Listening to New Yorkers about their government
Written by Sheena Wright, Shango Blake and José Serrano-McClain Bold investments to strengthen New York City’s civic infrastructure are key to a more equitable future and to meet the scale of the challenges we face as a city. We know that historically the design and execution of city policies and programs are less equitable and generally less effective when decisions are made in isolation from the community. We know that New Yorkers aren’t afraid to speak up and tell the government what they think, but government too often doesn’t know how to listen. Even when it does, government doesn’t have the infrastructure to effectively act upon community input. Luckily, almost every New York City agency engages New Yorkers in one way or another. But, community engagement is not coordinated among the 50-plus city agencies. On top of that, engagement teams are often understaffed and under-resourced, and efforts to engage New Yorkers have historically be...