The final ballot for the 30th Council District’s participatory budgeting vote has been set.
District residents will be able to vote on what projects they would like to see $1 million of funding go toward, which was set aside by Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley.
Of the 12 initial projects proposed for participatory budgeting, nine have made the final ballot. Voters will be able to pick up to five of the nine projects that they would like to see funded.
“When my office first started participatory budgeting, we set out to reach every person in the community to hear what they really needed for their neighborhood,” Crowley said. “Now, with project expos and various ways to vote, we can ensure everyone knows the options available to them. Our budget delegates have been hard at work putting together the projects now on the final ballot, and I am looking forward to hearing from the community and seeing the results.”
The final projects are as follows:
- Computer equipment and furniture for Ridgewood and Maspeth libraries
- Swingset renovations at Little Bush Park in Woodside
- Basketball court renovations at Little Bush Park
- New auditorium seating at P.S. 71 in Ridgewood and P.S. 153 in Maspeth
- Update the restrooms at P.S. 9 in Maspeth, P.S./I.S. 49 in Middle Village and P.S. 88 in Ridgewood
- Extra air conditioning units in Maspeth’s I.S. 73 cafeteria or auditorium
- Laptop carts for classrooms in P.S./I.S. 49, P.S./I.S. 87 in Middle Village, P.S./I.S. 119 in Glendale and P.S. 153
- 30 smartboards for Grover Cleveland High School and P.S./I.S. 87
Voting will take place during the week of March 28 to April 3 via paper or mobile ballot at to-be-determined polling sites, or via online voting. In order to be eligible for online voting, voters must pre-register in person at Crowley’s office, located at 71-19 80th St., Suite 8-303 in Glendale, or with a participatory budgeting volunteer, who will be present at various neighborhood meetings until voting week.
The community can learn about projects in detail during two project expos, to be held before the voting week. The first expo is scheduled for Tuesday, March 15, at 6 p.m. at Maspeth Town Hall, located at 53-37 72nd St. The second expos is on Thursday, March 24, at 6 p.m. at the Ridgewood Library, located at 20-12 Madison St.
