Which Gowanus And Red Hook Projects Should The City Fund? Vote For New Street Trees, Bus Arrival Clocks, School Tech, More

BROOKLYN, NY — Seems like just yesterday every red-blooded New Yorker over age 14 was racing to the polls for Participatory Budgeting Vote Week 2016, making controversial neighborhood decisions like whether to divert taxpayer money toward a "Lake Mess Monster" aquatic weed harvester for Prospect Park or a fleet of roving "mobile studios" for starving artists in Gowanus.

JK. Only a few thousand residents (at most) in each of the city's 51 districts ever bother to vote in these things. The vast majority probably don't even know they exist.

Considering how much of our own cash is on the line, though, that's kind of a shame. And some of the proposals can be pretty rad — this year, for example, Gowanus residents have the chance to fund real-time bus countdown clocks outside F, G and R subway stations.

So what do you say we make 2017 the year Participatory Budgeting became the cool thing to do? You know, over a beer with a neighbor on a Friday night.

Scroll down for a list of projects in Gowanus and Red Hook vying for $1 million to $2 million in city funds this year.

If you're not familiar with any of them (and aren't much of a bus person), this whole process may seem like a waste of time. But think what a difference your vote could make for, say, a local school seeking computers for kids or an upgrade for rundown bathrooms.

Now that we've guilted you into some good, old-fashioned community involvement: Before you vote, you'll have to figure out which City Council district you live in.

Unfortunately, because municipal governments can never do things the easy way, NYC's political districts aren't divided cleanly by neighborhood. So you'll have to plug in your address here to find your City Council district. Or, if you like to live on the edge, do your best to geolocate yourself in either the 38th or 39th district on these maps:

Once you know your City Council district — feels kinda good, doesn't it? — you can browse nearby projects in need of city funds. We've listed them below.

And once you've decided which ones you want to support, you can vote for your 5 favorites online (or in person) between Saturday, March 25, and Sunday, April 2.

That's pretty much it. Get to democratizing, you crazy kids:

GOWANUS

If you live in Gowanus and your home is located within Brad Lander's 39th City Council district, below are your options for neighborhood projects to fund. And here's where you can vote in person.

More Street Trees Throughout the District

• Add 35 trees with guards to provide shade and beautify the neighborhoods, especially where few or no trees exist.
• Streets in Kensington, Gowanus, Borough Park
• $70,000

Realtime Bus Arrival Info near Subway Stops

• Install 8 countdown clocks at bus stops near subway exits, to enable informed decisions on transportation choices.
• Near F, G, R stops
• $200,000

Note: Partly because Lander's district is so funny-shaped and stretches all the way down to the East River on one end and Borough Park on the other, many of this year's projects in the 39th are located a long way from Gowanus. So if you aren't too jazzed on the hyperlocal options, check out the projects seeking funds in Park Slope and Windsor Terrace-Kensington. You can choose any of those, too — just as long as they're within your City Council district. Solidarity, yo!

RED HOOK

If you live in Red Hook and your home is located within Carlos Menchaca's 38th City Council district, below are your options for neighborhood projects to fund. And here's where you can vote in person.

Smart Tech for Summit Academy

• Teacher resource stations, computers and much needed equipment to improve learning for our diverse children.
• Summit academy- 27 Huntington Street, Red Hook
• $120,000

Bathroom Renovations

• The full renovation of the 2nd floor bathrooms for students and staff. This will complete renovation of all bathrooms.
• P.S. 15- The Patrick F. Daly Magnet School, Red Hook
• $220,000

Note: As mentioned above, City Council districts are crazy. Even though they don't physically touch, Red Hook happens to share the 38th district with Sunset Park — which got the lion's share of the Participatory Budgeting nominations this year. Check out the selection down in Sunset for more options.