Gowanus

Curbed

01/27/2012

Brooklyn residents have an idea for you to consider. Hundreds and hundreds of ideas. Brooklyn Councilman Brad Lander has open-sourced his constituent services. Rather than sit back and field complaints and requests from constituents and then respond on a case-by-case basis, Lander is experimenting with participatory budgeting, which seeks out residents' priorities that they want their elected representative to fight for. Read more »

Democracy is Inspiring

Posted on January 27, 2012

Participatory budgeting neighborhood assembly

Last fall, as part of our new participatory budgeting initiative, we asked for your ideas for projects that would improve our neighborhoods. Nearly 1,000 of you answered the call and offered your ideas – from subway station improvements, to new community spaces, to upgrades to local playgrounds. You can view all of the ideas people submitted here.

Since then, a team of 100 community volunteers have been working in seven “budget delegate” committees to research and evaluate these ideas, to figure out which ones are feasible, and determine how much they would cost.

They are now working to put together the ballot – at the end of March, you will be able to vote on which projects will get funded. Read more »

AMoore's blog

Education Committee Asks the Hard Questions

Posted on January 26, 2012

Participatory Budgeting update from Jason Boutin of the Education Committee:

It's probably safe to say the delegates of the Education committee got more than they bargained for out of the Participatory Budget process. This is said from the perspective of the effort undertaken as well as from the rewarding nature of the work. It's been a tremendously interesting journey so far, but probably not the one anyone expected. Read more »

AMoore's blog

Participatory Budgeting – Turning Your Ideas Into Projects

Posted on January 25, 2012

Participatory Budgeting update from Michael Fettman of the Streets & Sidewalks Committee:

What a great feeling. After weeks and months of meetings and learning about the Participatory Budgeting process, going through so many ideas submitted by our friends and neighbors, and learning all about how to maneuver and comply with all the government bureaucracies, we finally got to the point of putting the finishing touches on to the proposals that we are ready to submit for review. Soon, our neighbors will get to give us their input on our proposals, which will be put up for a vote in March to decide which ones will get funded. Read more »

AMoore's blog

Transit-Poor Brooklyn Neighborhood To Get Some Bus Relief

WNYC

01/24/2012

The B61 — Red Hook’s only bus line — will get some additional bus service this spring. New York’s MTA said at a committee meeting Monday that it will tweak the schedule and add service on the beleaguered line.

This change follows a report put out last month by Brooklyn Councilman Brad Lander that said buses on the route don’t come often enough — and bunch up when they do. Lander said he was happy the MTA plans to add buses to the line, but added there’s more that could be done to improve service. Read more »

Following Study, MTA Adds Buses to Brooklyn’s B61 Bus Route

Posted on January 24, 2012

Monday, the MTA board voted to add buses to Brooklyn’s B61 route during the evening rush hour. The move, part of a package of changes to bus schedules citywide, will mean that buses on the route will come more frequently and follows a study on the bus line released by Brooklyn elected officials and community groups in December. Read more »

2011 Annual Report

Posted on January 20, 2012

Over the past year, people in NYC and around the globe have called for government that is more accountable to the people. I’ve worked to achieve a high standard of accountability – in that spirit I’m pleased to share this annual report on what we accomplished in 2011, what we learned, and what we’re hoping to do in the year to come. You can view the report below, download it, or explore our interactive map of accomplishments from the past year.

Read more »