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Vote On Your Public Budget! PBNYC Week Is March 26-April 3

Participatory Budgeting
Photo via PBP

In just a few weeks, you’ll be able to vote for projects involving schools, libraries, parks, streets, and other shared spaces throughout the neighborhood. Between Saturday, March 26 – Sunday, April 3, you and your neighbors will be able to choose which projects will be funded.

Council Member Brad Lander writes that “over the past four years, thousands of you have given your ideas, researched needs, developed proposals, and come out to vote. Based on your votes, we’ve funded 29 great projects throughout the 39th Council district — from libraries to schools. For my 5th year, I’m again committing $1.5 million dollars.”

Here are the simple steps for the process:

  1. Pledge to vote and volunteer to assist the voting process.
  2. Vote! View this link for the many voting areas in our neighborhood.

Keep in mind that any resident of the district age 14 and older – even if you are not a registered voter – can take part in the process. All you need is an ID, a utility bill, or some other document stating your name and address.

The ballot includes many neighborhood projects. A sample of them include.

“Mobile Studios” for Artists and Orgs in Gowanus.
Three “mobile studios” – small, mobile workplaces – for artists and community organizations that will enliven underused areas and engage the public on local issues like displacement, environment and resiliency.
Retrofit 75 Auditorium Lights for Safety at PS 282
School and after-school groups use auditoriums daily. Current lights cast shadows, making steep floor unsafe, and use expensive short-life bulbs. New LED retrofit will fix safety and cost issues.
PS 124 Dye Garden/Makerspace STEAM Enrichments
Create Dye Flower Garden and Makerspace for hands-on instruction in STEAM subjects. Dyes will be used in art & social studies projects; Makerspace will teach coding, modeling, and 3D fabrication.
New “Lake Mess Monster,” an aquatic weed harvester
Prospect Park needs a new aquatic weed harvester (aka “Lake Mess Monster”) to remove scum from the lake. Without it, the scum will sink and proceed to rot, causing the water to become toxic.
Replace painted cross-hatch with concrete on PPSW
Construct sidewalk on the southwest corner at Prospect Park Southwest and 16th St, where there is only a painted cross-hatch, to improve pedestrian access to Prospect Park and nearby bus stops!

In 2013, Council Member Brad Lander was honored by President Obama for the “Champions of Change” ceremony for his efforts with the participatory budgeting process.

“Momentum for participatory budgeting has been growing,” writes Council Member Lander. For the 2015-2016 election 28 districts across NYC (up from 4 when we started) took part. And cities around the country are joining in.