Participatory Budgeting (PB) gives residents of our district the opportunity to propose, develop and vote on at least $1 million in City Council capital funds each year. Melissa was one of only four pioneering Council Members to bring this initiative to their districts in 2011, They have since been joined by Council Members David Greenfield, Steve Levin, Mark Weprin, Donovan Richards and Sara Gonzalez/District 38 candidate Carlos Menchaca. PB is made possible through the support of Community Voices Heard and the Participatory Budgeting Project. General information about PB citywide process is available at www.pbnyc.org.
PB Year 3 (2013-2014) Neighborhood Assemblies
The process begins with the annual neighborhood assemblies — brainstorming sessions where community residents come together to identify needs in the district. Here are the dates for this cycle’s neighborhood assemblies. Please join us and also stay tuned for other ways to propose project ideas!
Tuesday, October 8th
10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
Scan La Guardia
307 E. 116th St (btwn 2nd & 1st Ave)
Wednesday, October 9th
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Abraham House
340 Willis Ave, Bronx (@ E.142nd St)
Tuesday, October 15th
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Betances Community Center
547 E. 146th St, Bronx (@ St.Ann’s Ave)
Monday, October 21st
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Johnson Community Center
1829 Lexington Ave (btwn 112th & 115th St)
Wednesday, October 23rd
4:30 PM to 6:30 PM | 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Children’s Aid Society
130 E. 101st St (btwn Lexington & Park)
Tuesday, October 29th
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Friendly Baptist Church
962 Ogden Ave, Bronx (btwn 162nd and 163rd)
Food and translation will be provided!
How the Process Works
The PB initiative takes place in three stages, including a series of community meetings in each district, a process for finalizing proposals and a final public vote. Throughout the month of October, we held a series of neighborhood assemblies, where the brainstorming process began. At these assemblies, all residents of District 8, as well as those who work and go to school in our district, were invited to help formulate some of the ideas generated in these assemblies into concrete proposals. After a set of Project Expos in February and March, there will be a vote in April, open to all residents of District 8 over the age of 16.
PB Year 2 (2012-2013) Voting Results
Voting happened between Monday, April 1st and Sunday, April 7th. Below are the winning projects, which total $1.9 million.
- Security Cameras at NYCHA Developments ($500,000) – 964 votes
Douglass, East River, Johnson and Millbrook Houses - Laptops for District 8 Schools ($450,000) – 857 votes
Young Women’s Leadership, PS 57, Manhattan Center, Mosaic Preparatory Academy, PS 369 Young Leaders, Reynolds West HS, Renaissance Charter HS for Innovation, PS 72 Lexington Academy and Park East HS - Technology Centers for Youth and Seniors ($173,000) – 706 votes
Youth-Build and Carver Senior Center - SMART’s Mobile Cooking Classroom ($180,000) – 534 Votes
- Solar-Powered Greenhouse at Millbrook Houses ($300,000) – 533 Votes
- Jefferson Park Basketball Court Renovations ($300,000) – 501 Votes
For complete results, click here.
PB Year 1 (2011-2012) Voting Results
Voting happened between Sunday, March 25th and Saturday, March 31st. Below are the winning projects, which total $1.54 million.
- Transportation for Seniors and Meals-on-Wheels Delivery Van ($100,000) – 579 votes
- Security Cameras in Several NYCHA Developments ($525,000) – 499 votes. Includes Jefferson, Johnson, Betances, Millbrook, Washington, Taft, Clinton, & Wagner complexes
- Playground Improvements ($500,000) – 300 votes. At both Douglass and Millbrook Houses
- A Home for Harlem RBI and Dream Charter School ($250,000) – 292 votes
- Ultrasound System for Metropolitan Hospital ($105,000) – 252 votes
- New Technology for New York Public Library’s Aguilar Branch ($60,000) – 248 votes
If you are interested in taking part or have any questions or suggestions, email us at mmvbudget@gmail.com.
Melissa Mark-Viverito 
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I am writing on behalf of Park East High School and the East Harlem Pride sports program. We desperately need improved access to Randall’s Island in the form of a shuttle bus that stops on 106th and 3rd going up and across the RFK bridge to Randall’s. Park East High School is in need of locker rooms for our students to change for physical education class. Our community is plagued by obesity and high rates of asthma so sports and recreation are a must, not a luxury! Active kids do better in school too. Thanks for all your support past, present, and future!
I hope this correspondence helps regarding my concerns on
how to use the money that Taft Houses will be funded (I really
dislike using the word ‘Projects’, it demotes the facility. The
word has a stigma).
1) Security and Safety.
When one first moves into an apartment, one first secures
the apartment and then moves in.
In this case, it is the Entrance Door, Lobby and Elevators
that need desperate attention.
As for the Lobby, it needs a “make-over”, and I mean a true
one, as the high-risers have. Believe me, they will respect it more
and if they break it, do not fix it right away, show them how
they had it, then fix it. Observe how people, especially individuals
from low income area behave when they are in a marvel wall and
rug elevator and/or lobby. They act respectful.
As for Security, visual and working cameras are a must. If
one of our Tenants get kill or mug in the Lobby and/or
Elevators, we do not have a tape as other places, thus we
will never know what happened. Let it be visual, it intimates
also if another one is not visual, as a back-up, even better — then
the ‘bad-guys’ think they got away with it.
What they should do is set-up an 2) intercom so the tenants
stop breaking the door to get in. Nowadays, more people
are using their cellular phones instead of home base telephones.
That causes problems because there is not an intercom
system that they can communicate with. Even though it should
not be done, they break-in. Remember, only 2 keys per family,
which is another problem due to families that have more than
two members.
3) Elevators, also must be made over, again, a beautiful ‘make-over’,
believe me people will act and respect it. When one goes to
the buildings that the elevators are in top shape (again with marble
and beautiful floors), notice how different people behave and act.
The elevators are always getting repaired, why? Are they due for
new motors? When it rains, they must put rugs to dry the floors.
As for the apartments, of course 3) new stoves and install on the
4) walls over the Stoves metal or any other synthetic wall
due to the grease that really destroys the wall.
I have tried everything to clean that area, due to the splash
of the grease and it is impossible! Especially, due to the
fact that I had a leak which the wall bubbled and is
disgusting. Yes, I did report it, however, they still have not
repaired and/or scrape, plaster and paint it. But the wall will
keep getting messed up again due to the lack of metal and/or anything
else to avoid the grease and/or other foods that cannot be cleaned due
to lack of proper wall.
All the tenants have this problem, all the apartments
look horrible and it is also unsanitary.
The 5) floors. I noticed in my building the Volunteer Office have
beautiful blue, new tiles. Why did my apartment, when we moved
in approximately five years ago, have the old stained beige,
scratched, with cracks on it? Why the special treatment for
the Volunteer Office? We all should have the same treatment/floors.
It is also sanitary.
Also 6) CLEAN windows make an apartment. Again, this
item fall under sanitary issues.
Well, thank you so much for letting me express my opinion on
how they should spend this money that Taft needs. Please let
me know when is the next meeting and thank you for the
invitation. Again, my apologies for not attending.
Last and not least, we the Tenants MUST respect ourselves
in turn we will respect where we live. If changes are made, and
if for some miracle, all these items are done, I will personally
address the Tenants of Taft Houses regarding maintaining the
respect to keep up with it due to the fact this is where we live.
If we respect other facilities when we visit them when the
surroundings are high caliber then when we have them, we
must do the same.
You can reach be at (212) 996-5273. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Awilda Melendez & Ivan N. Cruz
Tenants / 1365 5th Avenue – #4D
New York, New York 10029
Thank you for inviting me to the above-mentioned Meeting.
My apologies for not attending, which I was very interested
to attend.
I hope this correspondence helps regarding my concerns on
how to use the money that Taft Houses will be funded (I really
dislike using the word ‘Projects’, it demotes the facility. The
word has a stigma.
1) Security and Safety.
When one first moves into an apartment, one first secures
the apartment and then moves in.
In this case, it is the Entrance Door, Lobby and Elevators
that need desperate attention.
As for the Lobby, it needs a “make-over”, and I mean a true
one, as the high-risers have. Believe me, they will respect it more
and if they break it, do not fix it right away, show them how
they had it, then fix it. Observe how people, especially individuals
from low income area behave when they are in a marvel wall and
rug elevator and/or lobby. They act respectful.
As for Security, visual and working cameras are a must. If
one of our Tenants get kill or mug in the Lobby and/or
Elevators, we do not have a tape as other places, thus we
will never know what happened. Let it be visual, it intimates
also if another one is not visual, as a back-up, even better — then
the ‘bad-guys’ think they got away with it.
What they should do is set-up an 2) intercom so the tenants
stop breaking the door to get in. Nowadays, more people
are using their cellular phones instead of home base telephones.
That causes problems because there is not an intercom
system that they can communicate with. Even though it should
not be done, they break-in. Remember, only 2 keys per family,
which is another problem due to families that have more than
two members.
3) Elevators, also must be made over, again, a beautiful ‘make-over’,
believe me people will act and respect it. When one goes to
the buildings that the elevators are in top shape (again with marble
and beautiful floors), notice how different people behave and act.
The elevators are always getting repaired, why? Are they due for
new motors? When it rains, they must put rugs to dry the floors.
As for the apartments, of course 3) new stoves and install on the
4) walls over the Stoves metal or any other synthetic wall
due to the grease that really destroys the wall.
I have tried everything to clean that area, due to the splash
of the grease and it is impossible! Especially, due to the
fact that I had a leak which the wall bubbled and is
disgusting. Yes, I did report it, however, they still have not
repaired and/or scrape, plaster and paint it. But the wall will
keep getting messed up again due to the lack of metal and/or anything
else to avoid the grease and/or other foods that cannot be cleaned due
to lack of proper wall.
All the tenants have this problem, all the apartments
look horrible and it is also unsanitary.
The 5) floors. I noticed in my building the Volunteer Office have
beautiful blue, new tiles. Why did my apartment, when we moved
in approximately five years ago, have the old stained beige,
scratched, with cracks on it? Why the special treatment for
the Volunteer Office? We all should have the same treatment/floors.
It is also sanitary.
Also 6) CLEAN windows make an apartment. Again, this
item fall under sanitary issues.
Well, thank you so much for letting me express my opinion on
how they should spend this money that Taft needs. Please let
me know when is the next meeting and thank you for the
invitation. Again, my apologies for not attending.
Last and not least, we the Tenants MUST respect ourselves
in turn we will respect where we live. If changes are made, and
if for some miracle, all these items are done, I will personally
address the Tenants of Taft Houses regarding maintaining the
respect to keep up with it due to the fact this is where we live.
If we respect other facilities when we visit them when the
surroundings are high caliber then when we have them, we
must do the same.
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At Park East High School we need 4 SmartBoards for our math classrooms. Our math teachers are interested in using this latest technology to further student learning. Specifically we are interested in using “clicker” technology to better assess how well students have learned very specific things in class. When each child can signal the teacher (click) in real time, the teacher can better adjust teaching to meet student need immediately. We hope this is an idea that the community can get behind and support the young people in the neighborhood.
Thanks
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I actually really want to bookmark this particular posting, “Participatory Budgeting | Melissa Mark-Viverito” on my personal web site.
Do you mind in the event that I reallydo? Thanks a
lot ,Clinton
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Great idea, but giving more money to a charter school though this process seems counterintuitive…