DemocracyNYC and NYC Civic Engagement Commission's monthly newsletter
 
 
NYC Mayors Public Engagement Unit - Democracy NYC
NYC Civic Engagement Commission
A blue and white graphic with text that reads Thank You for Voting adn pictures of New Yorks holding signs stating the reasons why they vote. 

Thank You and Exciting News

Happy holidays and thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s critical elections in New York City! Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy and DemocracyNYC (DNYC) and the New York City Civic Engagement Commission (CEC) remain focused on making voting and elections more accessible and enhancing civic participation and civic trust in New York City.

We are also excited to share that last week, the Mayor signed an Executive Order ensuring DNYC’s permanence beyond the current administration, as well as merging DNYC into the CEC. DNYC and CEC have a history of closely collaborating on multilingual resources, messaging (including this joint newsletter!), and in-person and virtual events and workshops. This consolidation will further streamline these efforts and ensure that we have maximum impact through closer coordination.

Additionally, DNYC’s outreach efforts were previously housed under the Public Engagement Unit (PEU) and will transfer to CEC in the new year. DNYC is extremely grateful for this partnership and is thrilled that PEU will continue to support special projects, such as the annual Student Voter Registration Drive. We are in the process of operationalizing the DNYC-CEC merger and will share more updates in the New Year.
A navy image with text that reads, I'm an Immigrant and I vote, and has silhouettes of immigrant New Yorkers. 

Our City, Our Vote Passed

In other news, on December 9, 2021, the New York City Council passed Intro. 1867 also referred to as Our City, Our Vote, a historic bill which allows green card holders and those authorized to work in the United States to vote in elections for city-level offices as long as they have been a resident of New York City for at least 30 days and are otherwise qualified to register and vote under New York State election law. With this new bill, more than 800,000 immigrant New Yorkers would become eligible to vote. Read the CEC’s statement on the bill HERE.

the People's Money logo, which consists of the words The people's Money in green contained in a sphere with the outline of dollar bills above the letter i in people's money. The text reads, New York City's Participatory Budgeting, The People's Money, You Decide. Contains the City agency logos of the NYC Civic Engagement Commission, Young Men's Initiative, and Taskforce for Racial Inclusion and Equity with a deep purple and blue gradient background. 

Participatory Budgeting: Cast Your Vote Today

The City of New York is investing $1.3M to support recovery in the 33 neighborhoods hardest hit by COVID-19. This citywide neighborhood coalition initiative is being led by the NYC Taskforce for Racial Inclusion and Equity (TRIE), New York City Civic Engagement Commission (CEC), and Young Men’s Initiative (YMI). Residents living, working, or going to school in one of these communities will get to decide how to spend $40,000 of public funds in their neighborhood. These investments will support our communities and contribute to a more fair recovery. The ballot items include projects focused on priority areas identified by residents in each community, including mental health, reducing gun violence, youth programming, and hunger. There are 3 ways to vote: online, over the phone, or by a paper ballot. Voting is open to anyone above the age of 11 regardless of citizenship status. Vote by January 17 HERE!

Additionally, from January 5 to January 17, the CEC is organizing 2-hour long canvasses in each of the 33 neighborhoods with tabling outside places such as public schools, grocery stores, housing complexes, train stations, CUNY campuses, and more. Volunteers are encouraged to sign up to help spread the word and aid residents in voting. Learn more and sign up here.
multicolor flyer in blue, white, and yellow advertising the application for for the Language Assistance Advisory Committee. The text reads: Apply to serve on the 2022 Language Assistance Advisory Committee; passionate about language justice and civic engagement? have ideas on how to promote voter participate among limited English proficient New Yorkers? Deadline to apply: January 7th, 2022. Link to apply: bit.ly/LAACapp. Questions? contact Julie Kim at jkim@civicengagement.nyc.gov. Flyer contains blue and black NYC Civic Engagement Commission city logo. 

Get Involved in the Language Assistance Advisory Committee

The NYC Civic Engagement Commission (CEC) has opened up applications for the Language Assistance Advisory Committee (LAAC). Committee members are an essential part of advancing language justice in limited English proficient communities and have provided valuable feedback in prior elections. Interested applicants who speak Arabic, Bangla, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin), French, Italian, Haitian Creole, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Urdu, and Yiddish are encouraged to apply HERE by January 7, 2022.

A yellow graphic with the New York City skyline and an image of a voting ballot box. Text reads NYC Voters We want to hear from you! Share your experience voting and ensure your voice hear at the ballot box and beyond. on.nyc.gov/votingsurvey 

NYC Voters, We Want to Hear From You

Whether you voted in this year’s elections or not, we want to hear from you! Please complete this brief survey created in partnership with the People’s Tech Assemblies coalition and the Public Advocate’s Office. The survey should not take more than 10 minutes to complete and will inform future policy analysis and recommendations. We will be sharing the survey end date in the coming weeks, please stay tuned and encourage people in your network to complete the survey as soon as possible.

Who Are We?

DemocracyNYC

DemocracyNYC is a nonpartisan initiative of the City of New York focused on increasing voter participation and civic engagement in NYC. Learn more here and follow us at @democracynyc.

Civic Engagement Commission

The New York City Civic Engagement Commission (CEC) is a city agency that was established in 2018 to promote civic participation to increase civic trust and strengthen democracy in New York City. Learn more about the Commission or visit NYC Participate to create an account and join active projects.

Read previous issues of our newsletter here.

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