Councilman Invites Chelsea, Midtown West Residents to Participatory Budgeting Kickoff

CHELSEA, NY — A new cycle of participatory budgeting is set to begin, and Councilman Corey Johnson will kick it off with a party on the High Line.

Participatory budgeting is a City Council initiative where residents propose projects to be funded, a number of options are selected, and then locals vote on which projects should get part of the $1 million up for grabs. Johnson, who represents the Third District, will be taking part in the program once again, and he's set to kick it off with a party on the High Line on Sept. 17 at 2 p.m. The event will be held at 14th Street and attendees should enter at 14th Street and 10th Avenue. District 3 stretches from the West Village north through Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen and Midtown West.

Those attending will be able to begin pitching projects to be funded, register to vote in the process and learn how participatory budgeting works. The projects are chosen in the fall, and final voting is held the following spring.

You can also submit ideas through the council's website. A few ideas for District 3 have already been submitted online, including building a dog park near Hudson Yards and an outdoor pool near Penn South Playground. All ideas must be "capital" projects, i.e. physical infrastructure, and be submitted by Sept. 30.

This is the third year in a row Johnson's district has taken part in the process, but it's the sixth cycle overall. The program started with just four City Council members (Brad Lander, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Eric Ulrich and Jumaane Williams) in 2011, and has expanded exponentially ever since. The program had 28 City Council members take part in 2015-2016 and this year's total of 31 districts will be the most ever.

Last year, District 3 funded five projects at a total cost of $1.075 million. There were 15 finalists for funding voted on in spring 2016, and the 10 which failed to be funded can be brought back for this year's cycle.

Participatory Budgeting District 3 Funded Projects:

• Renovate HVAC system at Muhlenberg Library ($500,000)
• New library for City Knoll School ($300,000)
• New audio/visual system for P.S. 11 ($75,000)
• New trees for Council District 3 ($100,000); the highest vote-getter
• Real-time rider information at bus stops ($100,000)

The Participatory Budgeting office released a video to explain the process a little further:

Photo Credit: Participatory Budgeting Project