Recent Events

Civic Engagement Commission


Recent Events

CEC in the News
Recent Events
Media Advisories
Press Releases

CEC in the News

Recent Events

Media Advisories

Press Releases


Recent Events

Hip Hop 50th Anniversary Block Party

Our outreach team loved registering voters and sharing resources with New Yorkers at the Hip Hop 50th Anniversary Block Party in Harlem!

Participant registering to vote.

Participant registering for volunteer opportunities.

Art display at the block party.

National Night Out

Our outreach team joined the NYPD Community Affairs Unit to celebrate #NationalNightOut Against Crime! This annual event brings together community members and local police precincts to promote safer neighborhoods.

Mayor Eric Adams giving remarks

CEC Outreach Specialist Ivie with an agency partner.

CEC Outreach Specialist Anthony with participants.

Community Fair

Our outreach team partnered with Homecrest Community Service and VNS Health to share civic engagement resources with community members.

Participants of the Homecrest Wellness Fair.

Participants of the Homecrest Wellness Fair.

Participants of the VNS Health Fair.

The People's Money Flagship Events

As part of the NYC Civic Engagement Commission's People's Money voting campaign, the People's Bus transformed into a Tender Money Monster. This giant puppet engaged community members in NYC's first-ever citywide participatory budgeting process. ""Tippy" The Tender People's Money Monster visited all five boroughs throughout May and June 2023, encouraging individuals ages 11 and older to vote on borough-specific initiatives. Adorned with a crown of megaphones, The Tender People's Money Monster played educational jingles as it traveled through the city, spreading joy and inviting people to rethink often tender relationships to money. Tippy will continue to be mobilized to serve New Yorkers.

Tippy, the People's Money Monster.

Tippy with Artist Oneyka from the People Money Artist Collective.

Participants from our Manhattan flagship event.

Haitian Culture Day

Our team joined Life of Hope for the Haitian Culture Day Parade to celebrate Haitian culture's incredible contributions to the fabric of our city! We marched and spread awareness about participatory budgeting where ALL New Yorkers 11 and up can #vote on how to spend #ThePeoplesMoney.

Haitian Culture Day Parade participants

CEC Staff with Parade banner

CEC Staff with participants

NYC Kids Festival

Our engagement team joined New York City Public School & the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau for the NYC Kids Festival in Brooklyn, to share resources for the People's Money Voting phase.

CEC Staff tabling at the festival

Youth participants at the festival

Chief Democracy Officer Katleen Daniel engaging with participants.

Iftar in the City

As part of the administration's efforts to connect with Muslim New Yorkers during the holy month of Ramadan, CEC Chair & Executive Director Dr. Sarah Sayeed joined the Mayor's Community Affairs Unit, Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, and Commission on Human Rights to celebrate the resilience of Muslim communities in New York City for an iftar in Staten Island. She also joined a Ramadan dinner hosted by Mayor Eric Adams that was attended by community leaders from the five boroughs.

Group photo of CEC Chair and Executive Director Dr. Sarah Sayeed with city agency commissioners.

Mayor Eric Adams with Dr. Sarah Sayeed interacting with attendees

Photo of Iftar event participants.

Citizenship Celebration

Our Chief Democracy Officer, Kathleen Daniel, joined the Arab American Family Support Center to celebrate and honor over 50 students who have recently passed their U.S. Citizenship Exam!

CEC Chief Democracy Officer, Kathleen Daniel.

Panelists of the AAFSC Citizenship Celebration.

Photo of participant preparing for interview.

National Volunteer Month

For National Volunteer Month, over 130 organizations gathered to commit to a civic engagement campaign, "Spread Love NYC." The nine-month-long cross-sector initiative will engage New Yorkers in short, one-hour, and long-term volunteer projects that uplift neighbors and communities. Our Chief Democracy Officer, Kathleen Daniels, led a panel discussion on Integrating Equity and Accessibility in Volunteerism.

CEC Chief Democracy Officer, Kathleen Daniel leading panel discussion.

Mayor Eric Adams at the partner kickoff event.

International Transgender Day of Visibility

On Friday, March 31st, we joined the Office of Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams for the International Transgender Day of Visibility celebration in support of the Transgender and Gender Nonconforming community while shedding light on the progress that still needs to be made in protecting trans rights.

CEC outreach staff with NYC Public Advocate Jumane Williams.

Photo of event participants.

CEC outreach staff with partners.

Community Board 14th Annual Youth Conference

The CEC outreach team tabled at the Community Board 14th Annual Youth Conference at Brooklyn College. Every year since 2008, Community Board 14 has hosted this event on behalf of young people (ages 14-25) and their families to meet representatives from NYC agencies and nonprofits to learn about the opportunities available for young people. The event featured workshops and information tables with everything from internships, summer jobs, programs, services and resources, and more to offer.

CEC outreach staff with participant.

CEC outreach staff with partner from CCRB.

CEC outreach staff interacting with participant.

Brooklyn Health Fair

Our engagement team joined over 40 local vendors and 300 seniors at the Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst for the Brooklyn Health fair. They shared resources on our programs and upcoming events.

Outreach staff at the event.

Student participants at the event.

Student participants at the event.

Pathways To Graduation

Our engagement team joined over 50 organizations and 300 students participating in the Pathways to Graduation (P2G) college and workforce event at the Edwards A. Reynolds West Side High School. We shared resources on our programs and opportunities for civic engagement.

Outreach team at the event.

Participants at the event.

Outreach staff sharing resources.

Open Data Week

In partnership with The Governance Lap and CUSP at New York University, we hosted a workshop for NYC Open Data Week. Leaders from across New York City joined to discuss how open data might help organizations achieve civic trust. Our Chief Information Officer, Oscar Romero, joined the panel to share his experience in utilizing data in the civic engagement space.

Graphic with Panelists.

Group photo with Panelists.

Photo of panelists with CIO Oscar Romers (right).

Civics Week

DemocracyNYC & The Civic Engagement Commission (CEC) partnered with the Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit (PEU) and NYC Public Schools (NYCPS) to host Days of Action to kick-off Civics Week and Student Voter Registration Day (SVRD)! SVRD is a citywide effort to register and pre-register eligible students to vote. Since its inception, this initiative has resulted in the registration of over 60,000 students and serves as a critical pathway for young people to become civically involved.

Group photo with CEC & PEU staff with Chief Engagement Officer Betsy MacLean.

Group photo of volunteers.

Students registering to vote.

Civic Summit

The Civic Engagement Commission (CEC) teamed up with Bronx Borough President Gibson for a Civic Engagement Summit at Bronx Borough Hall! Our Chief Democracy Officer, Kathleen Daniel, joined a decorated panel to discuss civic engagement, leadership and ways for youth to get involved in democracy.

Photo of panelists at Civic Engagement Summit.

CEC staff sharing resources with attendees at the summit.

Civic Engagement Summit attendees.

City Council Hearing

On February 28th, CEC Chair & Executive Director Dr. Sarah Sayeed testified before the New York City Council’s Government Operation Committee on our work supporting community boards. In New York City, community boards are the first level of local government that consists of community volunteers. The CEC provides assistance and training to community board members, such as workshops on uniform meeting procedures, language access best practices, conflict resolution, and community outreach.

CEC Chair & Executive Director Dr. Sarah Sayeed testifying before NYCC

Chinese Lunar New Year

The CEC visited the Union Settlement Association alongside partners from across the city to honor the culture and contributions of our city's AAPI community! In 2023, the Year of the Rabbit, we embrace the spirit of togetherness and shared hope.

CEC Staff sharing civic engagement resources.

Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations

Group photo of participants

DUSA Immersive Fair

DominicanoUSA, in partnership with the CEC, hosted the 2nd edition of the binational Tech Immersive Fair 2022. The fair was one of two sessions hosted simultaneously at Microsoft Experience Center in NYC and T-Eco Group in Santiago, DR. This event presented an opportunity to learn about the growth of technology in the gaming industry. Participants got to try out virtual reality games along with a wide variety of video games and tournaments.

Group photo of DUSA Immersive Fair Panelist

Youth participants at the DUSA Immersive Fair

Photo of DUSA Immersive Fair Panelist

CEC in the Community

Over the past month, the CEC outreach team partnered agencies and organizations across the city, such as: The East Flatbush Community Partnership, Community Education Council (CEC12), and The Future of Haiti among many others to share voter education resources for the November General Election and information about CEC programs.

Mayor and CEC Chair & Executive Director Dr. Sarah Sayeed with participants

Outreach staff at community events

Outreach staff at community events

Boroughwide Idea Generation Sessions

The CEC and partners citywide hosted The People's Money: Boroughwide Idea Generation Sessions. Five events, one in each borough, invited New Yorkers to represent their neighborhood in NYC's first-ever $5m citywide participatory budgeting process by submitting ideas to address community needs.

The People's Money, Queens Boroughwide Idea Generation Session.

The People's Money, Bronx Borough Idea Generation Session.

The People's Money, Staten Island Borough Idea Generation Session.

Make Your Voice Heard! Russian Language Forum

We held a virtual language forum via Zoom to provide diverse members of Russian-speaking communities a comprehensive overview of voter resources ahead of the November Election, and “The People’s Money”, a democratic process in which community members decide how to spend $5 million of Mayoral expense funds.

Panelists of the virtual language forum.

Panelists of the virtual language forum.

Panelists of the virtual language forum.

Participatory Budgeting Community and Ethnic Media Roundtable

The CEC in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) hosted a roundtable at City Hall to discuss “The People’s Money” Participatory Budgeting process. All New Yorkers, ages 11 and up, will be able to decide how to spend $5 million of mayoral expense funding to address local community needs citywide.

CEC Chair Dr.Sarah Sayeed & MOIA Commissioner Manuel Castro.

CEC & MOIA Commissioners with reporters.

Participatory Budgeting deck.

Participatory Budgeting: Phase 1 Highlights

The CEC and partners citywide are hosting The People's Money: Idea Generation session to brainstorm ideas for expense projects that will help better their community.

Idea Generation session participants.

Participants learning about The People's Money process.

Fun activations at Idea Generation Sessions.

Voter Engagement and Education: November General Election

The CEC outreach team partnered with NYC Racial Justice Commission, Office of Family and Community Empowerment, The Haitian Nurses Network and NYC Human Rights Commission among many others to share voter education resources for the upcoming November General Election.

CEC staff at outreach event.

Outreach event in Jackson Heights

CEC staff with representatives from The Haitian Nurses Network.

DecidimFest: Open Source Technology Summit in Barcelona

The CEC Chair & Executive Director, Sarah Sayeed participated in Decidim’s annual summit in Barcelona. The CEC is a leading member of Decidim’s open-source community working to strengthen digital democracy through our platform participate.nyc.gov!

Panelists at the Decidem Fest

CEC Chair & Executive Director with panelists.

Attendees at Decidem Fest

Little Amal in Washington Heights

In partnership with St. Ann's Warehouse and Amal Walks, we held an event to welcome Little Amal to Washington Heights where she celebrated civics, arts and cultural activations. She also submitted her Participatory Budgeting idea for The People's Money: Cross Generational Community Empowerment Workshops.

Photo of Little Amal holding a People's Money sign

Chair & Director of the CEC welcoming Little Amal

The crowd welcoming Little Amal

National Voter Registration Day - Union Square Park

In partnership with St. Ann's Warehouse and Amal Walks, we held an event to welcome Little Amal to Washington Heights where she celebrated civics, arts and cultural activations. She also submitted her Participatory Budgeting idea for The People's Money: Cross Generational Community Empowerment Workshops.

Group photo of CEC staff holding signs about the importance of voting

Photo of The Dream Unfinished performing in Union Square Park

Group of people registering to vote with Headcount

The People's Money

All New Yorkers age 11 and up will have a say in how to spend $5 million of mayoral expense funding to address local community needs. Beginning with a kick-off event in the Bronx on September 14th, followed by a Week of Action starting on September 19th, the CEC and a diverse group of 82 partner organizations will be opening their doors to host idea generation sessions. All New Yorkers are invited to attend sessions in their borough. Events will be placed on our online platform as they are scheduled.

The CEC Staff sharing information about the participatory budgeting process.

The crowd at the People's Money event engaged in conversation.

Group photo of partners and elected officials holding signs for the People's Money.

Diversity in Tech at the Garage

In partnership with the NYC Economic Development Corporation, The NYC Office of Technology & Innovation, the NYC Mayor's Office of Community Mental Health and Microsoft Garage, The Civic Engagement Commission held a conversation on the city's efforts on strengthening democracy and increasing diversity and cultural competency in tech.

Two women engaged in a conversation with other attendees.

Diversity in tech keynote presentation.

Group photo of diverse attendees taken in Diversity In Tech event.

Civics & August Primary

We teamed up with Center for Law & Social Justice, Queens Community Houses and the Office of Queens Borough President to share civic engagement opportunities and August Primary Resources.

Outreach staff sharing information about the August Primary with Queens Resident

Group photo with members from Queens Borough President's Office

CEC and Center for Law & Social Justice civics workshop with youth group from Good Call NYC

Get Out The Vote (GOTV) Outreach Efforts

In partnership with the Center for Law & Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, our outreach team conducted civics workshops and Get Out The Vote for August primaries at Butler houses and Queensbridge houses.

Civics workshop with seniors from Butler-Houses in the Bronx

Seniors learning about the redistricting process

Seniors learning about the August Primary and what's on the ballot

Cornell University: Civics & Tech

Students at Cornell Tec showcased projects they had completed over the course of a 3-week summer intensive class on Civics & Tech. On behalf of the CEC two groups presented their projects, one focusing on troubleshooting an open-source volunteer management software and the other created an evaluation framework for the Idea Generation phase of participatory budgeting.

Presentation on the project goals of the evaluation framework for the Idea Generation phase of PB

Presentation of the theory of change in assessment of the evaluation framework

Students present their concluding statements

The Arab American Family Support Center's Participatory Budgeting (PB) Project

National Arab American Service Day launched a Taskforce on Racial Inclusion & Equity (TRIE) PB project. Briarwood, Queens was one of the neighborhoods hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, disproportionally impacting immigrants and communities of color. The partnership with local schools and partners aims to address community hunger and advance racial inclusion and equity.

Group Photo at AAFSC Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in Briarwood

School Officials and Community Leaders at AAFSC Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in Briarwood

NYC Civic Engagement Commission speaking at AAFSC Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in Briarwood

Community Discussion at the APNA Brooklyn Community Center

This event brought together the Urdu-speaking community members together for an in-person civics education workshop and resource fair. Led by community leaders, this event promoted civic opportunities for the community and provide a space for dialogue on what's at stake in the upcoming primary election.

Presenter at APNA Brooklyn Community Center

Presenter at APNA Brooklyn Community Center

Group Photo at APNA Brooklyn Community Center