Four Bronx council members give communities a say
BY ALIYA SCHNEIDER
Do you ever wish you had more of a
say in how your taxpayer dollars are
spent?
Well, 15 members of the New York
City Council are giving their constituents
a say over $1 million of their district’s
money this budget cycle — four
of those elected offi cials represent
Bronx districts.
Amanda Farías, Marjorie Velázquez,
Pierina Sanchez, all newly
installed councilwomen who took offi
ce earlier this year, and Councilman
Kevin Riley opted into the City Council’s
11th consecutive participatory
budgeting cycle. The Council Speaker
Adrienne Adams, of Queens, is also
participating.
With each budget cycle, all 51 members
of the council get $5 million in
capital funds each year to use at their
discretion toward infrastructure projects
with a public purpose that cost
at least $50,000 and have a lifespan of
at least 5 years. Participatory budgeting
allows constituents to democratically
decide how at least $1 million of
that money is spent. Residents submit
ideas that are then vetted by city agencies
and given a price tag, before voting
on the proposed projects in early
April, in time for the city’s May-June
budget process.
“It involves everybody, at all levels,
being able to improve their community
with their tax dollars,” Farías, a
Progressive Democrat, said.
Typically, any resident age 11 and
older can vote on their district’s ideas,
irrespective of immigration status.
But council members can change the
age minimum.
The four Bronx council members
partaking this year each said this is
the fi rst time their district is participating.
But the opportunity — which is
available to all council members —
has been there since 2011, when former
council members Brad Lander, who is
now the city comptroller, Jumaane
Williams, the city’s Progressive public
advocate who is also running in the
Democratic primary for governor this
year, Melissa Mark-Viverito, the former
speaker of the council, and Eric
Ulrich launched the program.
Mark-Viverito, who represented
parts of Manhattan and the Bronx,
made the program offi cial as speaker,
funding staff to oversee the process for
the fi rst time in the 2014-15 budgetary
cycle. While 24 council members participated
that cycle, just two others
representing the Bronx opted in: U.S.
Rep. Ritchie Torres and Bronx Justice
Andrew Cohen, who were both on the
council at the time.
The program’s funding was pulled
in 2020 when COVID-19 hit, but a handful
of members pursued the process
anyway for the 2020-21 cycle. As of October,
former council employees Benjamin
Solotaire and Lara Lai are volunteering
as administrators for the
program’s 11th cycle.
The process typically begins with
communities brainstorming ideas
over the summer, and volunteers
narrowing down proposals by January.
But with council member turnover
from the November 2021 election
and no formal support from the council
this year, most council members
started in December or January, with
some starting in November, Solotaire
said. Most of the new council members
didn’t begin the process until after the
New Year, condensing a months-long
process — for Farías, to about a week
— of compiling ideas.
“The worst that can happen is we
get more ideas,” Farías said of the
rushed timeline. “To me, this is about
including the community in decisionmaking.
It’s about showing people
what the process is and how they can
actually be engaged.”
The Parkchester councilwoman
oversaw three cycles of participatory
budgeting for former Queens Councilwoman
Elizabeth Crowley, and noticed
residents looking at their district
holistically, not just focusing on their
own neighborhoods.
Sanchez, a Progressive Democrat,
said participatory budgeting is a critical
way to give power directly to the
community to self-determine how
funds are used. The process also helps
build social resilience by strengthening
networks across the various neighborhoods
in the district, as she has
noticed similar ideas coming from different
corners of her district.
“For me, the magic was hearing
folks from different parts of the community
saying similar things, and saying
it before one another, so they could
say, ‘you are not alone,’” the Fordham
councilwoman said.
While an online portal for idea submissions
closed on Jan. 23, Sanchez is
accepted proposals through a Google
Form until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday and
Riley’s offi ce is accepting submissions
on paper forms until Friday.
Farías received 36 proposals and
Velázquez, a Throggs Neck Democrat,
garnered 23. As of Jan. 28, Sanchez has
received 15 submissions and Riley, a
Valley Democrat, has received 11 online
and more offl ine.
BRONX TIMES R 6 REPORTER, FEB. 4-10, 2022 BTR
Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez speaks to a resident about participatory budgeting on
Wednesday, Jan. 26, under the 4 train on Burnside Avenue.
Photo courtesy Offi ce of Pierina Sanchez
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