Do You Know a Project Worth Funding in Bed-Stuy or Crown Heights?

BED-STUY and CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights residents will soon be able to suggest which local projects their tax dollars should support.

Participatory budgeting season is back in New York. PB is a process by which residents propose local projects they think should be funded, and then vote on which ones to allocate money to. (The money comes from discretionary funds controlled by their City Council representative.)

Much of Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights are represented in the Council by Robert Cornegy. A variety of local projects won funding through last year's PB process, including $248,000 for science equipment at the Bed-Stuy New Beginnings school, $500,000 to upgrade the basketball courts at Brower Park, and $350,000 for improvements to the auditorium at the Marcy Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.

This year's PB process is underway, and the first step is for community members to pitch project ideas to Cornegy's office. A PB community meeting will be held on Sep. 21 at 725 St. Marks Ave. from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Cornegy is also looking for residents to serve as Budget Delegates. They'll be the people who examine the ideas submitted and turn them into the final list of PB proposals that residents will vote on next spring.

Patch is trying to learn if other PB meetings are planned, and we'll update this post with that information.

Top image courtesy of 401(K) 2012/Flickr