John,

A quick reminder! We are in the formal “communications blackout” period, less than 90 days out from the June 2023 primary. To comply with election law, we are restricted with what we can discuss in mass communications from now until the primary is over. Please bear with us as we pare down and change content to comply with election law.

Missed our Candid Cannabis Conversation? Check out the video on our Facebook page!

Participatory Budgeting Results

We’re so excited to announce the results of Participatory Budgeting Cycle 12! Our office recorded a whopping 4407 votes! With the help of dozens of volunteers, civic assembly participants, and our Participatory Budgeting Director, Hannah, this was one of our district’s most successful years! Without further ado, the six winning projects are below.

100 Trees for District 39
Family Resource Center at PS 124
Rehabilitate the Bandshell Lawn
Seed Funding for the CHiPS Food Pantry Truck
Repair Café
A Tree Grows in Gowanus: Stewarding our Urban Forest

If you have questions about the process or want to get a head start on volunteering for Cycle 13 next year, reach out to our PB Director at [email protected]. We’ll be following up with some of our funded participatory budgeting projects from cycle 11 later this summer and share their work in a future newsletter. Stay tuned!

Community Bulletin

● Join me on 4/27 at BMCC for a screening of In Search Of Bengali Harlem. This urgent film tells the story of filmmaker and New York native Alaudin Ullah. The film retells his story of growing up on the streets of New York City, retracing his roots to small villages in Bangladesh, and finally grappling with his family's past and, ultimately, his place in the world. I’ll be on a panel after the screening, so get your tickets before they sell out!

● It’s that time of year again! The first day of the Beverley Road Open Street will be on Earth Day (4/22) this year, and our office has special programming to celebrate. From 2-4 PM join us for a lavender sachet-making workshop. Then we are proud to be partnering with the Center For Anti-Violence Education to host a free self-defense class from 3-4 PM! Learn more and RSVP here!

● The Department of Environment Conservation (DEC) will hold a town hall on Thursday, 4/20, at 7 PM to provide an update on their work cleaning up the Gowanus Canal. The town hall will be in person and hosted at PS 372 (215 1st Street).

● Eid is right around the corner, and for the second year in a row, we’ll be celebrating with the Brooklyn Children's Museum on Sunday, 4/23 10 AM - 5 PM! Get your tickets now, and if you need a reduced price or free ticket, email our office, and we’ll help you find one.

● Want to help our community have safer streets? Join our Community Visioning Session with DOT for the 9th Street Corridor on 4/26 from 6:30- 8:30 PM to help us transform this dangerous stretch of road into a safe transit space. Information and RSVP link can be found here.

● Celebrate Eid at City Hall! Join our office and several other Council Members on 4/25 to celebrate the end of Ramadan. RSVP for this free and open event to celebrate Eid with Muslim neighbors from all across the City.

● NYC Service’s Love Your Block initiative is inviting eligible New York City resident-led groups to apply for a block beautification project grant! This program provides a unique opportunity for resident-led groups to transform and beautify their neighborhood with $1,000. In addition to the funding, grantees receive support with City services, including trash collection, woodchip mulch for gardening, repairing and installing street signs and lights, and more. Apply here by 4/26!

● Did you know that Greenwood Cemetery actually inspired the model for Central Park? Learn more about the iconic cemetery and how you can get involved as a volunteer at their Volunteer Recruitment & Info Session on Tuesday, 4/18 at 6:30 PM.

● Calling all educators, librarians, and book lovers: check out Brooklyn Book Bodega’s FREE book giveaways and literacy programming for this Spring season!

● Catching up on Spring Cleaning? Avoid fines when you recycle your e-waste instead of discarding electronics in the trash on Sunday 4/30 at Prospect Park Southwest between Ocean Parkway and Greenwood Avenue.

● Learn more about the formation of the Smith Street Business Improvement District (BID) and what a BID can do for local businesses, property owners, and neighbors on Wednesday, 4/19 at 6 PM at the Invisible Dog. Register here!

● Check out Open Source Gallery’s new exhibit, Snaileidolia, which explores the human inclination to view snails as an extractable resource, driving some to extinction.

In Solidarity,

Shahana