Vote To Support Your Favorite Community Project In Chelsea

CHELSEA, NY — What would you do with $1 million to spend on your Manhattan neighborhood? This year, thanks to District 3's participatory budgeting process, residents of Chelsea, the West Village and Hell's Kitchen get to choose.

Like many City Council districts, citizens in District 3 get to allot about $1 million on small, community-based projects each year using discretionary funds from the City Council. Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who represents the area, will launch the voting process on Saturday. Johnson's district spans the West side of Manhattan from Greenwich Village to parts of the Upper West Side.

This year, you can vote to support projects like making a public school gym on the Lower East Side accessible for special needs students, adding security cameras and monitors on NYCHA properties, or updating the park surrounding the newly renovated Chelsea Sexual Health Clinic.

Here are descriptions of all the options, via Johnson's office:

• Technology Upgrade for Libraries, district wide, $200,000: This project would fund technology upgrades - including new desktops, printers and more - at libraries in Council District 3.
• New Air Conditioning for Dance Studio at P.S. 11, 320 W. 21st St., $400,000: The project would fund the installation of one split system AC unit in the dance studio at P.S. 11.
• Technology Upgrade for Public Schools, District Wide, $350,000: This project would support growing technology demands in every public school in District 3.
• Gym Renovation at P.S. M721, 250 W. Houston St., $500,000: This project would fund a new fitness center for special needs students who currently lack adequate recreation space.
• Security Cameras for NYCHA Elliott-Chelsea Houses, Elliott-Chelsea Houses, $500,000: This project would fund the purchase of security cameras and monitors in the NYCHA Elliott-Chelsea Houses.
• Security Cameras for NYCHA Fulton Houses, Fulton Houses, $500,000: This project would fund the purchase of security cameras and monitors in the NYCHA Fulton Houses.
• Renovate Park Surrounding Chelsea District Health Center, 303 Ninth Ave., $350,000: This project would restore the grounds around the City-run sexual health clinic in Chelsea that re-opened this Spring.
• Tree Guards to Promote the Health of New and Established Trees, District Wide, $242,000: This project would install over 200 tree guards to protect valuable and vulnerable trees throughout District 3.
• Basketball Court Renovations at Chelsea Park, West 28th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues, $575,000: This project would repave and repaint the court surface, install new hoops and add new seating.
• Historic Street Lighting 7th Avenue South, Greenwich Village Historic District, $250,000: Funds would install historic lamp posts on 7th Avenue South between Commerce Street and Carmine/Clarkson Streets.
• Real Time Rider Information at Bus Stops, District Wide, $250,000: Electronic boards to display real time bus arrival information at key bus stops throughout District 3.

You can vote online for your favorite project here.

Image credit: Courtesy of Council Speaker Corey Johnson's office