of engaged citizens. Across the city, 30 out of 51 city council members are taking part in this year’s participatory budgeting. Throughout the fall, volunteers and staff worked to collect ideas, then partnered with nonprofits, organizations, and city agencies to flesh them out and confirm that each was feasible.
Although District 38, led by Council Member Alexa Avilés, whose district includes Red Hook, Park Slope, South Slope, and Sunset Park, has participated in the past and was even part of the inaugural District Committee when participatory budgeting launched, they are not participating in this cycle: “… I have a deep appreciation for the potential of the program as a civic engagement opportunity for residents to have a direct say in how government allocates our tax dollars. This year, we decided to take a break from the process primarily due to capacity concerns on our end and how challenging it is to secure agency cooperation in materializing projects within a sensible timeframe and within the level of allotted participatory budget funding.”
Despite the challenges, Council Member Hanif’s office has become a model for participatory budgeting. The office’s Budget and Organizing Director Hannah Henderson-Charnow has led the district through three cycles and runs a tight ship. She began community outreach earlier than many districts and has continued to refine how the district conducts the program, engaging volunteers during every step of the process, fostering partnerships with local nonprofits, translating materials to ensure wider participation, and attempting new means of voting outreach, such as the upcoming expo.
The projects on the ballot this year include both expense projects (which cost up to $20,000), and more expensive capital projects. The expense projects are focused on four key areas: education, environment, arts & culture, and economic justice, and often focus on providing the “extra” services or programs that government does not prioritize. This year, projects in this area, which were created based on community input, feasibility, and need, included programs like teaching housing policy to youth or creating a street tree stewardship program. Another project on the ballot this cycle is funding for intergenerational cultural dance classes led by a local nonprofit, Dancewave. The classes would be held in public spaces and would build community for people of all abilities, providing both exercise and fun.
When city government budgets are cut, services that improve quality of life for residents at all incomes are often the first to be cut. Organizations like Dancewave are more critical than ever. For almost three decades, the Brooklyn-based nonprofit has provided low & no-cost dance experiences that are inclusive and empowering. According to Dancewave’s Executive Director Nicole Touzien “Dancewave’s organizational values are aligned with Participatory Budgeting’s emphasis on empowering individuals, and therefore getting involved with these efforts was an easy decision to make. For the past two cycles, Dancewave has submitted projects to bring free and accessible intergenerational dance programming to the community. We also help to educate members of our community about Participatory Budgeting, and use the organization’s public communication platforms to help amplify vote week and related events.
Touzien has also served as a participatory budgeting volunteer for District 39: “One of my favorite experiences so far has been to facilitate a discussion among members of the Civic Assembly to help shape and refine community ideas into projects that will appear on the ballot. I felt energized by all of the terrific ideas coming forth from our community, and was inspired by the Civic Assembly members who helped translate these ideas into compelling projects that people across the district can vote on. Participatory Budgeting is such an empowering process, and I am very excited to see how our community will choose to spend our money!”
As the evening of project poster making came to an end last month, a few high school students who were volunteering looked at the finished project posters. One of the proposed projects aims to provide a local school with air conditioning—a proposal that irked one of the volunteers who felt that the school was already well-funded by higher income parents, while other schools were more in need of funding. Just like in every democracy, without an engaged citizenry, power and funding are given to those with the most time or influence.
Vote week will take place between April 6 and April 14. Anyone over the age of 11 is welcome to vote, regardless of citizenship. To vote in person, attend the expo on April 6, or at the specified locations: the Old Stone House from 11am – 3pm on April 7 and April 14, Windsor Terrace Library from 6pm – 8pm on April 9, or Kensington Plaza from 12pm – 4pm on April 13. Voting will also be available online at vote.pbnyc.org.
