Senator Hamilton invites residents to brainstorm ideas, provide input and ultimately vote on how to spend $1 million in state capital funding at a neighborhood assembly on Wednesday.
Participatory budgeting: The process whereby communities give direct input into allocating funding for community improvements to parks, schools, libraries, streets and neighborhood needs. State Senator Jesse Hamilton announced yesterday, that he wants to give this process, which has already been a successful model for the city council, a try on the state level and let his constituents decide how to spend $1 million in state capital funding.
"Participatory budgeting turns community vision into community action," said Hamilton.
To kick the process off, Hamilton will host a neighborhood assembly on Wednesday, May 23, in partnership with Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams and the Bridge Street Development Corporation. Residents are invited to brainstorm ideas, provide input and ultimately vote on where funding will be allocated. Projects eligible for funding this cycle will be capital improvements. Neighborhood assemblies are the first stage in the participatory budgeting process, which concludes with community residents voting on which project will receive funding. This is the first time participatory budgeting will occur at the state level.
"This serves as a great opportunity for neighborhood residents across Central Brooklyn to speak out and advance our communities," said Hamilton. "In future years, I hope even more communities across Brooklyn and across New York State will be able to pursue participatory budgeting. Our efforts here in Central Brooklyn will proudly serve as one more link in a chain of participatory budgeting success stories across the country."
The neighborhood assembly will take place on Wednesday, May 23, 6:30pm, at St Francis de Sales School for the Deaf, located at 260 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights.
