New Yorkers Choose $25M Participatory Budget Projects

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and council members on May 22 announced the winning projects in the city’s Fiscal Year 2027 participatory budgeting cycle after nearly 130,000 residents cast ballots between April 11 and April 19. The vote covered almost $25 million in capital funding for neighborhood projects in 22 Council districts, according to the Council. The projects include improvements to schools, parks, libraries and other public spaces. The council said the turnout was the highest since participatory budgeting began in New York City in 2011. The result marks the 15th cycle of the City Council’s participatory budgeting program, which lets residents help decide how part of council members’ capital discretionary funds are spent. Voting was open to residents of participating districts who were 11 years old and older, and ballots were offered in English and 11 other languages, the Council said. New Yorkers could vote online or submit paper ballots at more than 100 in-person sites. (council.nyc.gov) ### How much money did voters actually allocate? The City Council said residents voted on “almost $25 million” in capital funding in the winning-results announcement issued May 22. In an April 10 vote-week announcement, the Council had said the cycle would shape $22 million in capital funding for the FY2027 budget. The Council’s results release did not explain the difference, but both statements described the same April 11-19 voting period and the same 22 participating districts. (council.nyc.gov) Capital participatory budgeting in New York City is limited to physical infrastructure projects in public spaces that cost at least $50,000 and have a lifespan of at least five years, according to the Council’s participatory budgeting page. That is why ballots center on items such as playgrounds, school upgrades, park improvements and library work rather than general operating expenses. ### Which neighborhoods and projects made the ballot? (council.nyc.gov) Twenty-two Council districts took part in this year’s cycle across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, according to the Council. The winning-projects release lists district-by-district selections, including a $350,000 commercial dishwasher at Gouverneur Hospital and a $1 million playground and track field project at Battery Park City School in Council District 1. (council.nyc.gov) Council District 2, represented by Harvey Epstein, also included several smaller expense projects in this cycle, including youth environmental stewardship, multilingual food-safety training, mentoring and an inclusion initiative, each funded at $15,000, the release said. The Council noted in the district listing that Epstein funded expense projects through participatory budgeting this cycle. (council.nyc.gov) ### Who was allowed to vote, and how does the process work? Residents age 11 and older in participating districts were eligible to vote, the Council said. Project ideas are first gathered at neighborhood assemblies in the fall, then developed and narrowed with budget delegates, council offices and city agencies during the winter before a spring vote. The Council says that process is designed to move proposals from community suggestions into projects that city agencies can carry out. “Participatory Budgeting gives New Yorkers the opportunity to directly participate in shaping and deciding which projects in their district get funded,” Menin said in the May 22 release. (council.nyc.gov) ### How does this differ from the citywide “People’s Money” program? (council.nyc.gov) The Civic Engagement Commission runs a separate citywide participatory budgeting program called The People’s Money. That process covers part of the city’s expense budget rather than council capital funds, is open to all New Yorkers 11 and older citywide, and is in its 2026 voting phase from May 6 through June 21, according to the commission’s website. (council.nyc.gov) The Council’s program and The People’s Money share the same broad idea — residents vote on public spending priorities — but they operate on different budgets, timelines and administrative tracks. The Council process that produced the May 22 winners is tied to district-level capital projects for the FY2027 budget. ### What happens to the winning projects now? The Council’s participatory budgeting page says winning projects are included in the upcoming fiscal year budget in June. (participate.nyc.gov) After that, staff and stakeholders evaluate the process while city agencies oversee implementation of the funded projects. The next milestone is the city’s adoption of the Fiscal Year 2027 budget, which will incorporate the winning participatory budgeting projects named by the Council on May 22. (council.nyc.gov) City agencies then move those capital projects through design, procurement and construction on the normal municipal timeline. (council.nyc.gov)