Senator Brad Hoylman Announces New Plan To Allocate State Capital Funds

Hoylman: “Community Board Budgeting will not only help identify local capital needs by empowering community boards, but also bring transparency to the budget process.”

NEW YORK--Today, State Senator Brad Hoylman (D/WF-Manhattan) joined community leaders in announcing a plan to seek guidance from local community boards on the allocation of New York State capital funds in his 27th Senate District.

Senator Hoylman’s plan, called Community Board Budgeting (or CBB for short), will give local community boards the opportunity to recommend worthwhile projects within his district to be funded through the State and Municipal Facilities Grant Program (SAM) administered by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY). SAM funds provide reimbursement of costs for capital projects undertaken by eligible entities such as public schools, parks, libraries and public housing. 

To participate in CBB, each of the six Manhattan community boards within Senator Hoylman’s district will be asked to submit a resolution identifying up to five eligible capital projects, each of which is at least $50,000, for a total of $250,000 per community board. All grant recommendations from community boards must be for projects within the 27th Senate District and are subject to final approval from DASNY and the New York State Senate. In the coming weeks, Senator Hoylman will be providing additional submission and project eligibility guidelines to each community board.

Senator Hoylman said: “I’m excited to offer the six community boards in our Senate district the opportunity to weigh in directly on important local capital projects, such as public schools, libraries, parks and public housing. I encourage community boards to discuss these potential capital funding projects through their district needs process in order to collect public input on their proposals. Community Board Budgeting will not only help identify local capital needs by empowering community boards, but also bring transparency to the budget process.”

Senator Hoylman was inspired to create the $1.5 million Community Board  Budgeting program by the allocation of $1 million of capital funding from many New York City Council members in the process known as Participatory Budgeting.

“Community boards are extremely well-positioned to offer guidance on local capital expenditures because they spend months prioritizing their district needs, so it makes sense to leverage their hard work and expertise for the benefit of our Senate district,” Senator Hoylman added.

Carter Booth, Chair of Community Board 2, Manhattan, said: “I am excited about Senator Hoylman’s new Community Board Budgeting project. What a great idea. There is no shortage of worthy causes throughout our Community Board that would benefit tremendously from this type of funding. We look forward to working with Senator Hoylman and helping match grant ideas and projects with state funding grants.”

Alysha Lewis-Coleman, Chair of Community Board 3, Manhattan, said: “This is a very exciting opportunity for Community Board 3 to partner with State Senator Hoylman to further serve our community.  Participating in Community Board Budgeting will allow residents through the community board to have direct say and impact to best benefit our community. This will also encourage more civic participation. We are very pleased and enthusiastic to join Senator Holyman in this first round of Community Board Budgeting.”

Burt Lazarin, Chair of Community Board 4, Manhattan, said: “Senator Hoylman’s Community Board Budgeting Project is an exciting and appreciated initiative. Too often, Community Boards’ yearly budget priorities remain unfunded or postponed. This project will help accomplish important local community projects. CB4 appreciates Brad’s support of Community Boards and the work we do.”

Molly Hollister, Chair of Community Board 6, Manhattan, said: “Manhattan Community Board Six is grateful for the continued support of Senator Hoylman and we are thrilled about this new Community Board Budgeting Initiative. This initiative will go a long way in furthering our work on quality of life issues on the east side of Manhattan. CB6 is constantly assessing the needs of the district and this additional funding will help push forward improvements for our schools, parks, libraries and other open space capital projects that are priorities for the community.”

Roberta Seemer, Chair of Community Board 7, Manhattan, and Mark Diller, Chair-Elect of Community Board 7, Manhattan said: “Community Board 7 is excited to work with Senator Hoylman to identify and fund projects that will benefit our District residents.  We appreciate the Senator's commitment to hearing directly from our community and responding in a meaningful way to our needs.”

To be eligible for SAM funding, the proposed project must be owned by one of the following entities:

• New York State Agencies and Authorities
• New York City
• Public Benefit Corporations, including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation
• Independent Not-for-Profit Higher Education Institutions
• State University & City University of New York, including Community Colleges
• New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)
• Public Schools
• Public Libraries
• Public Park conservancies
• Fire Departments
• Schools for the Blind and Deaf
• Private Schools for students with disabilities