Councilman David G. Greenfield is inviting district residents to take part in this year’s upcoming Participatory Budgeting vote and help decide which capital projects – suggested and brainstormed by community members over the past few months – will be paid for using $1 million set aside in the city budget to once again fund this great initiative in Boro Park, Midwood and Bensonhurst.

The public vote to decide which projects are funded will be held at locations around the district from March 30 through April 7 and is open to all district residents ages 16 and older, regardless of immigration status or whether they are registered to vote with the Board of Elections. Over the past months, district residents have attended brainstorming sessions hosted by Councilman Greenfield, during which they developed ideas and projects that will appear on the final ballot for all residents to vote on.

“This year’s ballot will include some great and unique ideas brainstormed by our neighbors, so I am very excited to see which ones will be chosen for funding this year. As I have often said, nobody knows their block or neighborhood like the people who live there, so it only makes sense to give the public more say over the city budget. I am proud to once again bring this great experiment in open government to the residents of my district and to really give them a voice in how their tax dollars are reinvested in our community,” said Councilman Greenfield.

This is the second year that Councilman Greenfield has brought Participatory Budgeting to his constituents, with more than 1,600 residents voting last year in favor of projects including pedestrian countdown signals, street repairs and security cameras totaling $1 million. It is part of Councilman Greenfield’s ongoing efforts to make the annual budgeting process as open and transparent as possible, and to get even more local residents involved in city government.

Residents are invited to take part in Participatory Budgeting and have their voices heard by stopping by the following vote locations from March 30 through April 7: Councilman Greenfield’s Boro Park district office (4424 16th Avenue); Community Board 12 (5910 13th Avenue); Community Board 11 at 2214 Bath Avenue); Midwood Development Corp (1416 Avenue M Suite 201); and the Boro Park Jewish Community Council (4912 14th Avenue). In addition, voting will be held during regular business hours at the four Brooklyn Public Library locations serving the district: Midwood (975 E. 16th Street); Ryder (5902 23rd Avenue); Mapleton (1702 60thStreet) and Kensington (4207 18th Avenue). Residents simply need to stop by any of these locations with any form of identification that shows they live in the 44th Council District in order to cast their vote on which project they would like funded.

“My thanks to everyone who has volunteered their time so far to make Participatory Budgeting a success once again this year. This is a great way to get involved in your community and government, so I urge everyone to take advantage of this opportunity. I look forward to seeing many of my constituents at voting locations around the district during the upcoming week-long vote,” added Councilman Greenfield.

After the voting is completed, all ballots will be tallied and the top project in each neighborhood – Boro Park, Midwood and Bensonhurst – will be funded with money that Councilman Greenfield has set aside in the upcoming city budget specifically for Participatory Budgeting. The winning projects will then be implemented by the relevant city agencies over the next year.

To reiterate, the vote is open to all district residents ages 16 and older, regardless of whether they are registered to vote in regular municipal elections. Residents can contact Councilman Greenfield’s district office at (718) 853-2704 or check pbnyc.org for more information.

(YWN Desk – NYC)