Which Brooklyn Heights And DUMBO Projects Should The City Fund? Vote For Real-Time Bus Clocks, Atlantic Ave 'Slow Zone,' 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, Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO residents have the chance to fund real-time countdown clocks for B62 buses running along York, Tillary and Jay streets.

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 Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO and environs 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 lockers or laptops for kids who've never had any.

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.

Fortunately, unlike the many NYC neighborhoods split between districts, the entire Brooklyn Heights-DUMBO area is pretty well contained within Stephen Levin's 33rd City Council district. Just to be sure you're in the 33rd, though, plug in your address here. Or, if you like to live on the edge, do your best to geolocate yourself on this map of the district:

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.

Once you've decided which ones you want to support, you can vote for your 5 favorites online between Saturday, March 25, and Sunday, April 2, or in person at one of these polling sites.

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

New Lockers for 13 Classrooms, Robert Fulton School

• M.S. 8 has no lockers for students. New lockers would give students a place to put their textbooks and belongings.
• M.S. 8, 105 Johnson Street, Downtown Brooklyn
• $115,000

Technology Upgrade for Two Special Needs Schools

• Help 165 students on the Autism Spectrum who rely on technology get new laptops to improve their learning experience.
• P.S. 231, Bed-Stuy, and P.S. 369, Downtown Brooklyn
• $250,000

Traffic Calming Measures at Atlantic and 3rd Avenues

• Implement traffic calming measures to protect pedestrian and cyclist safety in support of an existing “Slow Zone.”
• Atlantic Avenue and 3rd Avenue, Boerum Hill
• $524,000

Real Time Bus Clocks

• Electronic signs that provide live, up-to-date arrival times at 12 stops along the B62/B32 bus routes.
• Districtwide
• $300,000

Note: Partly because Levin's district is so funny-shaped and stretches way up into North Brooklyn, many of this year's projects are located a long way from Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO. So if you aren't too jazzed on the hyperlocal options, check out the projects seeking funds up in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. You can choose any of those, too — just as long as they're within your City Council district. Solidarity, yo!