Councilman David G. Greenfield held his most successful annual budget workshop ever last week, with over 100 local non-profits turning up to learn how they can apply for funding from the city.

“The application process for discretionary funding can be complicated and overwhelming for small non-profits,” Greenfield said. “These are groups that do great work but may not have the technical expertise to work through the bureaucracy and red tape involved in applying for city funding. That’s why I hold this workshop every year. That’s why I make time every year to assist these groups and ensure that they understand every step of the process.”

120 groups sent representatives to the workshop, which was held at Greenfield’s district office in Boro Park. Over the course of the evening, the groups learned about how the city’s discretionary process works and were walked through the application process in a step-by-step tutorial.

“So many organizations in our communities do amazing work on behalf of this city,” Greenfield said. “I’m proud to fight to get them every last dollar they deserve, and helping them through the discretionary funding process is one way to ensure that they have the resources they need.”

When he first ran for office, Councilman Greenfield pledged to make the budget process as fair, easy and open as possible. To fulfill that promise, he has held his annual budget workshop each year since taking office in order to open up the process to the public. This year’s budget workshop was by far the largest and most successful he has ever held.

Greenfield is also inviting all district residents to have a say in the city budget by taking part in the ongoing participatory budgeting initiative in the 44th District. Under participatory budgeting, residents have the opportunity to vote on specific capital projects they would like implemented in their neighborhood using $1 million in city funding that Councilman Greenfield has set aside for this initiative. Residents from around the district have brainstormed and suggested ideas over the past few months for how the money can best be spent to improve the community, and all residents ages 14 and older are invited to vote this spring on which ideas should be funded.

The deadline for groups to apply for discretionary funding is Feb. 21. If you have questions about discretionary funding or the participatory budgeting process, reach out to his office by calling (718) 853-2704.

(YWN Desk – NYC)