NYC Residents Choose $25M Local Projects

Speaker Julie Menin and the New York City Council said on May 22 that nearly 130,000 New Yorkers voted this spring to select local capital projects through the city’s Fiscal Year 2027 participatory budgeting cycle. The vote covered almost $25 million in funding for improvements to schools, parks, libraries and other public spaces across 22 Council districts. The Council said the April 11-19 voting period produced the highest turnout since the program began in 2011. Ballots were cast online and on paper at more than 100 in-person sites. ### How big was this year’s vote? The Council said nearly 130,000 New Yorkers took part in the FY2027 cycle, making it the largest turnout in the 15 years since the body launched participatory budgeting in 2011. The funding total announced with the results was “almost $25 million,” spread across participating districts. The April 11-19 vote was open to residents of participating districts who were 11 and older, according to the Council. Ballots were offered in English and 11 additional languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Bangla, French, Haitian Creole, Arabic, Punjabi, Russian, Polish and Yiddish. ### Which neighborhoods were part of the Council vote? Twenty-two Council districts took part in this cycle, the Council said. (council.nyc.gov) The participating members included districts represented by Christopher Marte, Harvey Epstein, Julie Menin, Gale Brewer, Shaun Abreu, Elsie Encarnacion and others listed on the Council’s participatory budgeting results page. The Council had said before voting opened that the FY2027 cycle would allocate $22 million in capital funding. (council.nyc.gov) The results announcement described the total as almost $25 million, reflecting the final set of winning proposals announced on May 22. ### What kinds of projects did voters pick? The Council said the winning proposals focused on schools, parks, libraries and other public spaces. (council.nyc.gov) Participatory budgeting proposals are generally capital projects, meaning infrastructure investments developed through neighborhood assemblies and budget delegate meetings held during the fall and winter with city agencies and Council offices. (council.nyc.gov) On the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island, more than 6,200 voters allocated $1.85 million to school bathrooms and flooring, technology upgrades at five libraries, HVAC work at the 19th Precinct and equipment for the Roosevelt Island firehouse, according to Patch and Councilmember Menin’s office. District-level examples on Council and member pages show the same pattern elsewhere. (council.nyc.gov) In Council Member Shahana Hanif’s Brooklyn district, listed winning capital projects included accessible paths in Prospect Park, air conditioning for a school cafeteria and gym, and accessibility work at Pacific Library. ### How does this differ from The People’s Money? The Council’s participatory budgeting program is separate from The People’s Money, the citywide process run by the Civic Engagement Commission. (patch.com) The Council program funds district-level projects through Council members’ capital allocations, while The People’s Money is a citywide annual process open to all New Yorkers 11 and older, including immigrants, to help decide part of the city budget. (council.nyc.gov) The Civic Engagement Commission’s current fourth cycle is in its voting phase from May 6 through June 21, 2026, with $4 million from the city’s expense budget at stake. Its implementation phase is scheduled to run from fall 2026 to fall 2027. ### What did city officials say about the turnout? Julie Menin said in the Council’s announcement that participatory budgeting gives New Yorkers “the opportunity to directly participate” in deciding which local projects get funded. (council.nyc.gov) She said the process “empowers community members of all ages” and added that “over 128,000 New Yorkers proved exactly that” this year. The Council did not frame the results as advisory. (participate.nyc.gov) The winning projects are the proposals selected for inclusion in the city’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget process, according to district announcements and Council materials. ### What happens next for the winning projects? June 2026 is the next budget milestone for the Council-backed winners. Patch reported that the Upper East Side projects will be included in the city’s budget in June for fiscal year 2027, and the Council’s results release identifies the selections as FY2027 participatory budgeting winners. (council.nyc.gov) For the separate citywide Civic Engagement Commission process, project implementation is scheduled for fall 2026 through fall 2027. (patch.com) The Council’s district winners now move from voting results into the city budget and then into agency planning, design and contracting steps that typically follow capital appropriations. (participate.nyc.gov)