Vote for participatory budgeting projects for Kensington through April 15th.
Capital Projects: A total of eight Capital Projects are on the ballot; you can vote for one, two, three, four, or five of them. They're usually improvements to
long-term physical assets, such as equipment or public facilities. The Capital Project for
Kensington is to "Resurface the Soccer Field in Albemarle Playground."
Expense Projects: A total of ten Expense Projects are on the ballot; you can vote for one, two, or three of them. They're usually new, short-term
programming by organizations to benefit neighborhood residents. The Expense Project for Kensington is
"Women's Self-Defense for the Resistance."
The projects proposed for other neighborhoods are listed at http://bradlander.nyc/news/updates/2018-pbnyc-ballot.
Neighborhood residents propose the participatory budgeting projects. Then they do research to determine which ones can be accomplished and if they're affordable.
How the projects are paid for: Projects are paid for from tax money that the city
government allocates to New York City Councilmembers' budgets. Our New York City Councilmember Brad Lander has set aside $1.5 million from his budget for this.
Who can vote: Residents can vote if they're at least eleven years old or at least in 6th grade. You don't have to be registered with the Board of Elections
to vote in participatory budgeting. Just show a form of identification,
such as a license, passport, or IDNYC card, a utility bill, or another
document that shows your name and address.
Where and when to vote: The closest voting location is the Windsor Terrace Library at 160 E. 5th
Street, at the corner of Fort Hamilton Parkway. Vote there on Saturday,
April 14th, between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Other voting locations are
listed at http://bradlander.nyc/2017-2018-pbnyc-season.
Online voting: If you don't want to or can't get to a voting location, you can vote online at https://pbnyc2018.d21.me.
KENSINGTON'S CAPITAL PROJECT:
"Resurface the Soccer Field in Albemarle Playground"
Summary: Replace damaged, hazardous turf in this widely-used soccer field shared by students at P.S. 230 and the Kensington community.
Cost: $500,000
Location: 12th Avenue and Dahill Road, Kensington
Who benefits: public school students, teenagers and young adults, families and adults who play sports,exercise, and picnic and enjoy cultural festivals in the playground
Project description:The soccer turf in Albemarle Playground is damaged
in several areas, creating tripping hazards for the children and young
adults who use the field. During the school day, over 500 children run
across the turf during recess and gym periods.
Albemarle Playground is
also one of the most popular public recreational areas in the
neighborhood, widely used by the community on weekends and evenings.
Families, children, and groups of young adults regularly use the field
for pick-up soccer games, outdoor play, fitness training, community
gatherings, and cultural festivals.
KENSINGTON'S EXPENSE PROJECT:
"Women's Self-Defense for the Resistance"
Cost: $5,400
Project description and purpose: International Muslim Women’s Initiative for Self-Empowerment (IMWISE)
will facilitate a series of self-defense workshops for Bangladeshi
immigrant and/or Muslim young women and their allies as a response to
the vitriolic anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, and anti-women rhetoric
spewed by the Trump administration alongside the already existing
discrimination, sexism, harassment, aggression, and gender-based
violence women encounter daily within homes, workplace, and other
institutions.
Given that anti-Islamic sentiments and discrimination continue to
alienate young and older Muslim women in the US, Rana Abdelhamid formed
IMWISE to provide a space to heal from their negative experiences of
violence, hone their individuality, and learn ways to turn negative
experiences into a drive for positive social change.
Self-defense training is a tool that IMWISE administers to instill women
with physical strength and support them to overcome violence and become
ambassadors for women’s self-determination. Alongside self-defense,
there'll be a focus on other skills trainings, centering on financial autonomy and wellness.
Who it serves: The sessions will prioritize Bangladeshi and/or Bangladeshi Muslim women
in the Kensington neighborhood but are open to all women in the
district as a tool for community-wide resistance building in the Trump
Era, alongside combating patriarchy within and outside of the community.
Kensington, Brooklyn, currently lacks a Women’s Center for Bangladeshi
women whose social and political needs are often overlooked. The
self-defense workshops are especially geared toward curating a permanent
safe space with a goal of continued programming for Bangladeshi women
in order to build up to a Women’s Center in the future.
Your vote matters Giving IMWISE a home in Kensington through Participatory Budgeting will
provide an outlet for Bangladeshi women in the neighborhood to build
emotional and physical strength, connect with women allies invested in
protecting immigrant/Muslim women of color, and develop leadership
qualities to pursue all else required for the community to survive in a
state of violence.