Council Members & Community Declare Results of Groundbreaking Participatory Budgeting Vote

NEW YORK, NY (04/02/2012)(readMedia)-- Council Members Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn), Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan), Eric Ulrich (R-Queens) and Jumaane D. Williams (D-Brooklyn) will come together with community members on the steps of City Hall Wednesday to declare the results of the groundbreaking participatory budgeting vote held last week. They will announce which projects in their respective districts have received funding, and advocates will release key data on voter trends and demographics.

Participatory budgeting is a new process for capital budgeting in which voters in participating districts directly decide how to spend millions of their own tax dollars, a first in New York City and only the second such initiative in the United States. Over 2,000 residents came together in 27 public meetings during the fall and winter to discuss local priorities and design specific infrastructure projects to address the needs of their communities. Over 250 volunteers then worked to refine and prioritize proposals for the vote. Each council member has reserved at least $1 million in capital funds for their constituents to allocate. The council members will be joined by members of the citywide steering committee as well as local district committee members and budget delegates.