2.0 Assemblies

What happened to the ideas?

During Idea Generation, New Yorkers submitted 2,023 ideas for the 5 boroughs and 2,116 ideas for the 33 equity neighborhoods on how to spend a part of the city budget.

The 4000+ ideas were first reviewed by the Civic Engagement Commission (CEC) to identify ideas that met the required criteria for funding. This involved screening out any incomplete or incoherent ideas, offensive or inappropriate ideas, ideas that CEC did not have the purview to implement (such as increasing staff at other city agencies or requiring a change to another city agency's operations), and ideas proposing capital projects or policy recommendations. The remaining ideas were passed on to Borough Assemblies or TRIE Neighborhood Coalitions to evaluate and develop the final ballots.

See which ideas made it onto the final Borough and Equity Neighborhood ballots below:

            Final Borough Ballots

         Final Equity Neighborhood Ballots

For the 5 borough ballots, the CEC convened five Borough Assemblies made up of New York City residents who applied and were chosen through a random selection process designed to reflect the diversity of each borough. The selection process considers demographics such as age, race, ethnicity, gender identity, and education level. 

• Each Borough Assembly was made up of, on average, 16 residents.

• The Borough Assembly held 4-5 sessions between January and February, where members got together to discuss the borough ideas. 

•  Assembly Members meet over several weeks to collectively discuss, develop, and select the ideas that most address the needs of their borough to be placed on the final borough ballots. 

“In the beginning, I was hesitant to work with folks I did not know, but after our first session, I realized we had more in common than differences. We were able to really practice the art of listening and consideration of other people's views. It was an empowering experience.”

-Bronx Borough Assembly Member 

For the 33 equity neighborhood ballots, our TRIE partners convened neighborhood coalitions to develop their local ballots.

• Each neighborhood coalition was made up of, on average, 8 members, who represented a key institution or group in the neighborhood, such as a school, older adult center, tenant association, community board, service provider, etc.

• The coalitions met between two and three times between January and February to discuss the ideas. The ideas they selected are the ideas on each neighborhood ballot.

In total, the process culminated in 38 ballots – 5 borough ballots and 33 equity neighborhood ballots.