HARLEM — Harlem residents can decide which community projects should receive part of $1 million allocated to receive public funds under the participatory budgeting.
From March 26 to April 3, residents in Council District 7 can vote on projects ranging from smart boards for classrooms and science lab upgrades to repairing sidewalks and installing security cameras near several housing facilities.
Participatory budgeting kicked off for the first time in the district last June and has included several neighborhood events with the participation of hundreds of local residents, according to Councilman Mark Levine's office.
“You proposed the ideas, you developed your projects and now YOU vote on where your money is spent in our neighborhood,” Levine said in a Facebook post.
The winning projects from last year included repairs to the Grant Houses Playground and the basketball courts in P.S. 125, planting more trees between Riverside Drive and Broadway, and building a public greenhouse in Frank White Memorial Garden.
Here are this year’s 21 projects and sites:
► $1,000,000 for a "complete overhaul of the drainage system" at the George Bruce Library.
► $400,000 to restore and repair the elevator at the Hamilton Grange Library.
► $210,000 to renovate the Riverstone Senior Center
► $125,000 to upgrade the audio system and acoustics in the Ralph Bunch Campus auditorium.
► $200,000 to improve electricity inside the Ralph Bunch Campus to install equipment for classroom use.
► $35,000 to purchase laptop carts for middle school students at Booker T. Washington middle school.
► $75,000 to upgrade three science labs at the Columbia Secondary School.
► $250,000 to build an "indoor hydroponic farm for 200 elementary school students" at Columbia Secondary School.
► $250,000 to fund a greenhouse classroom conversion project at P.S. 28.
► $75,000 to purchase five to 10 smart boards for the Hamilton Grange Middle School.
► $400,000 to upgrade the Hamilton Grange Middle School playground with secure gates and cameras.
► $35,000 to purchase one laptop cart or 10 to 15 desktops at the Hamilton Grange Middle School.
► $500,000 to enhance security at the Manhattanville Houses Recreational Areas by upgrading the lights.
► $500,000 to renovate the Manhattanville Houses Playground by upgrading and "installing new equipment and amenities."
► $500,000 to renovate the Audubon Houses Playground.
► $500,000 to resurface, replace and install a new basketball court and recreational equipment at the Manhattanville Houses.
► $500,000 to improve security at the Manhattan Houses by adding more cameras.
► $300,000 to plant 100 street trees and tree guards from west of 125th Street to 155th Street.
► $150,000 to illuminate and improve safety conditions from west 110th Street to 129th Street.
► $500,000 to install artificial turf in the playground on Morningside Avenue between 123rd to 124th streets.
► $325,000 to replace the sidewalks in the Grant Houses
Levine is hosting a participatory budgeting event to kick off the voting on Saturday, March 26, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Amalgamated Bank, 524 W. 125th St. in Harlem.
