It’s that time again for New York City Council’s Participatory Budgeting where you get to vote on which projects should get funding in your City Council District.
From now through April 15th, make your voices heard on what projects should receive up to $1 million in funding in your district.
Once again, all Councilmembers in the East Bronx have opted out of providing this truly democratic service to their constituents (shame on Councilmen Mark Gjonaj, Ruben Diaz Sr, and Andy King) as well as Councilman Fernando Cabrera in the West Bronx.
Residents of Districts 8 (Councilwoman Diana Ayala), 13 (Councilman Andy Cohen), 15 (Councilman Ritchie Torres) 16, (Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson, and 17 (Councilman Rafael Salamanca Jr) are eligible to vote on a variety of projects like upgrades to playgrounds in Riverdale to upgrades for a local school auditorium in Longwood.
Real Money, Real Power: Participatory Budgeting from PBP on Vimeo.
So how do you find out and see which projects you can vote on and how do you vote?
It’s simple.
Head over to the Participatory Budgeting website and you can do it straight from the comfort of your own home or wherever you are with your mobile device.
You will be asked to enter your address so that you can be directed to your district’s page where you will see a list of projects up for PB voting of which you can select up to five.
This year you can also use the LinkNYC kiosks to vote on participatory budgeting too.
According to a statement from LinkNYC:
“LinkNYC once again demonstrates that technology is a powerful tool for public good,” said Samir Saini, Commissioner of the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. “We’re honored to work with the Council to put democracy at New Yorkers’ fingertips. This year, more than 1,500 Link kiosks present that many more opportunities for residents to vote for the neighborhood projects that matter the most to them. I look forward to introducing New Yorkers to even more ways the Link platform can be used to foster civic innovation within our great city.”
“With Participatory Budgeting, Link is helping to bring the democratic process to the streets,” said Jen Hensley, President of Link. “We always envisioned Link as a platform for civic engagement and are thrilled to support the City Council’s Participatory Budgeting efforts this year, providing another way for New Yorkers to vote for projects that will directly improve their quality of life.”
Anyone who lives in a participating district can approach a Link in any neighborhood and vote directly on the Link tablet. The vote will be submitted to Participatory Budgeting, and then the information will be deleted from the Link tablet after every session. There is also advertising on the 55-inch digital displays on the sides of each Link to alert New Yorkers to this partnership and direct them to vote on the tablet.
Of course, if you prefer the old fashioned method or know someone who doesn’t have access to the internet, you can head over to a number of voting sites throughout the districts.
Just make sure you get out and vote!
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