With a $1 Million Pot to Divvy Up, UWS ‘Participatory Budgeting’ Voting Begins

As “participatory budgeting” voting gets underway, from March 29 to April 6, Upper West Siders living in City Council Member Gale Brewer’s District 6 will choose among seven “finalist” projects that have a chance to get a chunk of a $1 million pot. The annual democratic tradition, which kicked off in 2011, allows the local community to identify and crowdfund overlooked causes. According to Brewer’s office, the choices on the ballot are as follows:

*Tree Guard Installation: Install 100 tree guards throughout the district around street-tree pits to protect them from damage, support healthy growth, and enhance the streetscape. $160,000.

*Beautify Broadway Malls: Replace and repair post-and-chain fencing; repair rotted bench slats on the center medians on Broadway between West 81st and 92nd streets. $200,000.

*Bathroom Upgrade: Lillian Weber School of the Arts (PS84), 32 W. 92nd St. Renovate two student bathrooms to improve existing structures and usability. $300,000.

*Riverside Park Wall Repair: Restore the retaining wall at West 72nd Street between Riverside Drive and Riverside Boulevard by replacing deteriorating mortar and reinstalling missing stones to improve structural integrity and ensure safety. $100,000.

*Cooling System Upgrade: Frank McCourt High School, 145 W. 84th St. Upgrade school’s cooling system to enhance climate control, ensuring a more comfortable, safe and conducive learning environment for students and staff. $250,000.

*Gymnasium Cooling System Upgrade: William O’Shea School Complex (including MS247 and MS245), 100 W. 77th St. Install a new cooling system in the gymnasium, improving comfort and safety for students, staff, and community members. $250,000.

*Auditorium Upgrade: High School for Environmental Studies, 444 W. 56th St. Upgrade auditorium with new equipment and needed structural repairs, enhancing student, staff, and audience accessibility. $250,000.

All district residents aged 11 and up, regardless of whether they are citizens, are eligible to vote. Those who choose in-person voting can do so at:

Brewer’s District Office, 563 Columbus Ave. (87th Street); St. Agnes Library, 444 Amsterdam Ave. (81st-82nd streets); or Riverside Library, 127 Amsterdam Ave. (65th-66th streets).

Any additional pop-up in-person locations will be announced at https://council.nyc.gov/gale-brewer/participatory-budgeting/. Those who want to vote online can do so at pbnyc.org/vote, beginning at 12:01 a.m. on March 29.

Brewer’s office also told The Spirit that there will be a special participatory budgeting pop-up on April 6, on the south side of the American Museum of Natural History. Between noon and 3 p.m., the first 200 people to vote at the pop-up will receive a complimentary pass to one “giant-screen film” in the museum’s LeFrak Theater, which will be valid for a year.

In an interview, Brewer explained that her office gathers ideas from volunteers who know what needs to be fixed locally. Then, they settle on finalists only after getting agency clearance—“you know, the Department of Transportation, the Parks Department, and the Department of Education,” she said. “We have to make sure they agree with the project. If they don’t, you’re gonna send the money into the atmosphere, and it’s not gonna get spent. It can be frustrating when I think there’s a good idea, but the agencies don’t think so.”

The most satisfying element of the process for Brewer is seeing her district’s schoolchildren get amped up about facilitating change in the neighborhood. “It’s one thing to go with your parents to the voting booth, but here you get to actually decide,” she said. “I’ve been in some classes talking about it. Oh my God, the kids get so excited.”