Starting this week, locals can vote on which suggested neighborhood projects should get a piece of the $1 million allocated to each council district for a program called “Participatory Budgeting.” Upgrades to libraries, streets and schools as well as innovative projects like a mobile food pantry are all on the ballot in the area.
Check out some of the options and learn how to vote below, or learn more at council member Helen Rosenthal and Mark Levine’s websites.
DISTRICT 6: HELEN ROSENTHAL (Below 96th street)
Housing
| 1. |
Upgrades at 589 Amsterdam Avenue (NYCHA) |
| COST: |
$500,000 |
| LOCATION: |
589 Amsterdam Avenue, at 88th street & Amsterdam Avenue |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Upgrade and improve the upper and lower recreation area behind the 589 Amsterdam Avenue building to provide residents with chairs, tables, benches, and trees to use for congregating and leisurely activities. |
| 2. |
Barrels Playground Renovation |
| COST: |
$500,000 |
| LOCATION: |
W. 61st St. & West End Avenue (Amsterdam Houses) |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Renovating playground and outdated equipment at the Amsterdam Houses barrel playground to benefit resident families and children. |
Transit, Sidewalks, and Transportation
| 3. |
Countdown Clocks at Crosstown Bus Stops |
| COST: |
$240,000 |
| LOCATION: |
Crosstown Bus Stops throughout the district. 96th, 86th, 79th, & 66th St. |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Installing Real Time Passenger Information Clocks at east-bound crosstown 96th, 86th, 79th and 66th street bus stops to improve public transportation experience. |
| 4. |
70th Street Permanent Safety improvements |
| COST: |
$300,000 |
| LOCATION: |
70th street between Broadway & Amsterdam Avenue |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Permanent safety improvements to pedestrian crossing area by building out painted areas. The project will extend to West End Avenue and 70th Street. *Project submitted by the DOT (not through community process) |
| 5. |
Curb Cut Repairs at 680 Amsterdam Avenue |
| COST: |
$115,000 |
| LOCATION: |
680 Amsterdam Avenue on 93rd St/ |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Repairing existing curb-cut on northwest corner of 93rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue. Determined by Community Board 7 survey and by assessment from the Department of Transportation. |
Parks, Playground, and Environment
| 6. |
Hudson Beach Recreation Area Upgrade |
| COST: |
$130,000 |
| LOCATION: |
Riverside Park at 103rd street and Riverside |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Installation of adult workout equipment and upgrade of the Swing-A-Ring area in Riverside Park to promote safety and better use of the area. |
| 7. |
Hudson River Greenway Bike Safety Improvements |
| COST: |
$200,000 |
| LOCATION: |
Hudson River Greenway from 72nd to 84th street (Riverside Park) |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Implementation of safety measures to separate the path on the popular Hudson River Greenway into cyclist and pedestrian routes in order to decrease congestion and promoting safety. |
| 8. |
Pick-up truck for Garbage Collection |
| COST: |
$40,000 |
| LOCATION: |
Riverside Park |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Purchasing a new crew cab pick-up truck for increased garbage collection to be used throughout Riverside Park by the Parks Department. |
Education and Youth
| 9. |
Air Conditioning for PS 191 Lunchroom |
| COST: |
$250,000 |
| LOCATION: |
PS 191 The Museum Magnet School located at 210 W 61st Street |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Wiring to create a split screen to provide air conditioning for the lunchroom in P.S. 191. This will provide a comfortable environment for students during the warmer months of the year. |
| COST: |
$200,000 |
| LOCATION: |
PS 191 The Museum Magnet School located at 210 W 61st Street |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Creating a garden and green space at P.S. 191 for students. |
| 11. |
Technology Upgrades at Brandeis Campus |
| COST: |
$200,000 |
| LOCATION: |
Louis D. Brandeis High School complex, 145 West 84 St. |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Enhancing the technological department of the schools located in the Louis D. Brandeis High School complex through new computers and smart boards. |
| 12. |
Inclusive Playground at M.S.C. |
| COST: |
$300,000 |
| LOCATION: |
Joan of Arc School Complex on West 93rd street and Columbus Avenue (houses PS 333, Manhattan School for children and Middle schools: MS 258 and MS 256) |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Initial scope and planning for an all-inclusive and accessible playground in the Joan of Arc School complex to enable children with disabilities to freely play and interact with other students. |
| 13. |
Turf Athletic Field at MLK High School |
| COST: |
$300,000 |
| LOCATION: |
Martin Luther King, Jr. Campus (122 Amsterdam Ave. on 65th St.) |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Initial design for the construction of an 11,000 sq. ft. illuminated, artificial turf athletic field. It will serve as practice space for multiple school sports teams & for community sports programs. |
Seniors, Culture, and Community Facilities
| 14. |
Mobile Food Pantry for West Side Campaign against Hunger |
| COST: |
$250,000 |
| LOCATION: |
West Side Campaign Against Hunger is located at 86th street between Broadway and West End Avenue– the mobile food pantry will travel to sites throughout the district |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Purchasing a specialized van to serve as a food pantry to provide food & social services to those in need. The van will be operated and maintained by the West Side Campaign Against Hunger. |
| 15. |
Air Conditioning Renovations at the NYPL for the Performing Arts |
| COST: |
$350,000 |
| LOCATION: |
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts on 65th street and Amsterdam Avenue |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Renovating a 40 year-old air conditioning system at the New York Public Library of Performing Arts will allow visitors to comfortably access the library during the warmer months. |
Learn when and where to vote at Helen Rosenthal’s website.
DISTRICT 7: MARK LEVINE (North of 96th street)
The following projects are in the Upper West Side:
Electrical Upgrades at Bloomingdale Library ($500,000) – An electrical upgrade allowing for more electrical outlets and capacity to accommodate today’s technology needs. More patrons can plug in laptops, phones and other devices.
Location: 150 W. 100 St.
Computer Lab Upgrade at P.S. 163 ($90,000) – Improve technology instruction by equipping the lab with 36 new Mac desktops to replace existing, outdated computers, and two mobile carts with 48 Mac laptops.
Location: 163 W. 97 St.
See the voting sites and dates here, and check out all the projects in District 7 here.
How is it possible that a request for $500 K is posted for electrical upgrades for the Bloomingdale Library on West 100th Street? They JUST finished remodeling the entire building?
well, could I vote that we implement only #7 and then save the other 800k for future projects actually worthy of taxpayer’s money?
Agreed! Most of these ideas sound like a terrible waste of taxpayer funds how about just applying the $1MM to the city’s budget shortfalls, or better yet return it to the taxpayers…
I’m sure many of these are worthy projects, but what’s the point of this? Shouldn’t the people we elected be more familiar with the various competing interests in the budget? This seems like pandering.
More general whine unrelated to this post: Having just finished my 2014 taxes can we just get a tax rebate? We pay higher taxes than anywhere else in the nation. Shouldn’t we benefit from the economies of scale a city provides? Why does the city need a greater percentage of our incomes than the suburbs?
‘Demographically’ as an UWS you should love LIBERAL – high taxing paying government?! YES?!
I’m only liberal in the classical sense. 🙂
Repair the round-about @ the 79th Street Boat Basin – it’s falling down and looks shabby – make it a more beautiful & functional (no more potholes!) entrance in to the neighborhood
YES! We REALLY need that roundabout fixed. It’s terrible.
The Doe Fund and Graffiti clean up!
I would like a significant amount of funds to keeping the neighborhood clean and lately ‘tagging’ has been a big challenge for business and home-owners alike.
Bloomberg is gone and graffiti cleanup is always a waste of money. Broken windows complaints are a thing of the past and it’s a waste of time and money to go after. This is NY, graffiti will always be here. Just get used to it and spend the money on better things like the dangerous intersections and better shelters for homeless families.
I may be tone deaf, that is sarcasm Mark, right?
fix the streetlight on 89st bet col & amst that’s been out since october
First Item on list:
as a former life long resident of 589 (moved in 1963-left 1993) you just might need a cover to protect the users from debris tossed out the windows. Anything from chicken bones, cans, dirty diapers to live cats
They already put the scaffolding up around the whole perimeter of 589..should be an interesting summer.
I’m sure Helen Rosenthal is well intentioned with these proposals, but I feel she overly relies on “financial initiatives” to accomplish governmental services. Her recent proposal to have citizens turn in people illegally idling their cars for reward was an example of this. Again, last year, she also presented a plan by which citizens could “win” rewards for legislative ideas, and now we have this. Not one of these projects really addresses issues that our community really needs. Sure, any of these projects will look great in her newsletter as “accomplishments”, but as a vision of governing, they all fall short. Governing is not a game of voting for your favorite project. Does she have any ideas of her own?
I would urge Helen to seek dialogue with her constituents in some other fashion and try to tackle some of the real issues, — admittedly not an easy task as a first-time council member – but I feel we deserve better.
PS – I’m not sure the photo that accompanies this story is the type of imagery that really works for Upper West Siders as an incentive. It more looks like an ad for a payday loan officer. Are we that easily bought off?
how can some of these items cost so much? I love this city but its high taxes and wastefulness are becoming more of a turnoff each year. we could actually maintain/improve infrastructure if the work could be done without corruption/union/bloated government costs added in.
Like, take #5 — ONE HUNDRED FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS to repair a street corner? LUDICROUS! This just makes me mad. Get bids from other parties that won’t bilk the city coffers.
Why can’t one vote online?
Excellent question!
WSR – the link is wrong for District 7 voting. Should be https://helenrosenthal.com/participatory-budgeting-voting/ instead.
District 7 is Mark Levine’s district. WSR