Last fall, long before we had any idea when a vaccine would arrive, our District 39 Participatory Budgeting District Committee -- volunteers from every corner of our district -- huddled together (over Zoom) to make a big decision. The Speaker of the City Council had canceled participatory budgeting, and there would be no support from his staff. Would we still continue it in our district? It would take more work from volunteers and voters. We would have to design a process that was virtual, but still captured imagination and strengthened local democracy.

That was then … and this is now! After months of work by those volunteers, 5,446 of you, from age 11 on up, voted in participatory budgeting! You chose to prioritize one of the lowest-income, highest-immigrant schools in the district. You supported mutual aid for neighbors in need of food and diapers. You dreamed big about shared public spaces, from a new farmstand and immigrant women’s craft market, to an even-better Prospect Park, to a world-class Brooklyn Skate Garden.

The winning projects -- and the whole PB process -- show how we can rise from this crisis together.
 

PB Cycle 10 project winners 

And these projects speak to the needs that the pandemic has clarified. Making sure all our neighbors have basic needs met. Prioritizing equity. Investing in our schools and parks. Taking care of long-treasured open spaces, and dreaming up new ones.

The whole Cycle 10 PB ballot was fantastic, and every project deserved to be funded. But as we work to recover from the pandemic, I really feel heartened by the projects you chose. 

Sadly for me, these will be the last participatory budgeting results I have the honor to announce. But I will still be your neighbor here in District 39 and cannot wait to see how Cycle 11 takes shape. There is still so much work to do, especially making sure that PB participation is as diverse as our district, and our city. That was especially a challenge this year, with an all-virtual process. I know future Council Members and budget delegates will dream up big new ideas to transform not just participatory budgeting, but local democracy.

If you were inspired by the process this year, and if you want to get involved in shaping the future of PB, sign up here! Participatory budgeting is led and shaped by neighbors, young and old. I hope you’ll be one of them. 

With deep gratitude to the PB District Committee, the PB Youth Committee, all the volunteers, and every one of you, 

Brad