Bucharest City Hall announces winning projects: trees will be planted and street cats will be sterilized

On Sunday, Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan announced on Facebook that the citizens of the capital had chosen the winning projects from the Participatory Budgeting Process.

Out of the eight eligible projects, two got the most votes:Green crown for Queen Elizabeth and 3600 sterilizations for Bucharest's stray cats and for the community.

The Green Crown for Queen Elisabeth project involves the rehabilitation of Queen Elisabeth Boulevard in central Bucharest through the replanting of trees and greenery. It was proposed by Streets for People, a non-governmental organization that develops and promotes projects & policies for pedestrians and the public domain.

"We are here, and we want to help and make Bucharest better. We need much more nature in the city and we are committed to this. We are optimistic when it comes to the future of the capital," said the NGO in response to the mayor’s post.

The project will be implemented by the Bucharest Administration of Lakes, Parks, and Recreation.

The 3600 sterilizations for the stray cats of Bucharest and for the community project involves the sterilization of cats found on the street, creating and sharing informational materials, and the training of volunteers to catch cats. It was created by the Sache Foundation, a charitable veterinary clinic.

This project will be implemented by the Authority for the Supervision and Protection of Animals.

"This vote means a tremendous amount to the animal-loving community," the Sache Foundation said on their Facebook page. "It means that your work over the years has not been in vain. It means that state institutions are listening to you and more importantly, implementing what you want. It means that sterilization can take the place of euthanasia, once and for all!"

Aimed at finding and implementing those projects that would make the lives of Bucharest inhabitants better, Bucharest’s City Hall launched the participatory budgeting process earlier this year, in May.

Bucharest dwellers were able to vote on which of the 8 projects that had been put forward would actually be implemented by City Hall. The budget allocated was RON 1 million.

According to the mayor, the two projects that were chosen received the maximum amount allocated by the City Hall for funding, namely RON 500,000 per project.