Political Issue Tracking (Follow-Up)
I created a github board to improve my neighborhood and community
A couple weeks ago I posted about how we should have better systems of issue tracking for our civic society, you can read what I wrote below. This post is a simple follow up: I implemented my own plan, and you can check it out on github
The first thing I did was organize with my friends to go on a walk through the neighborhood, with the intention of noticing things we might be able to improve, report, or research. I noticed so many little improvements that other people have made to our neighborhood, like these awesome tire planters, tasteful signs, and convenient benches placed outdoors. I’m confident that most of these improvements were done in the spirit of “ask forgiveness, not permission” — as they should be!
But there is room to improve, especially in an industrially-zoned neighborhood like ours. I noticed problems that would be easy to solve, like trash on the streets, walls in need of art, and dilapidated lots in need of gardening. None of this is even hard to solve! A dumpster probably costs like $200, or is free if we convince the city to install one. The ugly blank walls of the subway mezzanine could be commissioned by city muralists for dirt cheap (especially compared to the $500MM budget of the NY MTA). And lots owned by the government have no excuse for being overgrown when land prices are this high, we can ask them to give us permission to create a new park! We can and should be thinking imaginatively about our built environment… this is our city, after all, we don’t need to sit passively and wait for someone else to improve it.
At the end of the day, someone being in charge of improving our neighborhoods is better than no one, and there’s no reason you can’t be that someone. Yes, I encourage you to form partnerships with your city officials, and galvanize people at your local Community Board meetings — but more than that I encourage you to just take charge and improve things! Ask forgiveness, rather than permission. The most beautiful and spirited places in the city came directly from the hearts and minds of the locals who built them. And I do mean this when I say it: you don’t have to do this alone. My friends and I will help anyone who is trying to make NYC a better city as much as we have the power to do so. If you want our help, just add an issue to our Github board, and we’ll be right there. Let’s build amazing places together. :)