Councilman Brad Lander Honored by President Obama

A Brooklyn councilman will be honored by President Obama today at the White House for pioneering a new form of budgeting that allows constituents to determine how money is spent.

Council Member Brad Lander—who represents the 33rd District covering Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Gowanus, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace and Kensington—will be named a "Champion of Change" in a Tuesday afternoon ceremony for his work introducing participatory budgeting to New York City.

As reported in the Brooklyn Eagle, participatory budgeting "began in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1989 before spreading to other parts of the world." Lander introduced the process to his district a year ago, giving residents the chance to vote on how $1 million in discretionary funds are spent. The format has since been adopted by seven other council members around the city.

This year, two local projects were included among the six recipients of the funds, including bathroom renovations at PS 58 - The Carroll School, which received $110,000 and computer upgrades at The Carroll Library ($75,000). Another project in Gowanus received $170,000.