Help Midtown Council Members Spend $1M On Neighborhood

MIDTOWN-HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — Want the chance to help spend at least $1 million to fund public improvements in your neighborhood? You're in luck, because it's time to vote in this year's New York City Council participatory budgeting cycle.

Voting opens on March 30 and end April 7 for New York City's eighth participatory budgeting cycle, city officials said. Residents of Midtown Manhattan and Hell's Kitchen will vote on whether to fund projects selected as finalists by City Council members Keith Powers or Council Speaker Corey Johnson, depending on whether they live within the council's fourth or third district.

Projects selected as finalists for participatory budgeting address community needs such as housing and school improvements, park upgrades, public safety and senior services. Most projects don't carry a funding value of $1 million, so multiple projects can win funding. If certain projects prove popular, city council members may chose to allocate even more funds.

There are 13 finalists in Council District 4 (Powers) and 12 finalists in Council District 3 (Johnson) this year. Residents can vote online or in person at a number of different polling places in the districts.

Here's a list of projects on the ballot for district 4:

• Tech upgrades for district libraries: $250,000
• New bathrooms at Wagner Middle School: $200,000
• Gym upgrades at Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis HS: $600,000
• Auditorium upgrades at PS 59: $200,000
• Library renovation at PS 6: $500,000
• Tech upgrades at district schools: $120,000
• New tree plantings and tree guards: $150,000
• Floor repairs at Dag Hammarskjold plaza: $40,000
• Asser Levy rec center improvements: $250,000
• Security cameras in Turtle Bay: $80,000
• Pedestrian safety improvements in the East 60s: $300,000
• Roadway resurfacing: $250,000
• Countdown clocks at bus stops: $200,000

And here are the projects on the ballot for district 3:

• Hudson Park Library accessible bathrooms: $300,000
• Air conditioning for Muhlenberg Library: $375,000
• More accessible bathrooms at Park West High School: $170,000
• PS 51 entrance accessibility upgrade: $250,000
• Upgraded water fountains for public schools: $300,000
• Improved lighting for NYCHA parks: $600,000
• Gertrude Kelly Park pathway repairs: $620,000
• Spray shower renovation at McCaffrey Playground: $450,000
• Holland Tunnel area pedestrian safety upgrads: $300,000
• Street tree protection package: $200,000
• More turnstiles at C/E 50th Street station: $303,000
• Real-time bus countdown clocks: $200,000