Dear John
The blackout period is over! Back to our regularly scheduled programming.
While ideas collection for Participatory Budgeting has closed, be sure to submit your nomination for our Civic Assembly! The Civic Assembly is a group of community members who will come together to deliberate on which Participatory Budgeting project ideas will be developed for the ballot. They will act as a jury to review all the submitted project ideas and help develop a list of community priorities. Nominate friends, family, and peers from your community who could help us develop our list of community priorities from the ideas submitted through Participatory Budgeting.
Our Community’s Newest Plaza
We’re announcing this a little late because blackout rules prohibited us from commenting on past events, but on 10/11, and after years of work, I was thrilled to officially expand Kensington Plaza with the support and partnership of the Department of Transportation (DOT)!
Creating this extended open space has been the result of hundreds of intentional community conversations and piloting it for the last two summers. When this work began, I was a staff member at former Council Member Brad Lander’s office, bringing together dozens of community members to help identify where we could build new and accessible public space while addressing crash-prone corridors like Beverley Road and East 2nd Street.
Unlike nearly every other neighborhood in District 39, Kensington has few public spaces, so this expansion is a welcome addition. This plaza will also be cared for by the DOT, so its operations will be fully funded and staffed by the City. We know this is a change for community members and many businesses, but our office is here to answer any questions and help in any way. Creating walkable and accessible public spaces like the new Kensington Plaza for our neighbors is safer for pedestrians, good for small businesses, and cuts down on our community's greenhouse gasses.
