Monday, March 27, 2023

You can vote on what neighborhood projects receive capital funding from City Council

Participatory Budgeting Vote Week is underway in NYC.

Per the city:
New Yorkers can vote online or in person all week to decide how nearly $30 million in capital funding will be spent in the Fiscal Year 2024 city budget to improve neighborhood schools, parks, libraries, and local infrastructure. 
City Councilmember Carlina Rivera's District 2, which includes the East Village, Gramercy Park, Kips Bay, the Lower East Side and Murray Hill, has $1 million in funds available ... and 11 projects up for a vote.

Per Rivera in a statement:
"The projects on our ballots range from improving safety in public housing, enhancing public parks and green infrastructure, adding new recreation spaces, and upgrading technology in our educational and cultural institutions. Our neighbors as young as 11 years old and older can vote, regardless of citizenship status, which makes PB one of the most inclusive ways to participate in local government. I encourage everyone to vote for their favorite projects."
And the 11 items open for a vote (residents may choose up to five):

• Community Garden Resiliency 
Gardens between Avenue A and Avenue D 
Permeable pavers and water access in community gardens 

• Library Technology Upgrades 
Computers and Laptops for Kips Bay, Epiphany, Ottendorfer and Tompkins Square Public Libraries

• Improvements at Merchant's House Museum 
29 E. Fourth St.

• Girls Locker Room Upgrade — School of the Future 
127 E. 22nd St. 

• Upgrade for the shared library for PS 64, Tompkins Square Middle School and the Earth School  
600 E. Sixth St. 

• Bathroom Renovations — East Side Community School, P.S. 15, P.S. 63  

• Riis Houses Pathway Lighting 
Avenue D and 10th Street 

• LES II Basketball Court Upgrades (photo above via a reader)
750 E. Sixth St. 

• Meltzer Towers Safety Improvements 
94 E. First St. 

• Peter's Field Basketball Courts Reconstruction 
2nd Avenue and 20th Street

• Union Square Park Fences and Landscape Initial Funding

Residents age 11 and older may vote (once!) online here until Sunday, April 2. Or! You can vote in person (once!) at the following locations...

20 comments:

Uriel said...

I wish there was an option to vote to re-pave Tompkins square park. The roads there are abysmal.

Neighbor said...

Why on earth isn't Tompkins Square Park on this list???

Choresh Wald said...

Sick that bathroom renovation in a public school building is something that is on a ballot. What's next? Fixing the electrical grid yes or no?

Anonymous said...

"...enhancing public parks..." - well she made sure she wouldn't have to allot a penny to the East River Park, didn't she? And not even a mention of Tompkins Square Park?!?

Anonymous said...

Agree. A proper bathroom for a school should not be in a pool of competing projects but implemented automatically as needed.

Anonymous said...

hm… the online voting site recorded all the required information, but in the end the voting ballot was not available 🤔😠

Anonymous said...

I guess Union Square Park is the only park in D2 that gets any love from Rivera--although her version of "Landscape Initial Funding" may translate into "let's chop down all the mature trees and put artificial turf in here too! Yay!"

Anonymous said...

I voted for the kids' bathrooms because it's ridiculous that we have to vote on this at all. Kids need basic care and bathrooms fall into that category. I wish I could vote for more than 5 things.

Anonymous said...

Please build a library.

Anonymous said...

I can’t believe that Union Square Park is listed. Doesn’t the Union Square Park Partnership (a BID) fundraise for the park?

Anonymous said...

Same experience. Entered all information, but in the end site didn't allow ballot. In principle, PB is great, but will need to be technically improved and substantially expanded....

Anonymous said...

We already have some of the best libraries in the country, if not the world. If you can’t find what you want, go to a larger branch or go online and have your requested book delivered to your local branch. Maybe some need more computers, but now that schools are open, I’m not sure that’s on the top of my list.

Anonymous said...

Had same experience as 6:22pm and 3:07pm :(

Anonymous said...

I wish there was a option to turf the center lawn in Tompkins. It's a mud pit.

Anonymous said...

@3:07 PM
I was able to vote at http://www.pbnyc.org/vote

Trixie said...

I voted in person at Tompkins Square Park on Sunday. Maybe they'll be there again this coming Sunday?

Anonymous said...

@Anon. 7:33AM - the Parks Dept. used to seed that main lawn until it became obvious that many park users decided to ignore the signs reminding them to stay out of that area and turn it into a picnic spot, sunbathing location, mini dog run, and general hangout. There are days where so many people are inside the fence that you can't even see the ground, so I think the PD just gave up and decided to let it go to hell. In this instance, I can't say as I blame them.

Anonymous said...

Artificial turf = microplastics. Better to have real grass, which we USED to have until people started trashing it, like the commenter above says. If people were just mindful of their environment and cared just a little about their park, this wouldn't be an issue.

Anonymous said...

Heartbreaking that it is being used as dogrun by scufflaws who ignore the clearly posted signs. The hawk fledlings used to land there while practicing how to fly. The presence of dogs scared them away. Dog should use the dog run, not the great lawn, so that no additional money needs to be spend on this.

Anonymous said...

You can vote in Tompkins Square Park today (Sunday, April 2nd). Just look for people with clipboards full of ballots. You don't have to write your name or address, just X the box for up to 5 projects on the list and you are done. Please vote for the Community Gardens, the last project on the list! Thank you.