Participatory Budgeting Returns to the Upper West Side and Morningside Heights

It's the most wonderful time of the year: Participatory Budgeting season.

City Council members Gale Brewer (District 6) and Shaun Abreu (District 7) are currently asking community members – like you and me – to submit ideas for how to spend up to $1 million in Participatory Budgeting (PB) funding for Upper West Side and Morningside Heights.

The idea submission period is open through November 28, after which community volunteers will evaluate proposals. Final projects will appear on a public ballot in the spring, and the ones receiving the most votes will be included in next year’s city budget. Anyone 11 and up can vote.

To qualify, projects must:

• Cost at least $50,000

• Have a lifespan of 5+ years for infrastructure project

• Have a lifespan of 3+ years for electronic purchases (ex., laptops for schools or libraries)

Some ideas submitted so far consist of converting the grass soccer field at Riverside Park & West 70th Street into turf, provide low cost spay and neuter and vet care, fix street grading to prevent stormwater from pooling, and creating an indoor rest and charging space for deliveristas at West 103rd Street and West End Avenue.

A more unusual proposal, but a proposal nonetheless, building a small “swimming beach” along the edge of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, complete with sand and potential naming-rights funding.

Previous winning proposals have included new security cameras on residential blocks, tree guards along major corridors, staircase repairs in Riverside Park and funding for local public schools to repair air-conditioning systems.

Students and residents alike can submit ideas or browse current proposals through the city’s online PB portal.