Spend $1 Million In Bed-Stuy Funds With Participatory Budgeting

BED-STUY, NY — Want more trees? Better libraries? Improved public schools?

The Participatory Budget process is now open in Brooklyn, which means you can submit or support ideas in the neighborhood for the chance to receive funding.

From now through Nov. 1, Bed-Stuy residents in District 36 can propose ideas on how $1 million of Council Member Chi Ossé's city budget allocations will be used in the neighborhood.

After the deadline, city agencies will evaluate each proposal, and the council member's office will work with community leaders to narrow down the ideas to create a ballot that will go up for a vote.

The projects must be used for physical infrastructure that benefits the public, cost at least $50,000, and have a lifespan of at least five years. The projects will then be voted on in the spring.

So far, locals have submitted ideas like a revamp of Koscuiszko Pool on Dekalb Avenue near Marcy Avenue, a heated indoor space at Saratoga Park on Patchen Avenue, and street safety improvements to Broadway and Locust Street.

Here are the winners from the last Participatory Budget cycle in District 36:

• Bathroom Repairs for PS 305
• Water Fountain Upgrades for PS 23
• Tree Planting in District 36

"Investing in our schools and our streetscape make our neighborhoods and communities safer," Ossé said of last year's projects.