BY SEAN EGAN | On Tues., March 23, City Council District 3 residents milled about an “expo,” taking in facts and snacks and observing the handiwork of their neighbors.
No, it wasn’t a crafts show, but a presentation of projects that people can vote on in what’s known as participatory budgeting. The venue was the new P.S. 340, the Sixth Avenue Elementary School, on W. 17th St.
The evening event was a prelude to the official voting period for participatory budgeting, informally known as “P.B.” Under the process, district residents propose and then vote on capital-improvement projects. The winners will be awarded money from a pot of $1 million in discretionary funds — anywhere from roughly $100,000 up to $500,000, based on the type of project — set aside by Councilmember Corey Johnson.
Voting starts Sat., March 25 (both online, at tinyurl.com/kdkyh26, and at select voting sites) and runs for a full week through Sun., April 2. People can support up to five projects.
School improvements are one of the most popular types of project on the “P.B.” ballot.
“We’re in an old building, we have very limited outlet useage,” explained Nicole Barth, a parent from P.S. 3, at Hudson and Grove Sts. “We’re scared of overloading the electrical system.”
Those fears would be addressed by the new, upgraded electrical panel and quad outlets on the P.B. ballot for the Village school.
Meanwhile, school parent Alice Ho was concerned with unsafe drinking water at the Lab and Museum Schools, at 333 W. 17th St., where some water outlets have tested positive for lead.
“We basically weren’t feeling warm and fuzzy when the numbers of parts per million kept going up with each test,” she said. She noted that the 12 water fountains for Lab on the P.B. ballot would ensure safe drinking water for staff and students.
Advocating for air conditioning for the library at P.S. 111, at 440 W. 53rd St. in the Hell’s Kitchen part of the district was Trevor Richardson, the school’s P.T.A. co-president. Almost all of the school’s A/C units are broken, according to Richardson.
“The library is a key spot in our school that’ll help a lot of people,” he said, noting that public places like this would be targeted for cooling to help provide relief to students and the wider community during the summer months.
Repairs to the bathrooms at the Humanities Educational Complex (home to six schools), at 351 W. 18th St. are badly needed, according to student Nicole Bernardo, who called them “a mess.” There are broken stalls and tiles and missing sinks, she said.
High School of Fashion Industries, at 225 W. 24th St., would get a technology upgrade if its ballot item is among the top vote-getters.
Another major category of projects involved the improvement and upkeep of public spaces, like parks and gardens.
“The block has been fighting for over 20 years,” said JD Noland of efforts to get a new Hell’s Kitchen park off the ground. Now, with the Parks Department approving the use of a location at 10th Ave. and W. 48th St., Noland sees P.B. funds as a way of officially getting the ball rolling.
“We need it for the children of Hell’s Kitchen,” he said.
Liam Buckley was stumping for general repairs for the playground at Penn South, the Chelsea moderate-income housing complex in the W. 20s between Eighth and Ninth Aves.
“It’s become outdated,” he said of the playground. Things are breaking, things are dirty.”
Representing the nearby Elliott-Chelsea Houses, resident Darlene Waters said people should vote for proposed improvements for the public housing complex’s garden.
“We’ve been getting a lot of complaints from parents about how open the yards are,” she said. The improvements would include fencing, which would keep kids from easily running out into nearby streets.
Fencing was also on the mind of Jack Intrator, a historian and volunteer with the Jefferson Market Garden, at Greenwich and Sixth Aves. in the Village. He was making a pitch for P.B. funds to replace the garden’s northern chain-link fence, which he called a “security issue,” as well as “a toolshed that’s past its longevity.”
Other ballot items include installing historic-style bishop’s crook street lampposts along Seventh Ave. South, between Christopher and Bleecker Sts., in the Greenwich Village Historic District; adding real-time electronic rider information signs at five key bus stops around the district; creating handicapped-accessible bathroom facilities at the Hudson Park Library, at 66 Leroy St.; repairing all safety surfacing, roofs on play equipment, adding new trees and replanting green space at the Bleecker St. Playground, at Hudson and W. 11th Sts.; renovating the basketball court at Chelsea Park, at W. 27th St. and 10th Ave.; and resurfacing the toddler sprinkler at the Robert Fulton Houses, at W. 16th St. and Ninth Ave.
Councilmember Johnson praised the turnout at the expo and encouraged everyone to get out there and vote for the projects they support.
“I think really now, more than ever,” he said, “given the trauma that we face every day reading the news, it’s important for everyone to be engaged locally. It really is like watching democracy in action.”
Voting locations include the L.G.B.T. Center, at 208 W. 13th St., between Seventh and Greenwich Aves., March 25-26 and April 1-2, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Greenwich House, at 27 Barrow St., between W. Fourth and Bleecker Sts., March 25-26 and April 1-2, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Johnson’s District Office, at 224 W. 30th St., between Seventh and Eighth Aves., Suite 1206, March 27-31, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fulton Houses Tenants Association Office, 419A W. 17th St., between Ninth and 10th Aves., March 25-26 and April 1-2, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Hudson Guild Elliott Center, at 441 W. 26th St. at 10th Ave., March 25-26 and April 1-2, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Fountain House, at 425 W. 47th St., between Ninth and 10th Aves., March 25-26 and April 1-2, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Again, you can also vote online, at tinyurl.com/kdkyh26. For more information, visit coreyjohnson.nyc/pb.
