In partnership with the Civic Engagement Commission (CEC), we hosted an idea generation session where representatives of the Polish community came together to share their ideas on how to spend part of the city budget. During the presentation led by Julia Grundwald from the CEC, participants learned about the details of the New York City budget, which totals nearly $114 billion. The capital budget funds building projects, infrastructure repairs, and new buildings, while another part of the budget is allocated for programs, services, and employee salaries.
The largest portion of the city budget, i.e. $32 billion, is spent annually on NYC schools. The second most expensive category is the maintenance of the NYPD, which costs $5.8 billion. Four billion dollars are allocated for housing initiatives, $3.9 billion for homeless assistance, and $3 billion for the city’s hospital network. The Department for the Aging utilizes $550 million from the city budget, $488 million goes towards public libraries, and $1.9 million is spent on city cleaning.
For several years, the People’s Money project has empowered city residents aged 11 and above, regardless of immigration status, to decide how to spend part of the city budget on projects in their neighborhoods that benefit local residents and address community needs. This can be a program or service that improves people’s lives in a given borough, serving all residents, regardless of their origin or language spoken.
Our November 6 workshop at the Polish Slavic Center was dedicated to generating ideas. Participants, either individually or in groups, took part in a brainstorming session to identify needs in their neighborhoods that could be funded by the city. Among the proposed ideas were the installation of mirrors throughout Greenpoint to aid drivers merging into traffic, a healthy eating program, a program for parents on multilingual education options in the city, and the installation of exercise equipment in municipal parks.
Similar workshops took place throughout the city in November. The ideas generated by New Yorkers will now move on to phase 2, where the Borough Assembly Committees, also composed of New York City residents, will transform them into projects. In the spring, all New Yorkers will have the opportunity to vote on the selected projects. Voting will take place online or on ballot cards available at municipal libraries.
The winning projects will receive funding from the city and be implemented. In previous years, funds from the People’s Money program have been allocated to community events, research projects, job training, cultural events, street fairs and festivals, wellness sessions, workshops, field trips, and educational campaigns. Among the winning projects were the Immigrant Workers Rights Education Project on Staten Island, Housing Resource Outreach, Creative Mental Wellness Program for Families, and Delivery of Nutritious Meals for Homebound Seniors.
Participants of the November 6 session at the Polish and Slavic Center were treated to a breakfast and took part in a lottery with four $25 Starbucks gift cards and books about Witold Pilecki “The Volunteer” by Jack Fairweather.
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Learn more about the process and how to attend a session to brainstorm ideas with neighbors: participate.nyc.gov
Submit your idea for projects you think your community needs: on.nyc.gov/pb
The Civic Engagement Commission (CEC) was established by voters as part of a ballot initiative in November 2018. The CEC is the first democratically elected commission responsible for restoring citizen trust and strengthening democracy through the promotion of inclusive citizen engagement among New York City residents.
Photos: PSC
