Parks, Cameras: These UES Projects Could Win Menin's Budget Bucks

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Park pavings, school upgrades and police surveillance cameras are among the projects that Upper East Siders could choose to fund through a local lawmaker's budgeting program.

On Tuesday, City Councilmember Julie Menin announced the nine items that had made the final ballot in her office's participatory budgeting round — an annual program that allows residents to decide how to spend $1 million on projects within their Council district.

Menin began soliciting ideas in January, shortly after she took office. Neighbors submitted a total of 40 proposals, which city agencies evaluated based on cost and narrowed down to create the final list.

Votes can be cast online or via paper ballot between April 2-10 (scroll down for more voting information). Here are the nine finalists:

1. Four NYPD Security Cameras

• Location: within District 5; specific sites to be chosen by NYPD
• Cost: $162,000
• Description: "Project would fund 4 NYPD cameras in Council District 5. These security cameras would enhance crime prevention, provide a sense of security in public areas, and establish surveillance in underserved areas."

2. Kitchen Renovations for FDNY

• Location: Engine 22/Ladder 13 (159 East 85th St.)
• Cost: $150,000
• Description: "Project would initiate kitchen renovations for
  the aging firehouse kitchens. This first phase will consist of drawings, permits, filings, and architectural designs to replace their outdated facilities that are used 24 hours a day, and which often become second homes for personnel."

3. Pathway Repavings in Carl Schurz Park

• Location: Carl Schurz Park
• Cost: $300,000
• Description: "Project would repave 10,000 square feet of
  paths in Carl Schurz Park."

4. Street Tree Guard Installation

• Location: within District 5
• Cost: $113,000
• Description: "Project would install 50 metal guards for newly planted trees around the Council district."

5. M.S. 177 Bathroom Renovations

• Location: M.S. 177 Yorkville East Middle School (1458 York Ave.)
• Cost: $225,000
• Description: "Project would renovate one faculty and one student bathroom, both of which are in a general state of disrepair. It would upgrade the sinks, faucets, toilets, soap dispensers, mirrors, tile floors, stalls, paper towel dispensers, and urinals."

6. P.S. 183 Security Cameras

• Location: P.S. 183 Robert L. Stevenson (419 East 66th St.)
• Cost: $550,000
• Description: "Project would install security cameras throughout the P.S. 183 campus."

7. P.S. 151 Water Bottle Filling Stations

• Location: P.S. 151 Yorkville Community School (421 East 88th St.)
• Cost: $64,000
• Description: "Project would install 8 water bottle filling
  stations to cover each of the five floors of the school."

8. Schoolyard Resurfacing for M.S. 114 and P.S. 138

• Location: M.S. 114 East Side Middle School/P.S. 138 (331 East 91st St.)
• Cost: $380,000
• Description: "Project would replace the slippery, degraded mats of the schoolyard that date back to the building's construction over a decade ago. This will improve the overall safety and sanitary conditions for the students."

9. Technology Upgrades at New York Public Libraries

• Location: Roosevelt Island, Webster and 67th Street libraries
• Cost: $250,000
• Description: "Project would provide technology enhancements at Roosevelt Island, Webster, and 67th Street Libraries."

All District 5 residents age 11 and older are eligible to cast votes through April 10. To request a paper ballot, contact Menin's office at 212-860-1950 or District5@council.nyc.gov.

Winning projects will be announced in late April and included in the city's next budget, to be passed in June.

Participatory budgeting has become something of a tradition in Menin's Yorkville Council district: former member Ben Kallos ran the program every year during his eight-year tenure in the Council, with last year's winning projects including $750,000 for laptop carts and STEM programs for local schools, and $187,000 to plant 50 new sidewalk trees.

Neighboring East Side Councilmember Keith Powers is not participating in the program, though he recently asked constituents to propose ideas for new capital projects in a separate survey.

"Civil engagement is so important to improve our district, because we can ensure that our community has a voice in these important budgeting decisions," Menin said in a statement. "As we continue through this process of the Participatory Budget, filling out a ballot is an integral part of civic engagement and impacting your community."