WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — It’s that time of the year again, when Uptown residents can vote on the project they'd like to see get public funds for improvements.
There are 14 projects currently vying for part of the $1 million allocated for Council District 10's participatory budgeting under Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez’s capital budget. Ideas range from providing laptops for low income students, giving science carts to local schools and restoring water to a local dog park.
“I’m excited about the great projects we have on the ballot this year, but I’m even more excited to see our residents engaged and directing some of this important funding,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “Encouraging direct democracy and community control over processes like budgeting can promote better governance overall.”
This is the third year Rodriguez has spearheaded participatory budgeting in the community, which is a process that allows community members to decide how to spend money from the councilman’s discretionary funds. Since the project first launched, the number of projects on the ballot has grown from 12 to 14 this year.
This year's projects include a mix of school and playground upgrades, as well as transportation, parks and museum modifications:
► $200,000 for laptops for low-income students. The P.S. M293 at West 196th Street Salome Ureña Campus is seeking funds to provide 600 laptops to low-income middle and high school students.
► $100,000 for new stage and auditorium curtains for Inwood Academy on 433 W. 204th St. The school seeks to replace the torn curtains with “new, fire retardant curtains for improved safety and acoustics.”
► $400,000 for a recording studio at the High School for Media and Communications. The school would like to build a recording studio to musically enrich the student population, while also providing them with the tools for a career and profession in the arts.
► $400,000 for WHEELS/I.S. 143 athletic facilities upgrade. The 52-year-old school building — located on 511 W. 182nd St. — is looking to upgrade the bleachers, as well as install a fitness center and locker rooms.
► $125,000 for science carts for P.S. 178. The project is looking to provide students of this Title 1, K-5 school located on 12 Ellwood St. with the science tools and technology to enrich their STEM education.
► $180,000 for smartboards or laptops for J.H.S. 52, P.S. 98 and P.S./M.S. 278. The project is to update the technology and tools for to students.
► $300,000 for an air conditioner for Castle Bridge and P.S. 128. The Castle Bridge and P.S. 128 school building located on 560 W. 169th St. lacks A/C equipment, making learning difficult for students during the warmer months.
► $550,000 to make the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum ADA accessible. The colonial farmhouse — the oldest in Manhattan, located on the corner of Broadway and 204th Street — needs a ramp to provide all community members with access to this cultural landmark.
► $280,000 for street trees and tree guards in the Heights and Inwood. Add trees to corridors where they’re most lacking; protect new and young trees with tree guards throughout the community.
► $300,000 for Fit4Health. To create a free outdoor gym inside “The Pit” on 167th Street and Edgecombe Avenue with fitness equipment for people of all ages in a safe, ADA accessible space.
► $526,000 to restore water to Sir William’s Dog Run. The project will provide local dogs that use the Sir William’s Dog Run in Fort Tryon Park and their owners with water breaks.
► $490,000 to repair the Emerson Playground water fountain drainage. The water fountain drainage in Emerson Playground at Inwood Hill Park often results in large puddles of standing water, which block walkways and foster mosquito breeding during the summer months.
► $320,000 for bus pads. The bus pads are flexible concrete paved under roads to ensure the quality and safety of bus stops for both passengers and buses. The Department of Transportation determines where to allocate the funds.
► $200,000 for real-time passenger information. The funds would add bus countdown clocks to provide live-timing of bus arrivals and departures districtwide. The Department of Transportation determines where to allocate the funds.
After more than 2,200 votes submitted last year, according to Rodriguez, the five winners were a mixture of projects to improve playgrounds, an outdoor gym, a school science lab and bathroom upgrades for a local school.
To vote, residents must live in District 10 – which covers Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble Hill – and be 14 years or older.
For more information on the nine voting sites, including the pop-up sites hosted by Rodriguez, visit the Participatory Budget website or the District 10 PBNYC Facebook page.
Residents can also vote online for the project of their choice until April 2.
