Council Member Julie Menin is proud to announce the results of her
first annual participatory budgeting process within New York City
Council District 5, which garnered a total of 1,838 votes and a tie for
first between the top two projects. Council Member Menin had previously
announced that projects with the most votes up until $1 million has been
accounted for will be funded. As a result of this year's success, Council Member Menin will be
allocating additional capital funding in order to fully fund the top six
voted projects totaling $1,380,000.
The winning projects are as follows:
Schoolyard Resurfacing for M.S. 114 and P.S. 138
- 798 votes; This $380,000 project will 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
Technology Upgrades at New York Public Libraries
- 798 votes; This $250,000 project will provide technology enhancements at
Roosevelt Island, Webster, and 67th Street Libraries.
Pathway Repavings- 747 votes; This $300,000 project will repave 10,000 square feet of paths in
Carl Schurz Park.
“I am thrilled that our Office’s first annual participatory budgeting
process was an unqualified success with robust community engagement,”
said Council Member Julie Menin. “Not only is my office providing the one million dollars to fund
the three winning projects, but in response to the enormous success of
this year's cycle and the critical need for capital improvements, I am
proud to raise my commitment to $1,380,000 to fund an additional 3.
Hundreds of constituents have reached out to our office about these
projects so it is great to foster civic engagement in the entire
community and help these projects come to fruition. I look forward to
growing participatory budgeting in future years!”
“All of us are delighted to have this funding to begin the renovation
of our school yard. We are eager to revive our yard with new matting
that will keep our students happy, safe and clean," said David Getz, the Principal of M.S. 114 and P.S. 138.
“The New York Public Library is grateful to the community for
selecting our branches -- Roosevelt Island, Webster, and 67th Street
libraries -- to be the recipients of $250,000 for technology
improvements," said Sumie Ota, The New York Public Library's Associate Director for the
East Manhattan Neighborhood Library Network. "It is an honor to be chosen by those we serve to receive this
important funding, which supports the vital resources and services
available at our branches. Thank you to Council Member Menin and the
residents of the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island for this
wonderful recognition.”
"We are heartened and inspired by the outpouring of support from the
community. It is wonderful to see that Carl Schurz Park means so much
to so many,” said Judy Howard, Board Chair of the Carl Schurz Park
Conservancy.
Additional Projects to be funded:
Four NYPD Cameras- 668 votes; This $160,000 project will 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.
M.S. 177 Bathroom Renovations- 665 votes; This $225,000 project will 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.
P.S. 151 Water Bottle Filling Stations- 652 votes;
This $64,000 project will install 8 water bottle filling stations to
cover each of the five floors of the school.
"We are thrilled to have been granted the funding for new bathrooms
at Yorkville East Middle School. This was driven by our students and
their families, and we're so happy their voices were heard. The
process of participatory budgeting brought an important and meaningful
civics lesson to our entire student body. Thank you, CM Menin, for
bringing this opportunity to our school," said Christina Riggio, the Principal of M.S. 177.
Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a democratic process in which community
members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. Over 40
project proposals were submitted and vetted by City agencies to ensure
compliance and feasibility. Ballot items must be a physical
infrastructure project that benefits the public and on City-owned
property, have an estimated cost of at least $50,000 but not more than
$550,000, and have a lifespan of at least 5 years. Council Member Menin
had announced that projects with the most votes up until $1 million has
been accounted for will be funded.
In this year’s cycle, residents aged 11 and over of City Council
District 5 (Upper East Side's Yorkville, Lenox Hill, Carnegie Hill, Roosevelt
Island, Midtown East, Sutton Place, El Barrio in East Harlem) had the opportunity to vote for up to five projects from a range of
nine different projects.
The vote tally was as follows.
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