Corey Johnson Will Kick Off Participatory Budgeting Sunday

CHELSEA, NY — Neighbors in City Council Speaker Corey Johnson's district will have the chance to tell him how to spend $1 million this Sunday.

The ninth cycle of participatory budgeting will kick off in his district Sunday, 1 to 3 p.m., at Chelsea Green, 140 West 20th St.

The kick-off event will begin the process of sifting through ideas submitted by neighbors of how to spend $1 million in the district, from parks and schools upgrades to street safety and transit improvements and more. Neighbors in the district will vote on a selected group of projects next spring.

Johnson is bringing back the participatory budgeting process — dubbed PB — for the sixth year in District 3, which covers Hell's Kitchen, Chelsea and the West Village.

The process has yielded a variety of projects in the district, like technology upgrades, bus countdown clocks, trees, and Chelsea's first new public park in 40 years.

City officials from the School Construction Authority, Department of Transportation and the Parks Department will be on hand, Johnson said in an email to neighbors.

The PB process first began in 2011 in City Council. Thirty-three council members are participating this season, giving the chance for neighbors to vote on what projects should be funded with $1 million in capital funds.

Also in Manhattan, Councilmembers Carlina Rivera and Margaret Chin recently launched the PB process in their respective districts. Chin launched PB for the first time in Lower Manhattan.

See what ideas your neighbors have already submitted for how to spend your council member's funds on this participatory budgeting map.

Here's the details for Johnson's PB kick-off event:

When: Sunday, September 29, 1 to 3 p.m.
Where: Chelsea Green (140 W. 20th St., between Sixth & Seventh avenues)

The public can RSVP here.