Teens Say: Get Out the Youth Vote for Participatory Budgeting
Polls are open across New York City for this year's round of Participatory Budgeting, a process that invites voters to choose which projects they'd like to see their city council member allocate funding for in their district.
Residents (including non-citizens) of 27 city council districts can vote through April 15th. Proposed projects range from fixing up local parks to improving technology in public schools.
HEY!
— NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo) April 9, 2018
Participatory budgeting voting is open now!
Vote at one of these locations, or vote online NOW at https://t.co/RTgRcHBm8F.
It only takes a minute to vote and be a part of deciding how to spend $1 million in your community during #PBNYC. pic.twitter.com/DoP1OwiSys
One factor that sets this voting process apart: New Yorkers as young as 11 years old can vote.
Brianne Jimenez and Jacinta Ojevwe say young people should seize this opportunity to voice their priorities. These two teenagers are Participatory Budgeting Fellows with Coro New York, which means they've been involved since the idea-gathering stage of this year's budgeting process.
"During the summer, I was talking to kids at parks," said Jimenez. "And I'm like, I know you play at these parks all the time, and if you want to see changes made to these parks, then you should come out and vote."
Ojevwe said most of the people who attend idea collection meetings in the Bronx, which are open to the public and held in September and October, are older and live in public housing. And while they suggested a lot of ideas to improve youth-oriented spaces like parks and schools, they were missing the perspectives of young people.
"A lot would say, 'Oh the youth need this, the youth need that,'" said Ojevwe. "But then the question would arise, like, 'Where's all the youth? We need youth to come to these neighborhood assemblies to say what they want.'"
Ojevwe says now that it's voting week, young people should look up what projects are being considered in their district and cast their ballots.
"And when the whole PB process starts again, go out and pitch your idea," she said. "Because in order for us to see change we have to be the change."
→ Cast your vote through April 15th: You can vote in person at pop-up PBNYC desks in your district, at a LinkNYC booth, or online at www.pbnyc.org.
Love this!#PBNYC screen @LinkNYC to Vote on how you would spend $1M! While you charge your phone- you can vote at a Link kiosk: https://t.co/oB28fNZ1xU… pic.twitter.com/nkLHlUTFUW
— mili bonilla (@meelee2B) April 9, 2018
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