You can’t fight City Hall, but it’s good to know what they’re doing from time to time.
Under a forthcoming bill from Councilman Ben Kallos (D-Manhattan), the city would be required to do a better job sharing info about future meetings and city business.
The legislation, set to be introduced Thursday, would make the city create an app to publish timely information about every public meeting held by municipal government entities.
The bill also mandates a standard format for the presentation of the info on the app and on city government websites.
“I want to put government in people’s pockets in a good way with an app that will tell you what’s happening and when you need to make your voice heard, so you get the city you want,” Kallos told the Daily News on Tuesday.
NYC Council Member Ben Kallos (Alec Tabak for New York Daily News)
A task force would be convened to come up with a concept to display meeting info on the app and city websites, according to Kallos.
He said by using open-source software for the app, the city could produce the technology cost-free.
New Yorkers who want to get involved with their communities are often in the dark about things like monthly community council meetings at local precincts and how to register to testify at City Council hearings, Kallos said.
“Ever since this election, people keep stopping me in the street asking me how they can get more involved in government,” the councilman said. “That’s a feature, not a bug. I think government is deliberate in making it difficult for people to get involved.”