Hi, neighbor!

February has flown by, and we’re here with a new update.

District 38 participatory budgeting is well underway. We are about halfway through the current cycle, which will culminate with vote week in April.

On February 15, Mayor Adams released his preliminary budget. Over the coming weeks, the Council will hold hearings on the Mayor’s budget through each committee.

Our office is hosting several upcoming events, including mobile weekend office hours in Red Hook and Chinatown.

Scroll to the end for job opportunities and more: Summer Youth Employment, Lifeguards, School Crossing Guards, half-priced Metrocards and artist grants!

We received over 1400 discretionary funding requests for FY23! Thank you to all the applicants, we will be in touch as the city grant process moves forward.

Photo credit: John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit

District 38 participatory budgeting

District 38 participatory budgeting is well underway. We are about halfway through the current cycle, which will culminate with vote week in April.

We received over 85 initial idea submissions, of which 44 were sent to agencies for vetting. This year we will be funding up to $1 million through participatory budgeting, and our goal is to present between $1.5 million to $2.5 million in capital projects for residents to choose from in April.

We received many great project ideas through participatory budgeting that were not eligible for funds but that interested residents can continue to pursue in other ways.

If you want to stay involved to help shape the future of our district, sign up through our volunteer form here.

Money for participatory budgeting comes out of each individual Council Member’s $5 million discretionary allocation. Did you know that all 51 Council Members’ discretionary funds combined add up to less than one quarter of one percent of the city’s $100 billion budget? More on the budget below.

The Mayor’s preliminary budget

Two weeks ago the Mayor unveiled his preliminary budget, kicking off the next few months of negotiations between the administration and the City Council. 

The next steps in the city budget cycle are as follows. The City Council schedules hearings committee by committee to review the Mayor’s budget proposals, inviting agencies and the public to testify. My first budget hearing as Chair of the Public Housing Committee will take place Tuesday, March 8 at 1:00pm. 

You can view the upcoming committee hearing schedule and sign up to testify or submit written comments via the Council website here. We need your voice and questions.

The Council issues its response to the Mayor’s preliminary budget after hearings have been completed, and the Mayor releases the Executive Budget in response. Negotiations continue between the Mayor and Speaker through another round of hearings, and a “handshake agreement” between the two produces the budget City Council Members vote on.

If all this sounds less than ideally democratic, that's right! My office is committed to advocate for a budget that adequately invests in our communities and to organize alongside residents for the services we all deserve. Sign up to get involved.

Upcoming events

• Tuesday, March 8 I was invited to speak at the Women's Empowerment Coalition of New York City’s International Women’s Day Celebration event. Join us!

• For public school parents, check out this guide to school admissions and be aware of upcoming deadlines. High School applications are due March 11th; Pre-K applications are due March 18th; and 3-K applications are due April 14th

• Saturday, March 12 Office hours in Red Hook at Brooklyn Public Library, 7 Wolcott St; 11:00am-3:00pm

• Saturday, March 12 Office hours in Chinatown at Parent-Child Relationship Association, 909 58th St; 11:00am-3:00pm

• Tuesday, March 15 Join our office and Fifth Avenue Committee for a free information session on how small homeowners can reduce their utility costs through the Barrio Solar program, Online; 6:00pm-7:00pm. Renters, including businesses in Zip Codes 11220 and 11232 can still apply to join the Sunset Park solar cooperative.

• Friday, March 18 We are back for office hours in Chinatown at Parent-Child Relationship Association, 909 58th St; 11:00am-3:00pm

• Saturday, March 26 We are back for office hours in Red Hook at Brooklyn Public Library, 7 Wolcott St; 11:00am-3:00pm

In case you missed it

• This month we celebrated Lunar New Year and Black History Month.

• Earlier this February I joined UPROSE’s climate justice town hall. Our district has a proud history of resisting environmental racism and leading the way toward climate justice.

• Members of New Immigrant Community Empowerment, NICE visited our district office to talk about important issues like wage theft and workplace safety.

• I joined the Speaker in calling on the Mayor to restore funding for the Fair Fares program for half-priced metrocards. The Mayor committed to fund the program at three-quarters of its pre-pandemic levels.

• I toured three NYCHA developments in the Far Rockaways with my colleague Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers after residents at Carleton Manor spent months without heat.

Photo credit: Emil Cohen/NYC Council Media Unit

• I signed onto a Council resolution calling on the state government to pass a #NewDeal4CUNY legislation to make CUNY free again.

• I also celebrated with our Quisqueyano siblings on Dominican Republic Independence Day!

• I joined my colleague Lincoln Restler to announce our support for ending mandatory parking minimums in transit-rich areas. Parking minimums drive up the cost of new affordable housing development but they are required by law, even in areas served by multiple subway and bus lines. 

Photo credit: John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit

Jobs and other resources

Before we let you go, here are a few updates from our partners in city government and in the neighborhood.

Calling all NYC Youth! Applications for the 2022 Summer Youth Employment Program are now open for young people age 14-24.

NYC Parks is hiring lifeguards for Summer 2022. Lifeguards earn about $800 a week and gain valuable life experience. Apply to be a lifeguard this summer here.

Our district is facing a shortage of school crossing guards. Multiple schools have called our office asking for our help. Can you take a moment to share our graphics with your networks or apply today? Click here to apply.

Click here to download and share our graphics, available in English, Spanish and Chinese.

Apply for reduced-fare MetroCards online. As of this month, seniors, people with qualifying disabilities and low-income New Yorkers can apply for reduced-fare MetroCards online.

Curbside composting is back for residents of Brooklyn Community Boards 6 and 7. This is a free service, but residents must sign-up in order to participate. Composting services may face cuts this year – if you believe in this program, contact my office!

Creatives rebuild New York. This new initiative is offering generous grants to artists and to organizations that wish to host them. Arts and culture are as essential to our city’s recovery as adequate sanitation and funding for city services!

Learn more at: https://www.creativesrebuildny.org/

Until next time,

Council Member Alexa Avilés

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