Morningside Heights, West Harlem Participatory Budgeting: When/How To Vote, List Of Projects

WEST HARLEM, NY — It's time to vote on participatory budgeting projects for 2017. What is "participatory budgeting" you ask? Well, it's not as boring as it might sound.

Starting Saturday, March 25, residents of City Council District 7 — which spans Morningside Heights and West Harlem — will be allowed to vote on how the government should spend $1 million on various community projects. That's right: the tax money is in your hands now.

"Participatory budgeting engages all New Yorkers in the governing process by giving them the tools to decide what improvements they’d like to see in their neighborhood. Many of the creative project proposals on the ballot would not have come to light without input from the community. I’m proud to offer District 7 residents the opportunity to directly decide what they’d like to see funded by their own tax dollars,: Councilman Mark Levine said in a statement.

This year Council District 7 residents can vote 11 on different projects which address community needs such as housing and school improvements, installing bus pads, and upgrading neighborhood parks.

Heres a full list of projects:

1. PS125 Courtyard / Playground Upgrade
2. Real-Time Automated Bus Schedules at Four Bus Stops along Amsterdam Avenue
3. Illuminate Cherry Walk on Hudson River Greenway, Henry Hudson Parkway South
4. PS125 Cafeteria Upgrade
5. PS/MS165 Playground Renovation
6. M195 Restroom Renovation/Upgrade
7. Security Cameras at St. Mary’s Nursing Home
8. Douglass Housing Exterior Lighting & Grounds Work
9. Grant Houses’ Ground & Pavement Repair
10. Manhattanville Housing Outdoor Terrace Lighting
11. Riverstone Senior Center Exterior Lighting Upgrade

Voters can cast their ballots at four different sites within Council District 7:

• Levine's District Office at 500 West 141st St.: March 27-31, 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
• Hamilton Grange Library at 518 West 145th St.: March 27-April 1, 2-4 p.m.
• George Bruce Library at 518 West 125th St.: March 27 - 30, 3-5pm and March 31-April 1, 2-4 p.m.
• Bloomingdale Library at 150 West 100th St.: March 27-April 1, 3-5 p.m.

Voters also have the option to cast their ballots online. The only requirements to vote are that you live in Council District 10 and are older than 14.

To check out the information in map form click here.

Watch the video below to learn more about how participatory budgeting works:

Screenshot courtesy of NY City Council