PARK SLOPE — Neighborhood residents can choose between funding an aquatic weed wacker for Prospect Park or a new dog run for Kensington in this year's round of participatory budgeting in Park Slope and nearby neighborhoods.
Locals can vote on how to spend $1.5 million in taxpayer dollars on neighborhood improvements in City Councilman Brad Lander's 39th District starting March 26.
Lander is one of 28 City Council members who now offer the citizen-led funding program known as participatory budgeting, which lets district residents decide how to spend council members' discretionary dollars.
Locals brainstormed possible projects for funding last fall, then volunteers narrowed down the list based on which projects were feasible and met the program's guidelines. Participatory budgeting money generally funds capital projects, meaning physical improvements to buildings or public places or new equipment.
For example, the ballot in Lander's district this year includes $140,000 for a new "Lake Mess Monster" for Prospect Park. The machine, which looks like a cross between a tractor and steamboat, helps keep lime green scum from forming on the surface of the park's lake, said John Jordan, the Prospect Park Alliance's director of landscape management.
"Everyone should vote for it," Jordan said. The park's old Lake Mess Monster was purchased in 1996 and finally "rusted into nothingness" after years of service, Jordan said.
The machine helps control invasive water species such as duckweed, making for a cleaner looking lake and a better experience for park users who want to tool around on paddle boats, Jordan said.
"These weeds can actually go across the whole lake and make boating really difficult,” Jordan said, adding that the Lake Mess Monster cuts the weeds without disrupting fish habitat.
Other projects on the ballot for possible funding in District 39 this year include:
► $175,000 for five new water fountains in Prospect Park that won't freeze in the winter.
► $240,000 for 12 bus clocks for the B67 and B69 buses so riders can see when the bus will show up.
► $150,000 for three mobile art studios in Gowanus.
There are also Gowanus-focused projects on the ballot in City Councilman Stephen Levin's neighboring District 33. Projects up for funding in his district include $350,000 for street safety improvements on Hoyt Street near the Gowanus Houses.
Residents can vote between March 26 and April 3 for their five favorite projects. The top vote-getters receive funding. Past rounds of participatory budgeting in Lander's district have funded computers for the Windsor Terrace library, upgraded bathrooms for P.S. 124 and other improvements.
This year kids as young as 14 can cast votes.
Click here for more information on how and where to vote.
