Weprin's Participatory Budgeting Meeting Draws Nearly 300 Proposals

Councilman Mark Weprin, D-Oakland Gardens, said that residents from his district proposed nearly 300 ideas for capital projects in northeast Queens during the first of the fall’s participatory budgeting meetings.

Proposed projects included a community garden at Alley Pond Park, the preservation of cupolas at Captain Dermody Triangle, solar panels on the roof of Benjamin N. Cardozo High School and handicapped accessible buses for the Samuel Field Y.

“Participatory budgeting gives everyone an opportunity to get involved and decided how public dollars are spent in the community,” Weprin said.

The process allows residents to come up with ways to spend $1 million of the city’s budget in their district.

Then, community members volunteer as budget delegates and work in committees to turn the projects into proposals that are vetted by city agencies and then voted on during an election.

Participatory budgeting proposals can include improvements to schools, parks, libraries and other community spaces.

A series of neighborhood assemblies will be held in Weprin’s district in the coming months.

Weprin is one of nine City Council members whose districts take part in the participatory budgeting process.